Web Wealth:
Getting it all together, financially speaking, for 2010 should include some deliberate planning on your part. These Web sites provide some direction for doing that.
Getting it all together, financially speaking, for 2010 should include some deliberate planning on your part. These Web sites provide some direction for doing that.
Six resolutions. Rediff.com, a site for Indian expats, suggests six financial resolutions for 2010. We won't list them all, but they include putting your savings to work. One of the most interesting is to "protect your family and your assets." What assets? "Most people's greatest financial asset isn't their home or investment accounts; it is the ability to earn money. It is necessary to protect against this asset being prematurely taken away." That's basically a pitch to consider insurance.
http://go.philly.com/money2010a
IRA conversion. In 2010, anybody with a traditional IRA can convert those funds - on which income tax would come due when you start withdrawals after retirement - to Roth IRAs that don't get taxed at withdrawal time. The catch is that if you convert, you'll have to pay tax on the money now, though you do get to stretch the payment over two years. Clearly, there are benefits and drawbacks, depending on your tax bracket now and in the future. This site helps to explain.
http://go.philly.com/money2010b
Home buying. If you'd like to buy a house in the coming year, it's past time to start getting your financial house in order, buff up your credit rating, and begin interviewing brokers. Those and other "resolutions" are part of the advice here at ThinkGlink, by real estate expert Ilyce R. Glink. She notes that mortgage rates hit 50-year lows twice in 2009, proving the year past was not without bright spots.
http://go.philly.com/money2010c
Investing guidance. What about investments for the year ahead? In this MarketWatch video, Dick Bellmer, president of Deerfield Financial Advisors Inc., tells what his company is recommending to clients for 2010. He mentions emerging markets, corporate bond funds, and some other ideas. He also suggests that inflation is "not going to be a big deal in 2010," but could become a problem later.