Buried in Credit Card Offers?

Tired of receiving 5 credit card offers for every 1 piece of "real" mail?  Now you can opt of pre-approved credit card offers. 

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires credit reporting agencies to maintain an opt-out list of consumers who no longer want to receive pre-approved credit card offers.

You can opt out by going to www.optout-prescreen.com or by calling 1-888-567-8688.

Dieting and Investing

I’m always telling clients to look at the "big picture" and to avoid looking at their stocks/mutual funds each day.  It’s more important that your Net Worth increase each year and that you get closer to your financial goals.  But, inevitably, they continue to check the performance of their individual investments each day.

Kim at Kimmunications explains this concept perfectly in her post called Focus on outcomes - not on numbers.  Thanks Kim!

Don’t Let Taxes Ruin Your Retirement

You know that you should diversify your investments to reduce your investment risk, but did you know you should also diversify your investments for tax purposes?

401K and IRA accounts are taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, so if you’re in the 25% tax bracket when you retire, you’ll pay 25% (plus state income taxes) on every dollar you withdraw from your retirement accounts.

This can really put a dent in your budget, especially in your later retirement years.  To avoid paying taxes on every dollar of income during retirement, why not start investing in Roth IRAs and taxable accounts now, instead of socking all of your money away in tax-deferred retirement accounts?

That way, when you are retired, you can decide which account to pull money out of first to keep your income taxes at a minimum and to make the most out of every retirement dollar.

Resources for furthur discussion on diversifying for tax purposes:

Ask the Expert ~ Taxing Withdrawals
Cut Your Taxes In Retirement - CNNMoney.com