Tag: investing

Barbara O’Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

May 2018

Steps to Get Your Retirement Planning on Track

One of the most frequently mentioned investment goals that people have is retirement. In 2017, AARP and the Ad Council introduced a new web site www.AceYourRetirement.org to encourage people to take action to save for retirement. The savings promotion effort also has a dedicated Twitter hashtag: #AcingRetirement.

 

The Ace Your Retirement website, a digital assistant for retirement planning, …

Barbara O’Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

April 2018

Choosing a Financial Advisor

Being an investor takes some know-how. You can do it yourself using print or online resources or you can reach out to people in the financial services industry to find the information and advice that you need. Generally, consumers pay a fee or commission for financial advice, but it may be much less than costly financial mistakes.

 

Getting financial help is a …

Barbara O’Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

February 2019

Understanding Capital Gains on Investments

Paying income taxes is an unpleasant fact of life. Since we are in the middle of income tax season, an article related to capital gains taxes seems appropriate. When an investor sells securities and earns a profit, capital gains are realized and income tax is due. Conversely, an investment sale can also result in a capital loss. When this happens, the …

Barbara O’Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

January 2018

Two Tools to Assess Your Investment Risk Tolerance

Investment risk tolerance can be defined as the amount of volatility (i.e., change in the value of an investment) that an individual is willing to withstand, particularly on the downside (i.e., loss of money). It has sometimes been referred to as an individual’s “sleep at night factor” as in how much investment risk are people willing to take …

Barbara O’Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

September 2017

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): An Investment Opportunity?

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a way that people can pay for unreimbursed medical expenses such as deductibles, co-payments, and services not covered by insurance. Eligible individuals can establish and fund these accounts only when they have a qualifying high-deductible health plan (HDHP). This means insurance with a deductible of at least $1,300 for individual coverage and $2,600 for …

Barbara O’Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

April 2017

The Rule of 72: Applications for Investors

To quickly estimate how long it will take for a sum of money to double, divide 72 by the expected interest rate that can be earned on a savings or investment product. For example, $2,000 placed in an IRA invested in a stock mutual fund would grow to $4,000 in nine years at an 8% average annual return (72 …

Barbara O’Neill, Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management

Rutgers Cooperative Extension

oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu

March 2017

Don’t Overwithhold Income Tax Money- Invest It

Many people deliberately have extra federal and state income taxes withheld from their paychecks. Two advantages of overwithholding are that there’s no access to this money and, therefore, it can’t be spent recklessly, and the refund makes a nice windfall once a year to pay off debts or buy “big ticket” items. Two disadvantages are that taxpayers must wait …