The Motley Fool

APRIL 19, 2024

Millions of us have 401(k) accounts , sponsored by our employers or former employers. And hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of us actually have accounts worth $1 million or more. That's not the norm -- millionaire accounts only made up about 1.8% of 401(k) accounts administered by Fidelity, for example.

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The Motley Fool

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Indeed, the 401(k) retirement account has been hailed as a game-changer since its inception over 40 years ago, establishing an effective means of saving for retirement once pension plans were no longer up to the task. Such employer-sponsored plans aren't necessarily your best first choice for building a retirement fund, however.

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The Motley Fool

JANUARY 22, 2024

You can also contribute to a taxable brokerage account regardless of where the money comes from. So if you want the option to retire at, say, age 52, then you'll need to keep some of your long-term savings outside of a tax-advantaged account. Sure, you could choose one specific mutual fund over another in your 401(k).

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 2, 2024

High-yield savings account In terms of risk aversion, a high-yield savings account is one of the safest options. These accounts earn interest steadily at a certain annual percentage yield (APY). High-yield savings accounts won't grow your money as aggressively as stocks and bonds. Both give you the power of tax deferral.

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The Motley Fool

APRIL 22, 2024

Fortunately for me, my full-time employer sponsors a tax-advantaged retirement account, and offers a contribution-matching program. Not to mention, my employer only allows access to those funds once a person is no longer employed by them. After doing so, however, I could buy whatever ETFs, stocks, or mutual funds I wanted.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 13, 2023

So if you don't have access to one, you may be thinking of opening an individual retirement account (IRA) instead. Bonus offer: unlock best-in-class perks with this brokerage account Read more: best online stock brokers for beginners 1. If you contribute some of your earnings to an IRA, you can shield some income from taxes.

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The Motley Fool

MARCH 17, 2024

Here's a rundown of the three main types of accounts self-employed individuals can use to save and invest. Plenty of options It's also worth noting that in addition to these three types of accounts, self-employed individuals are eligible to use a traditional or Roth IRA to save. Additionally, thanks to the SECURE Act 2.0,

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

With its high contribution limit, tax advantages, and potential for a company match, it could be your biggest source of savings once you retire. The biggest fees in 401(k) plans are often the investment fees charged by mutual fund companies. You should aim to avoid actively managed mutual funds with high expense ratios.

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The Motley Fool

JUNE 3, 2024

In particular, people with net worths of $1 million or higher tend to have more of their money in the following: Stocks/mutual funds Real estate Business interests Those in the $10,000 and $100,000 tiers invest in those, too, but not nearly as much. Prioritize investing through retirement accounts. The key is consistency.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 10, 2024

And while it's a busy time of year for many people in the United States, it's also a smart time to check in with your investment accounts to see if there are any moves you need to make before the end of the year. What you might not know is that any investment losses can be used to help offset gains for tax purposes.

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

Average 401(k) balance for 55 to 64 year olds Mutual fund company Vanguard crunches the numbers every year using data from its own clients. As I noted recently , a relatively small number of individuals' 401(k) accounts have been boosted by unusually fortunate circumstances. investor stands. The number is a bit misleading.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 21, 2024

You'll mostly see target date funds , mutual funds , and maybe some company stock. This might not be ideal if an emergency arises and you don't have much saved outside of the account. Sure, you could dip into your 401(k), but you'll face a 10% penalty on top of paying taxes.

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The Motley Fool

MAY 29, 2024

These are offered by employers and allow workers to allocate a portion of their paycheck each month to fund retirement. Generally, 401(k)s give you the option to invest across a number of different mutual funds. Retirement accounts come in handy The last area I'm exploring is retirement accounts such as an IRA or Roth IRA.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 2, 2023

For decades, it has been the go-to retirement account, used by millions to help secure their financial future. The 401(k) is a cornerstone of retirement planning -- it's tax-friendly, hands-off, and convenient. Despite how revered the 401(k) seems to be, crowning it the ultimate one-stop shop retirement account might be a stretch.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 19, 2024

That year, the average retirement account balance among Americans with a pension, IRA, 401(k), Thrift savings plan, or other employer-sponsored plan was $333,940. The median balance is a better reflection of the average retirement account balance. of American households didn't have anything saved in retirement accounts.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

Minimize your investment fees Most 401(k)s give you a choice between a variety of mutual funds or index funds your employer chooses. It's easy to forget about fees because they come directly out of your account, but they chip away at your profits over time. Try to keep your total fees below 1% of your assets each year.

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The Motley Fool

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Bonus offer: unlock best-in-class perks with this brokerage account Read more: best online stock brokers for beginners 1. A family office may offer financial planning, investment management, tax expertise, and charitable giving opportunities. There's usually no minimum amount of money needed to open a self-directed brokerage account.

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The Motley Fool

JANUARY 31, 2024

Image source: Getty Images People usually don't make changes to their investment accounts too often. If any of the following are true, you should consider opening a new investment account this year. Bonus offer: unlock best-in-class perks with this brokerage account Read more: best online stock brokers for beginners 1.

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The Motley Fool

DECEMBER 27, 2023

Image source: Getty Images Making donations to charities is a generous thing to do, and it can also help reduce your tax bill. But if you want to make the most of your charitable giving, smart tax planning should also be part of your agenda. Let's look at a few positive results that can happen from tax deductible charitable giving.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Storing savings in a traditional savings account That checking and saving account you've had since you were a teen? Traditional savings accounts don't offer much in terms of savings. (My My traditional savings account, for example, is currently offering 0.01% interest -- which is why I don't keep much in that account!)

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The Motley Fool

JUNE 27, 2024

Most of us are lucky enough to be able to save for retirement via an IRA account and/or a 401(k) account. IRAs are wonderful, with many benefits, but let's take a closer look at 401(k) accounts, because they may get you to millionairehood faster. These accounts are offered by employers. Image source: Getty Images.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Two common choices are the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and the employer-sponsored 401(k). For example, a Roth IRA offers exceptional tax benefits, making it an outstanding retirement planning tool. It also comes with immediate tax benefits. Traditional IRAs defer taxes on contributions, similar to 401(k) plans.

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The Motley Fool

JANUARY 7, 2024

If you fell short on your plans to beef up your retirement account in 2023, it's OK. Record the balances of all your retirement accounts. This includes 401(k)s, IRAs, and health savings accounts (HSAs) if you use these for long-term savings. for every dollar you put into the account, up to a certain percentage of your income.

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The Motley Fool

MAY 22, 2024

But that doesn't mean your options are limited just to a typical bank savings account. Along with the best savings accounts, which pay 5.00% APY or higher today, there's another type of safe, liquid, short-term savings vehicle where you can earn similarly high yields: it's called a money market fund.

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The Motley Fool

OCTOBER 28, 2024

If you don't currently invest in an individual retirement account, or IRA, it might seem like a bad time to start. Check out our updated list of the top IRA accounts to see which could be the best fit for you. For one thing, opening and contributing to an IRA through your chosen broker gets you valuable tax benefits.

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The Motley Fool

JANUARY 31, 2024

The richest, who got richer First, though, here are those five richest people and their recent gains (which account for inflation): Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla , saw his wealth surge to $245.5 It's smart to make good use of tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs. Image source: Getty Images. Why stocks?

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The Motley Fool

APRIL 15, 2024

They invest heavily in stocks and mutual funds Baby boomers have the largest percentage of their wealth in stocks and mutual funds. So if you invested $250 per month in a brokerage account and earned an average annual rate of return of 10%, you'd have about $295,000 in 25 years.

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The Motley Fool

MAY 29, 2024

Mutual funds update their price at the end of each market day, and they come with extra layers of tax reporting, too. This is significantly lower than the average ETF (0.16%) or mutual fund (0.47%), allowing you to keep more of your returns. One of the main advantages of ETFs is their ability to trade like a stock.

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The Big Picture

JANUARY 24, 2024

At the Money: How to Pay Less Capital Gains Taxes (January 24, 2024) We’re coming up on tax season, after a banner year for stocks. Successful investors could be looking at a big tax bill from the US government. On this episode of At the Money, we look at direct indexing as a way to manage capital gains taxes.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 14, 2024

Money market funds A money market fund is a mutual fund that invests in low-risk securities. For example, a money market fund might invest in municipal debt, corporate bonds, or Treasury bills. In exchange for the high rates, you agree to leave your money in the account for that specified period.

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The Motley Fool

JULY 12, 2023

One of the best ways to ensure you're prepared for retirement is by using all of the resources available to you throughout your career to save, particularly with tax-advantaged retirement accounts. These offer the dual benefit of allowing you to invest your money (instead of purely saving) while giving you tax breaks too.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

Bonus offer: unlock best-in-class perks with this brokerage account Read more: best online stock brokers for beginners Plus, 401(k)s come with generous annual contribution limits. But while there are clear benefits to funding a 401(k), you may not want to keep all of your retirement savings in one for a couple of good reasons.

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The Motley Fool

SEPTEMBER 23, 2023

You probably already know about typical retirement savings accounts like the IRA and 401(k). But you may have access to a special retirement account that could supercharge your savings. And if you make even a dollar of self-employment income, you're eligible to open an account and contribute. Image source: Getty Images.

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The Motley Fool

AUGUST 31, 2023

A custodial account could be the solution. Custodial accounts are a special type of brokerage account that allows parents (or any adult) to invest on behalf of a minor child. And while UGMA accounts are available in all states, there are a couple (Virginia and South Carolina) that don't allow UTMA accounts.

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The Motley Fool

MAY 11, 2024

Over 91 million American households have already received a tax refund in 2024. Just 9% of Americans plan to invest their tax refund, according to a January survey from Bankrate. You don't need to be a genius to take your tax refund and turn it into a much more valuable asset. Should you invest your tax refund all at once?

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The Big Picture

DECEMBER 14, 2023

At the Money: Mutual Funds vs. ETFs with Dave Nadig, Financial Futurist for Vetta Fi (December 13, 2023) What’s the best instrument for your investments? Mutual funds or ETFs? But over the past few decades the mutual fund has been losing the battle for investors attention. Dave Nadig : Absolutely not!

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The Motley Fool

JANUARY 8, 2024

And having three to six months of living expenses socked away in a savings account can help you leave your investments alone. You can buy REITs from your brokerage account , but you will need to do some research to decide which REITs you want to buy. But you might instead look to a gold ETF or mutual fund. It's a cushion.

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