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When each of our kids were born, we started a 529 plan for them. And while our kids are brilliant and beautiful, you never know if they’ll all go to college. And it’s a lot of money to have invested in an educational account if your kids won’t be using it. Now, given that we have four kids and how expensive college is, it seems unlikely that the money will “go to waste.” Fortunately, even if they don’t use it, you can now use the 529 plan funds to juice up a Roth IRA… for your kids. Table of ContentsHow the 529 to Roth IRA Conversion WorksHow To Maximize This BenefitWhy Is This So Powerful?Is This Worth The Effort? How the 529 to Roth IRA Conversion Works Thanks to the SECURE Act 2.0, you can roll over unused 529 funds to a beneficiary’s Roth IRA without paying any taxes and with no penalties. Prior to the SECURE Act 2.0, if you didn’t use all of a 529 plan’s funds, your only option (to avoid taxation and penalties) was to change the beneficiary. If you were to use those funds for nonqualified or noneducational expenses, you’d pay federal income taxes plus a potential 10% penalty. But now you can roll over excess funds to a Roth IRA – this is a huge benefit! Here are the other rules you need to know about this rollover: There is a lifetime limit of $35,000 per beneficiary The 529 plan must be open for at least 15 years (open one with the minimum now) The funds you rollover must be in the account for at least 5 years You’re still subject to the same rules with a Roth IRA. Your rollover amount is considered a contribution and so you’re limited to the annual limit for that year (in 2025, the annual Roth IRA contribution limit is $7,000). It’ll take about five years to hit the limit, as the Roth IRA contribution limit goes up pretty much every year. How To Maximize This Benefit If you don’t have kids but want to take advantage, open an account now and set yourself as the beneficiary. You can always change this to anyone in your family without penalty (and family is quite flexible). You want to do this as soon as possible to start that 15 year timer. If you have the funds to do so, contribute as much as you can to get any state deductions. Every little bit counts! If you don’t have kids, you can start rolling over these funds into your Roth IRA after 15 years. If you do, change the beneficiary and when they start making money, you can rollover from their 529 plan. How is this any different than investing the money yourself outside of the 529 plan? Your 529 plan grows tax free and does not have contribution limits. The downside is it must be used for educational expenses, except for this new rollover provision. So now
The cryptocurrency market offers many options for trading digital assets, including centralized exchanges, decentralized platforms, and…
Another day, another cruise. 🙂 Our year of travel continues! We just got back from another Caribbean cruise. This was a 7-night vacation on MSC Cruises and we were fortunate to be joined by some friends this time. We also had two “free” cabins through the casino from our quest to gain free cruises last year, so we hooked up our Panama friends with one of them. See, I can be nice sometimes! It was […]
In case you aren’t aware that a huge profit source for every broker is your idle cash, Bloomberg reports that Fidelity and Schwab are blocking all new purchase trades of new money market ETFs (gift article) from Blackrock and Texas Capital. Here’s what Fidelity and Schwab say about it: A Schwab spokesperson said its decision is consistent with the firm’s “long-standing approach” of only making available Schwab affiliate money-market mutual funds, while a Fidelity spokesperson […]
Note: The winners of last week’s FIRE album giveaway will be announced at the end of this post. I’ve been asked on numerous occasions how we deal with taxes in retirement. Spoiler alert, if your portfolio is structured properly, you should be able to get away with paying $0 (or pretty damn near close to $0) in taxes after you retire. But how much of that is aspirational, and how does it play out in […]
In a world of unpredictable financial stability, a single decision can shape your future: where to place your investments. Given…
Today’s Talk Your Book is brought to you by F/m Investments: See here for more information on their ultra-short TIPS ETF On today’s show, we discuss: Why TIPS did not work in 2022 What are TIPS Why inflation hedges worked poorly in 2022 Introducing RBIL What a TIPS product gets you in terms of income and appreciation Paying tax on phantom income Why it took so long to get an ultra-short TIPS ETF Listen here …
Many personal finance apps specialize in specific tasks like saving money, earning a high-interest rate, paying bills, and potentially earning spending rewards. Finding one platform offering both banking and investing accounts can be challenging. That’s not the case with Albert. Albert can help you save, invest, and receive hands-on financial guidance with a single app. This Albert app review dives into the various features that can help improve your finances, potentially for free. At a Glance Free checking account High-yield savings Budgeting tools Investing tools Personalized financial advice from a financial expert (not AI) Monthly fee for all but the most basic account Who Should Use Albert Albert is best for someone who wants to take full advantage of the financial advice. You have to sign up for the most expensive plan, but that is still much cheaper than you would pay to speak to a financial advisor, plus you’ll get all the other services as well. If you aren’t going to take full advantage of the advice, then you can probably put together these same services for less, although they will not all be under one roof. If that’s important to you, then you may get value from the lower plans. Albert Alternatives Monthly feeNoNo$1Credit buildingYesYesNoBudgeting toolsNoNoNoLearn moreLearn moreLearn more Table of ContentsAt a GlanceWho Should Use AlbertAlbert AlternativesWhat Is Albert?Checking AccountSavingsInvestingBudgeting Financial AdviceAlbert PricingBasic – $11.99 per monthGenius – $16.99 per monthGenius+ – $21.99 per monthAlbert AlternativesVaroCurrentDaveFAQsFinal Thoughts on Albert What Is Albert? Albert is a personal finance app for Android or iOS devices powered by Sutton Bank, a member of FDIC #5962. You can open an FDIC-insured savings account (up to $250,000 in coverage) and a SIPC-insured brokerage account ($500,000 coverage limit). While Albert isn’t a banking app, you may consider it as a supplement to your existing checking account as you can enjoy more features. Some of the available services include: Savings account Rewards debit card Investing account Budgeting tools On-demand, personalized money advice You can open an account if you’re at least 18 years old, a U.S. resident or citizen, and have an existing bank account. This external bank account is necessary to qualify for amenities such as cash advances, automated savings, and opening an investing account. Go to Albert Checking Account Albert Cash is similar to a free online checking account. There are zero balance requirements or maintenance fees. Your online spending account includes these perks: Receive direct deposits up to two days sooner Up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance from partner banks (i.e., Coastal Community Bank and Wells Fargo, N.A.) A Genius subscription is necessary (16.99 per month) if you want to access the 55,000+ fee-free AllPoint ATMs for cash withdrawals, and fees can still apply for non-network ATM withdrawals. With the Genius subscription, you can also earn cash back by using your debit card. Here’s what you can earn. Along with offering a free spending account, Albert can analyze your
Welcome to another dividend income update. Since the creation of this blog back in 2014, I have been posting monthly dividend income reports to keep ourselves accountable, and also to demonstrate that it is possible … Read more
Exchange-Traded Funds | All Insights Licence to Yield – The Definitive Guide To Bond Index Investing Raph Antoine Last Updated: March 24, 2025 Share: Raph Antoine Last Updated: March 24, 2025 Share: PART 1 – INTRODUCTION This guide is your mission dossier, equipped to be the ultimate – and indeed, final – resource you’ll ever need to master the art of Bond ETFs.From outlining which bond categories are best for different objectives in “Live and Let Buy”, to explaining why holding bond ETFs is beneficial even when prices dip in “Cash in Not Enough”, we demystify the intricate world of Bond ETFs. Why Is Our Guide Different? First, We Design Selection Frameworks We have been amongst the first in Europe to explain the quirks of Bond ETFs to individual investors. We leverage our Portfolio Management experience to design rigorous methodologies – these cover everything from aligning bond types with your goals, to handpicking the perfect
Come funziona la tassazione in successione di ETF e fondi comuni d’investimento? Quanto si paga? Come vengono calcolate le plusvalenze? Cosa accade quando il proprietario di fondi comuni ed ETF muore? Quante tasse si pagano? Come avviene il passaggio agli eredi?Risponderemo a tutte queste domande. Iniziamo col rispondere ad una domanda piuttosto generale: cosa succede agli ETF e ai Fondi Comuni in caso di successione? Cosa succede agli ETF e ai Fondi Comuni in caso […]
The stock market outlook remains in a downtrend, though the indicators improved throughout last week.
Asset management A victim of non-stationarity of data There is a dilemma. About twenty-five years ago, about a year after the collapse of the Dot Com bubble, Warren Buffett wrote an article about the stock market in which he said that, in spite of certain limitations, the market value of all publicly traded securities as a percentage of GNP is “probably the best single measure of where valuations stand at any given moment.” (Emphasis added) […]