Archive for posts by Kent Irwin

2015 IRA and Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

Categories: Retire, Taxes

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published the updated new rules for contributions into retirement plans and IRAs for 2015. Some of these numbers have increased, and are good for you to know if you participate in IRAs (individual retirement accounts) or retirement plans like 401(k)s, sponsored by employers. The most an individual can contribute to… Read More »

12 Common Financial Mistakes to Avoid

Categories: Wills

Most common financial mistakes and roadblocks that hamper financial success In the last 40 years or so, financial common sense has flown out the window in our country. What happened? Our culture has changed. Today if we run out of money before the month ends, we charge our expenses, believing we’ll make it up next… Read More »

5 Common Investment Myths

Categories: Invest

Don’t be Fooled by These Common Myths A myth is something that most people believe, but after careful analysis of the facts, it’s not found to be always true. The investment world has several myths, or things that most people believe as conventional wisdom. 5 of the most common investment myths are: Myth # 1: Missing the 10… Read More »

Part 3: How to Follow and Stay on Budget

Categories: Wills

Prior articles discussed 1.) Why you should have a budget  2.) What is a budget and how to get started. This article discusses how to follow a budget each month. Most people easily grasp the first two articles, but few people actually follow or stay on budget. For people who really need a budget but ultimately fail to stay… Read More »

Can You Be Your Own Financial Planner?

A great opportunity for the American public and for advisers too Let’s be blunt, by default everyone is really their own financial planner. Regardless of the extent of help they receive from professionals, the consumer ultimately is the goal setter, and decision maker, implementing the steps necessary to accomplish goals. The consumer has more resources… Read More »

Is Black Friday a Retail Illusion?

Categories: Spend

Is it smart to buy during Black Friday? The Wall Street Journal reported that Black Friday is “A Retail Illusion, The Dirty Secret of Black Friday Discounts,” is merely a manipulative ploy aimed to get you to buy things you think are at the lowest cost of the year. In actuality, retailers are really smart, they know… Read More »

13 Year End Tax Tips to Save You Money

Categories: Giving, Invest, Taxes

13 Key things to consider before the end-of-year to save taxes Overview.  This article will help you Take the Mystery out of Personal Tax Planning by providing some year-end tax savings tips.  (This article does not include special issues that relate to business or self employment). This is to serve as a general guide to help you… Read More »

A Review of Monte Carlo Simulation

Categories: Invest, Plan

Conventional retirement projections in most retirement financial planning software packages and calculators looks at everything the moment you enter it, such as your goals, assets, benefits, and expenses coupled with assumptions for taxes, rates-of-return and inflation. Since this is just a calculation it doesn’t measure probability of all of the many variables that could possibly… Read More »

How to Buy a Great Used Car for Under $5,000

Friends Don’t Let Friends Get Ripped Off On Cars A friend of mine was considering a used car, so they went around to several different used car lots. One in particular markets to people with low credit ratings, they show you a nice shiny looking car and quote a payment, and then push hard for the close. One… Read More »

Hyundai and Kia Fined Again for Nearly $300M For Overstated Gas Mileage

Lack of Corporate Integrity for Kia and Hyundai? The Impact to Personal Finances? Deja vu for Kia and Hyundia: It was almost 2 years ago to the date, of the announcement that Hyundai and Kia overstated gas mileage ratings for over 900,000 autos sold since late 2010 and into 2012. Today, on election eve November… Read More »