I've advocated the benefits of Roth IRAs and 401Ks over Traditional ones for years. So let me give another example in addition to the income tax examples I've given in the past from the impact of IRA value growth over decades and the difference in taxes from paying taxes the years when you contribute (Roth IRA) and paying taxes the years when you withdraw (Traditional IRA). While working, my income later in my career became too "high" by stupid government rules for qualifying to take out a Roth IRA and I had to use Traditional IRAs instead, plus my company 401K was only offered as a Traditional 401K and the 50% company match was too much not to take it. Now that I have finished converting all of my Traditional IRAs including my Traditional 401K which I moved to a Traditional IRA when I retired to Roth in 2021 (would have finished years ago, but I took a pension buyout in 2015 that was automatically put in a Traditional IRA that required several more years of Roth Conversions that delayed this), I will reap more benefits starting in 2022 - NO MORE FEDERAL INCOME TAXES FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!!! Social Security benefits will be our only income (Roth IRA withdrawals are not counted as income and therefore not taxed) and without other income such as government required minimum distributions from Traditional IRAs, those benefits will not meet the SS threshold to be taxable (SS formula = half of our SS benefit plus other taxable income will be less than the $32,000 SS formula threshold to be taxable so that our taxable SS income will be zero even though it is over $50,000 gross combined total income). That will send all of my taxable income (about $1,000 in non-IRA dividends/interest) to a large negative (due to the large standard deduction - thank you Donald Trump) that will insure that I never pay Federal income taxes again.
Getting it Right - Welcome
The goal of this blog is to publish my thoughts on a variety of economic and political topics in the hopes that people who find them educational or beneficial will utilize them and/or forward to others who might find them interesting and/or worthwhile to promote to others, possibly including politicians who can push some of these ideas to fruition. The topics in my blog are meant to be of value on a long term basis, not a daily diary or political issue of the day log. If the information posted is useful to you, by all means utilize it and/or forward it as you see fit. If not useful, then merely ignore it. There are no universally agreed upon truisms and too little tolerance between some of those with opposing viewpoints to successfully convince the people with hardened opinions to move away from them. I am an analytical type person who will try to be as factual as I am able.
I disdain the current popularity of name calling and condemnation of viewpoints with no factual alternatives or logical solutions given that I see so often. If you don't have a solution based on fact and logic, then opt out of the discussion because you have nothing to contribute. My background is a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and 39 years working in middle management jobs for a major retailer. My opinions are forged on the personal experence of life, family, friends, and work as well as triumphs and mistakes that I have made and hopefully learned from. My hope is that this blog helps you.
My first topic will be about personal finance. I chose that one first because most of us work long and hard just to survive but not all of us realize our dreams of becoming financially independent from the labors of our work. Much of our political votes/thinking also focus on the economy and in particular how well we are personally doing financially.
It is relatively simple, without sacrificing the enjoyment of living for 'today' and even at moderate incomes, to retire as a millionaire or multi-millionaire, if you focus on that goal consistently from a young age. It is also simple to ensure that your child or grandchild retires rich. It merely requires a one time gift of just $2,000 invested wisely and the passage of time. Please read my first post on this blog to learn more.
An index/schedule of past and future posts and their dates will always be updated so that it becomes the first post that you see below. If the date of a post that you wish to read is preceded by the word "Posted", then find it below or click on the title in the Blog archive to review.
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