Instead of using your refund to pay down credit card debt or take a vacation, contribute to any of these 4 alternatives:A deductible IRA. Your refund will generate another tax deduction. A Roth...

Investments within your IRA determine how much income you’ll have from your IRA in retirement. The better your investments do, the greater your income. However, the tax law restricts the type of inv...

Buying securities isn't a one-time action. You should continually monitor what's happening with your investments, both in personal (taxable) accounts and tax-deferred accounts (such as 401(k)s and IRA...

The federal estate tax is a tax on the right to transfer one's property at death and is based on the value of assets owned at that time. Every person is entitled to an exemption amount ($5 million in ...

You may have heard the term credit shelter trusts but have no idea what this means. Simply put, it's a way for married couples to transfer their assets without wasting the estate tax exemption to whic...

The answer to this important question matters because a real estate professional may be able to deduct losses from real estate activities, such as rental properties, while a non-real estate profession...

Half of 2011 is behind you now, so take this opportunity to assess where you stand and to take advantage of moves to be made before the end of the year that will save you taxes. The moves you make dep...

Nearly half of U.S. households own shares in mutual funds. Here's what you need to know now if the shares are held in a personal portfolio (and not as part of your company retirement account or IRA). ...

Grandparents not only provide love and encouragement for grandchildren; those financially able may also help to pay for college. A 2003 survey by AIG SunAmerica Mutual Funds found that 54% of grandpar...

Exchange-traded funds, called ETFs, came into existence in the 1990s, and today there are more than 500 of them. They are essentially a hybrid of a mutual fund and individual stock because they have f...

Mutual funds are companies that own a variety of investments for the benefit of their investors. As of the start of 2007, there were over 8,100 mutual funds in the United States, representing assets (...

Stocks, bonds, precious metals, and real estate are not the only types of investments in which to make money. Today, in light of such outlets popularizing art, antiques, and other collectibles, such a...

Many stocks and equity mutual funds allow shareholders to automatically reinvest dividends in additional shares. Before agreeing to this, be sure to understand the financial and tax implications of yo...

Corporations may not necessarily pay out cash dividends. Sometimes they use stock splits to accomplish corporate objectives, such as diluting the stock price (making it less costly and easier to buy)....

Dollar cost averaging is an investment strategy used to reduce the impact of the stock market's volatility on an investor and the need for being a "market timer" (predicting the highs and lows). Using...

Instead of buying stock, you can effectively play the stock through indirect ownership, using options, rights, and warrants. The benefit to using them in place of buying stock is that it costs less to...

It's not what you earn, it's what you keep after tax that matters. This truism must be factored into your investing strategies. Tax issues Long-term capital gains (gains on the sale of assets held mor...

Timing is a matter of various considerations, including personal needs, investment objectives, market trends, and tax concerns. Only you can determine your personal needs and investment objectives, an...

Having investments isn't a one-time activity of buying stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Having a portfolio requires ongoing attention so changes can be made when appropriate. Obviously, changes in mar...

Employees (essentially public-sector employees) who work for state or local governments or non-church-controlled tax-exempt organizations may be eligible to participate in a special retirement savings...