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Sandra Is a Single Mother And Worried About Paying For College

Question: Dear Steve, I am a 40-year old single mother of one. Currently, I have $22K in credit card debt among 3 creditors: American Express $16K (9.99%), Home Depot $3K (12%), and Furniture Express $3K (zero interest and payment until March 2010). I have $35K in student loans (6.2%) with Wachovia, who is also the …

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Are My Retirement Funds Safe From Creditors?

Q. I understand that in certain circumstances IRA and 401(k) money may be protected from a lawsuit. However, if a person is retired and has rolled over their ERISA plan to an account with a financial institution, are those funds still protected? A. Generally speaking, yes. The laws can vary by state. “Under federal law, …

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401(k) Limit Updates Worth Knowing for 2015

Every year someone asks me how much they can actually contribute to their 401(k). There seems to be a ton of confusion. Some 401(k) participants seem to think it’s a percentage. They are confused by the match percentage. Somehow they have confused that’s the max that they should contribute. Not true, that’s the max contribution …

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Lost My High Paying Job and Now Want to Tap My 401(k) to Pay Off Debt. – Tom

“Dear Steve, 20 years same company making 200 or more each year in a sales role. Got fired unexpectedly. Been riding large debt load for years, but managing it I guess because of big income. My monthly nut is about 4k. + another 3k to float my excessive bad debt: Two cc: 32k 0% 12 …

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How to Borrow From a 401k in a Make Sense Way

Borrowing from a 401k is a major decision. It is important you make certain considerations before borrowing from your 401k, so that your loan doesn’t negatively impact your retirement. The key aspect to borrowing from a 401k vs withdrawing from one, is you won’t have to pay taxes or penalties unless you default on your …

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