One of the many things you have to figure out when you start a new job is the new company 401(k).
Continue readingYou Just Started a New Job. How Much Should You Contribute to Your New 401(k)?
Rolling Over An Old 401(k)? Watch Out for These Gotchas.
Earlier this year, a client rolled over an old 401(k) into her IRAs at TD Ameritrade (where we manage our clients’ investments). She received, correctly, two checks from her 401(k): one for her pre-tax 401(k) account and one for her Roth 401(k) account. She mailed both of those checks to TD Ameritrade…and they were both automatically dumped into her traditional IRA.
Should You Defer Your Bonus to Your 401(k)?
You got a bonus. Nice. In my maturity, I have grown to appreciate an extra $10,000, $20,000, or $100,000 dropping into my lap.
Continue readingWhat Is a Backdoor Roth IRA (Contribution)? Should I Do it? How Do I Do It?
If I had to wager, backdoor Roth IRA contributions are in the top 3 of #personalfinance Slack channel topics.
Continue readingI Just Received My Open Enrollment Benefits Booklet. Am I Actually Supposed to Read This Thing?
Amazon recently announced their move from a less-common springtime open enrollment schedule to a more traditional fall one—a change that elicited some (Zoom- and Slack-based) water-cooler chatter from the team here at Flow.
Should I Use the Brokerage Window in My 401(k)? What IS the Brokerage Window in My 401(k)?
Your paystub can be very informative. And also wrong. When’s the last time you double-checked yours?
In the last month, two of my clients have looked at their paystubs and realized that their 401(k) contributions were going into Roth instead of pre-tax. This wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that both of these clients had, months earlier, changed their 401(k) contributions away from Roth and into pre-tax. And somehow it didn’t “take.” This caused an administrative pain in the butt and higher-than-planned taxes.
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What? You mean my 401(k) can go DOWN? Well, I never…
How long have you been paying attention to your investments, or to the stock market? Has it been only for the last few years, or, maybe only since 2009? Continue reading
Anatomy of an Awesome 401(k). How Does Yours Compare?
Recently a few of my clients at major tech companies (to remain nameless!) have forwarded to me company emails proclaiming the latest improvements in their 401(k) offering. These improvements have included a “true up” of matching contributions and dead-easy-to-use after-tax-401(k) contributions.
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Your HSA Is Better than Your 401(k) for Retirement Savings. Don’t Waste it on Actual Health Care Costs.
Like you, I’ve been going through Open Enrollment lately. Only I’ve been going through a whole bunch of open enrollments, for all of my clients. (It’s actually pretty cool, being able to compare—and, perforce, contrast—what a variety of tech companies offer to their employees.)
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How Can We Make Part-Time Tech Roles Work For Both Employee and Employer?
Have you ever wanted to work in a part-time role in a technical field but fear that it will stall your career? Are you a manager and feel that hiring part-time employees will be a death knell to your team’s productivity?
My company doesn’t match my 401(k) contributions (or it’s a very small match). Should I still use my 401(k)?
Employer matching contributions to your 401(k) are a beautiful thing. They are also a thing of confusion.