5 Personal Finance New Year’s Resolutions
Submitted by G.E. Miller on Tuesday, 1 January 20083 Comments
Happy 2008! What better way to start off the new year than to feel better about your financial standing? Below is a list of five little things that you can do to have a more prosperous 2008 and an even more prosperous 2009:
- Increase 401K contributions by whatever your salary increase for 2008 is over 2007. Don’t forget, that you’ll still be leaving more in your pocket because the contributions are pre-tax (unless you’re in a Roth 401K). If you haven’t enrolled in your 401K, now is the time.
- Re-balance your budget. Take the time to figure out how much is coming in and how much is leaving each month in 2008. If more is going out than coming in, re-evaluate needs versus wants and cut back in areas that aren’t adding to your overall happiness in life.
- Reduce your carbon footprint. Saving the planet can have a direct correlation on saving you money. Think better fuel mileage, public transportation, gardening, home energy efficiency, and on and on. Check out Carbonfund.org’s carbon footprint calculator to get ideas on how you can be more environmentally friendly and prosper for it. More articles down the line on this topic.
- Eat out less. Not only will your savings prosper, but so will your health. Take a burrito, for example. I’m a Mexican food lover and have searched all over the city I live in and haven’t been able to find a high quality burrito from an authentic sit-down Mexican restaurant for under $9, not including tax and tip. I’ve made the same (probably better quality) burrito at home for under $3. You could always go the Taco Bell route, but then you wouldn’t be living too long to enjoy all of your money.
- Open up a Roth IRA. If you don’t have an employee sponsored retirement plan, or you do and are maxing it out, there are few better places to stash your money than a Roth IRA. Roth IRA’s can be opened easily through online discount brokers such as E-Trade, Scottrade, and TradeKing. Roth IRA contributions for a tax year must be made no later than the due date of your tax return, not including extensions — generally April 15th, unless that falls on a holiday or weekend. Act before then and you’d be retroactively making amends for 2007 financial woes.
What are you financial new year resolutions?
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You May Also Find the Following Articles of Interest:
Roth IRA Guide
IRS 401K Maximum Contribution Limits
G.E. – great post. I’m thinking of making a Roth IRA since I’m now maxing out my company 401k, but I’ve a couple questions:
1) The contribute $ before April 15th tax year thing… Does that mean if I contribute $5,000 now in November, I can’t contribute more until after next Jan, next April, or next Nov? Not sure how that works…
2) TradeKing’s commissions are 50% lower than E-Trade and Scottrade ($5 Vs $10), and Zecco.com gives 10 free trades/month… They offer similar insurance to protect your money… so why pick a broker with higher commissions? The human side of the service is almost irrelevant to me. Does it just come down to the tools?
Thanks for any thoughts on this.
-Michael
#3 hits home for me. We’ve saved drastically on home energy costs by replacing all of our regular old light bulbs with compact fluorescents. As a result, we saved 30% on our electricity bill. We also added weather-stripping to our windows and doors, as well as “pillow snake†to lay at the bottom of our front door. The gas bill (winter heat) and the electric bill (summer air conditioning) both realized noticeable decreases in energy use year-over-year. Currently, we rent a house… At least until home prices decline in our area.
For those who own a home, I might suggest more extensive measures. Replacement of your old water heater with a more energy efficient version. Also, check the insulation in your attic and underneath your house. Better insulation might save you significant energy loss. Energy efficient appliances can also be a source of savings as well as unplugging appliances when they’re not in use.
Another thing to consider regarding a Roth IRA is that if you convert in 2010, you may elect to pay all of your taxes in 2010, or 50 percent of the income resulting from the conversion will be included in 2011 tax filing and 50 percent in 2012 tax filing.
Taxes will be paid at whatever federal income tax is applicable for those tax years. All taxes on conversions before and after 2010 will be due in the year rate converted.
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