IRAs can be a powerful tool to lower your taxes while helping you save for retirement. Here are 5 little-known opportunities about IRAs that can help you and other family members save even more when contributing your IRAs.
A nonworking spouse can have an IRA. If your spouse doesn’t work, you may still be able to open and contribute to an IRA for your spouse, assuming that you work and file a joint tax return. This can be a great way to help reduce your taxable income each year.
Even children can have IRAs. If your child has earned income, you can open and contribute to an IRA. Just make sure you can document the earnings. While your child can contribute their own earnings, many parents will help keep track of things like babysitting money, then match those earnings in either a traditional or Roth IRA. Often the Roth IRA is preferred, because the future earnings could be tax free! Your child’s IRA is managed by an adult until the child is old enough for the account to be transferred into their name.
You may still contribute to an IRA if you have a 401(k) or similar program at work. As long as you do not exceed the income limits, you can have both an IRA as well as other types of retirement savings plans.
Non-deductible contributions may be made. If you exceed certain income levels, contributions to your IRA won’t be able to reduce your taxable income for the year. But you may still want to make after-tax contributions to a non-deductible IRA, as the earnings can still grow tax-deferred.
It’s not just for retirement. With traditional IRAs, if you withdraw funds before the age of 59 1/2 you may be subject to income tax AND an early withdrawal penalty. But there are exceptions to this rule, including withdrawals for a first time home purchase, major medical bills, college costs, birth and adoption expenses, and others. However, it is important to know the rules BEFORE you withdraw the funds.
Tax rules surrounding IRAs are vast and complex. But within the rules are numerous situations that if you know they exist, can help you plan for a more tax-efficient future.
In our fast-moving world, using concise yet descriptive words and phrases can be very powerful when communicating important thoughts and ideas.
While the term can incite eye-rolls if overused, certain words and associated phrases can be helpful as a communication tool when you don’t have the time for an in-depth conversation. Here are some of the latest business buzzwords to help you expand your professional vocabulary or better understand them when thrown at you.
Headwinds & Tailwinds. Headwinds are outside factors that get in the way of where you want to go. They can be macroeconomic factors like interest rates, or can be closer to home such as new regulations in your industry. Tailwinds are positive factors that help move something in a better direction for you, like a competitor getting out of the market or demand increasing for your product. It’s like riding your bike on a windy day – it’s out of your control, but riding is so much easier with the wind at your back than in your face.
Forcing Function. Ever get stuck in the middle of a project or have delays caused by someone not doing their part? A forcing function is a secondary action or factor related to the activity you are trying to accomplish that forces resolution or a decision. An example is an expiration date on a sales proposal. The date is the forcing function to ensure a decision is made on the proposal. This prevents the proposal from lingering indefinitely.
Ecosystem. In business, an ecosystem is the collective group of people and organizations that comprise a given industry. To be in the ecosystem, an organization needs to have an impact on everything else within that ecosystem. For example, the tax preparation ecosystem is made up of clients, tax preparers, the IRS, state & local tax authorities, suppliers, and competitors. If something changes with anyone in this ecosystem, everyone involved is impacted in some way. To be successful in any industry, you need to understand the specifics that drive behavior in your industry’s ecosystem.
Table Stakes. Like many business buzzwords, table stakes is a term first popularized at the poker table before finding a similar application elsewhere. It refers to the minimum functionality or service delivery that is expected for an offering in a given industry. Take streaming services like Netflix, for example. Table stakes include 24/7 access, original content, and subscription tiers. Without these features, a streamer’s market share would quickly diminish.
Value Proposition. Often referred to as a value prop for short, a value proposition is a concise statement that explains the value a business provides its customers, often in comparison with their competitors. It’s essentially an elevator pitch designed to get a prospective customer interested in the business. Without a solid understanding and communication of the business’s value proposition, all other benefits the company can offer may go by the wayside. So it’s very important to get this right.
While the business buzzwords presented here are general in nature, the ones you use may be industry- or tool-specific. So be aware of the buzzwords you use on a regular basis and make sure your audience also fully understands their meaning.
If someone asks what your most valuable asset is, your answer might be your house, vehicle, or investment portfolio. But there’s another answer to this question that’s worth considering – yourself.
As you seek out opportunities to increase the value you bring to the table both in your personal and professional life, here are some ideas.
Meet one new person each week. Research shows that up to 85% of workers land a new job through networking. In other words, who you know may be more important than what you know. Consider expanding your network and potential job prospects by meeting someone new in your industry, or a related industry, each week.
Learn a complimentary skill. This will help you create meaningful points of difference that you bring to the table every day. For instance, if you’re an engineer, learn how to be a better writer. If you’re a marketing executive, consider taking finance and accounting courses. Or consider becoming an expert in an area of interest to help you land a complimentary job or meet people with similar interests.
Increase awareness about yourself. You may be the best in the world at what you do, but if companies don’t know you exist, you’ll never get better opportunities! Joining an online forum related to your industry and finding opportunities to volunteer and help other people is one way to increase awareness about yourself to prospective employers.
Aim for a personal best in your favorite activity. Get in shape (and stay in shape!) by picking your favorite activity and aiming to achieve a personal best. If you’re a runner or a walker, for example, pick a time that would be a personal best for completing a set distance, then work toward achieving that goal. Taking care of your physical and mental health will help you accomplish more in every other area of your life.
Improve your interpersonal communication. Think about the most important relationships in your life – whether it’s with your parents, spouse, children, best friends, or someone else – and find three ways you can improve your communication skills with those people. With the time, money, and education that many spend to improve their professional skills, consider a small investment to improve your interpersonal skills.
