US Finance World

By Steve Repak, CFP®

In basic training, a soldier goes through a process of mental and emotional retraining so that they can operate in an environment very different from the civilian world. I figured out I could take some of the same lessons I learned in the Army and apply them to my finances. Once I started to think differently and then began doing different things with my money, I was able to start accomplishing my financial goals.

The following are 10 Things the Army Taught Me about Finances that I want to share with you in order for you to start thinking differently about your money and to show you that you possess the same skills and tools that I have to achieve any of your financial goals

Leadership

Unless you are a new recruit, you have served in some type of leadership role. Leadership is all about taking charge of the situation and not making excuses.

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Heres a reader question about tracking Roth IRA contributions is previous years (slightly paraphrased for clarity) that I answered to the best of my ability, but perhaps there is a better solution out there.

I am looking to make a withdraw of my Roth IRA contribution that I made prior to 5 years to avoid taxes and penalties. My question is:

How do I find out how much and when I made contributions?

This will tell me how much I can withdraw without taxes or penalties. I am also only age 50. Thank you!

My initial answer was to look at past income tax returns, as that should provide a good record of your Roth IRA contribution history. However, since Roth IRA contributions do not affect your tax liability, they likely arent listed directly on the tax return. Going through my own old returns, I found my contributions noted in a supporting document called a Roth IRA Carryover Worksheet.

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Jessica Johnson knows she must continue to innovate if she wants her business, Johnson Security Bureau, to maintain its impressive growth rate in 2012. This year, the company’s annual sales have doubled just as they did in 2010.

During the last meeting of our business group, Ms. Johnson talked about the continuing importance of differentiating Johnson Security and emphasizing customer service, not price. She had just returned from Building a High-Performing Minority Business, a program offered through Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth, and said the experience had reinforced these priorities.

To differentiate itself with clients, who may use several security services, Ms. Johnson said her company focused on building relationships, understanding its clients’ different business models, and selling solutions, not security. She emphasized that there was a big difference. Ofte

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When I was a freshman in college, I took boxing classes. (It’s a long story.) One fight, in particular, stands out in my memory: A right hook I never saw coming left me flat on my back. (It’s fair to say I was no Mike Tyson in the ring. More of a Mr. Rogers. But I digress.)

The point here is that the punches you fail to anticipate are the ones that can do the most damage. That’s also true when it comes to retirement: The taxes, fees and outlays that catch you flat-footed are the ones that can jeopardize your financial future. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to keep from landing on the canvas, even in a shaky economy.

Start by recognizing the risks. (And more people are: In a recent Charles Schwab study, baby boomers said their biggest retirement-related concern was “unexpected expenses,” such as medical costs.) If you’re forced to make big withdrawals from savings in the teeth of a bear market, especially in the early years of retirement, your nest egg could expire before you do.

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1. Assume everyone celebrates Christmas. While you mean well, sending a Merry Christmas card might offend its recipient, as many people either celebrate other holidays, like Kwanzaa or Hanukkah, or dont celebrate the season at all. You cant be expected to know all your employees holiday preferences, so stick with a card that says happy holidays rather than pinpointing a particular one. And if you are aware that an employee is a Jehovahs Witness, know that they do not celebrate Christmas. If youre unsure, ask if its appropriate to send a card or gift.

2. Send a bottle of wine. You want your clients to know how much you appreciate them; what better way than to send a nice bottle of red? Alcohol gifts are tricky, and are best avoided unless you are sure that the recipient drinks. You risk offending someone who doesnt drink with your well-meaning gift.

3. Being cheap. You want your employees to know you appreciate them, but you cant afford to get them much.

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Having good credit is perhaps one of the most important things that you can possess in the modern world. Your credit is kept track of by certain credit agencies that monitor all of your fiscal movements in order to devise a credit rating, or score, that is assigned to your name in their system. When applying for a loan, whether it is for housing, vehicles or business expenses, your credit will be taken into consideration.

As it stands, the financial scene the world over is very tense and chaotic. There are debt problems that abound everywhere and nearly everyone except for the super rich has been affected. One of the biggest mistakes that many people make is to live beyond their means. Living beyond your means is a very quick way to get yourself into debt in a way that is not amenable in a fashion that is suitable to a reasonable timeframe. Even if you have managed to get yourself into debt, however, you more than likely should be able to get out of the situation that you find yourself in. Read more…

Many time you fell that the things in your business are not going well, as this problem is a lot of business, now time it is becoming more difficult to maintain the good condition of the business.  And it happens all because you don’t understand the disaster warning sign in your business. So it is more important for a successful business that you should understand the warning sign and seek for some advice. Some of the business recovery specialist and insolvency practitioner offers a free initial consultation or you can say a free Business health checkup.

Though number of banks also offers same type of services, it will be a danger if you business is showing any sign of difficulty, and these services will suggest you some steps for protecting your business from disasters.

When you call a business recovery specialist, then they will do work from your side and fight with the difficulties and also save your business through a CVA (voluntary arrangement). It Read more…

Sigh, Im still not a fan of the stock market. I guess being out of the market the last few years has probably cost me financially, but I still dont think I could take the stress of the ups/downs. The funny thing is that I still watch quite a few stocks, daily even, but I dont own any of them.

Betterment.com contacted me recently and wanted me to take a look at their new site. Id usually just ignore the email, but their site looked so pretty I decided, what the heck, Ill take their call.

So, they set me up with a sweet referral site of my own, and I setup my account last week. The registration was pretty easy, but they do require a deposit verification, which I just completed this morning. So, you can setup an account in about 3 days or so. Pretty painless for an online financial account.

One things I immediately like about Betterment is how easy on the eyes the site is.

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