Comments for Matt Wegner Coaching

Comment on Money Smart Sheboygan’s Financial Makeover Challenge by Savannah

Savannah — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:37:47 +0000

Awesome blog! I thought about starting my own blog too but I'm just too lazy so, I guess I'll just have to keep checking yours out. LOL,

Comment on Are You Recession Proof? by Archie Winningham

Archie Winningham — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:47:14 +0000

MATT!!! How’d you back in March all this mess was going to happen? Ahhhh, I’ll bet you had inside information life Martha Stuart and Enron! Either that or you are a prophet!
Kidding. Your great and you newsletter is to. Like you, I believe the main way to be ready for these things is to stay out of debt and have that e-fund sitting there when hard times hit.
Archie

Comment on Have you been Conned? by Tim Ramsey

Tim Ramsey — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:02:28 +0000

I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog.

Tim Ramsey

Comment on Kick Sallie Mae to the Curb! by Matt Wegner

Matt Wegner — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:23:45 +0000

Katie, thanks for the insight and additional info. You are correct on the income limitations for 529s. There may be lifetime contribution limits in certain states, however. Each state plan is different so it is important to sit down with an investment professional before opening an account.

Comment on Kick Sallie Mae to the Curb! by Jonah

Jonah — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:45:59 +0000

Great stuff Matt. It can be tough to put retirement ahead of your children, but it's the right thing to do. There are a few options available to parents that can help augment their college savings. One of those options is Freshman Fund, of which I am a founder. Freshman Fund is a college savings gift registry that lets friends and family gift directly into any 529 college savings plan. We give friends and family a meaningful gift option, and parents the security of additional college savings for their children.

Comment on Kick Sallie Mae to the Curb! by Katie Adcock

Katie Adcock — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:26:24 +0000

Corrections to a few inaccuracies in the article:

There are not annual limits for gifting to 529s. Usually the limits that investors look at are the federal gifting limits. In 2008, this is a gift of $12,000 per individual. A married couple can gift $24,000 to one individual. However, another advantage of 529s is that they allow you to accelerate gifting. You can gift up to five years in one year, which allows for a gift of $60,000 from an individual, or $120,000 from a married couple.

There are no income limitations when investing in 529s. Anyone can be an account owner, anyone can be a beneficiary, and anyone can be a donor to the account.

Also, one thing to be wary about with ESAs, or Coverdells as they are known: Unless Congress makes the current laws permanent, after 2010, many benefits of the Coverdell are going to convert back to their pre-2002 status. Particularly of note is the annual limit. This will revert back to just $500 a year.

Comment on 401 What?? by Retirement Plan Administrator

Retirement Plan Administrator — Mon, 05 May 2008 07:51:58 +0000

Retirement Plan Administrator…

Your blog makes very interesting reading. I’m sure others will think so too I look forward to reading their comments….

Comment on How Big is Your Nest Egg? by Matt Wegner

Matt Wegner — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:48:08 +0000

Excellent point, Joe, and a great opportunity for discussion. I used 10% return to be somewhat conservative from the start, even though many experts like to use 12%.

Living on 4% of your nest egg is more conservative than the 6% I recommended. The right number to use depends a little on what your nest egg will be worth at the time you retire and your risk tolerance. If you’re going to be a multi-millionaire you probably won’t have to worry too much about the ups and downs of the market if you invest well. When the market drops, your return will be less than 10% and the retirement fund will drop in value as you draw from it. However, when the market is up, the return is higher than 10% and you gain money (in effect breaking even). On average you break even each year, especially if you hold out more than five years.

All in all, if you use 4% as your rule of thumb and can make it work, you’ll be even better off throughout your retirement period. Whichever number you use, the important thing is to understand the risks and rewards of all options, and make informed decisions.

Comment on How Big is Your Nest Egg? by joetaxpayerblog

joetaxpayerblog — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:43:42 +0000

Any reference to “the number” tends to use 4% as the safe withdrawal rate. This from the Trinity Study, and multiple money authors, including Scott Burns. Your 6% figure would work if the market had no volatility, returning precisely 10% each year, but it seems 4% is used to be sure one can survive the periods of a down market.
Joe

Comment on 401 What?? by Roth IRA

Roth IRA — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:09:21 +0000

Great article and very informative, will check back for more tips.