Skip to main content

One More Week

You’re running out of time. Next Thursday is a very important day, and I’m not talking about me turning another year older, even though that’s exactly what will happen. This year I’m not even talking about filing personal (not business) income taxes since that deadline has been extended until May 17, 2021. I’m talking about the ability to contribute to your Roth IRA for the 2020 calendar year. Allow me to explain.

Disclaimer: I’m not telling you to run right out and do this if you are not in a position to do so. You should NOT put money away for retirement if you’re struggling to make a house or rent payment. I implore you to be responsible with your finances, and I’ve written many posts outlining how to do this in the fairly recent past. I invite you to peruse my blog library.

A Roth IRA is one of a few GREAT places to put money away for retirement. The best thing about this type of retirement account is that the money grows TAX FREE which means the government will never be able to take any of the growth away from you. Note that there are restrictions on contributions which I won’t go into detail about now. But, if you are in a position to contribute to a Roth, I encourage you to speak to a tax professional to find out IF you can for the year 2020 and HOW MUCH.

My urgency today is to remind you that you have until April 15 of any given year to contribute money to a Roth IRA for the previous year. Some may ask why one doesn’t just contribute during the actual year, and the simple answer is that sometimes one doesn’t know IF or HOW MUCH one CAN contribute until one’s tax return is filed. I am a prime example of that. I am self-employed and am over a certain age threshold so I need to file my taxes before I know how much I can put away for the future.

I’m just letting you know that if you are in the same position as me and want to put money away to grow TAX FREE (and who doesn’t?) you’d better hurry. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

One More–Christmas Experiences Part II

Christmas is just a week away. Hopefully you’ve checked everything off your to-do list and can spend some quality time “experiencing” Christmas gifts with your family. Because, after all, your loved ones will be far more touched by how you made them feel than they will be with what you gave them. This week, I want to share with you my sister, Carey’s, family Christmas experience. “One Christmas, when my boys, now 18, 23 and 28, were little, we gave them an experience that is still talked about now. And it’s something so easily replicated that any family can do it, and it’s not too late to do it for Christmas (even ON Christmas) this year. We drove around our neighborhood and looked at all the homes decorated for the holiday. We took note of the addresses as we numbered them. We talked about what made each ornamented yards stand out. And at the end of the night, we voted for our favorite. I had my sons help me make some of our favorite holiday desserts and, in addition to taking p...

Books Equal Bucks

 In November PBS always hosts their  Annual Reading Marathon . “Wow. That’s the  second  time this month that our financial blogger has gone off the rails regarding blog topics. What does reading have to do with finances?” My answer? Everything. Establishing good reading habits in children–reading 20 minutes a day–can literally change their financial future. Good readers do better in school. Good readers are more likely to graduate from high school. Good readers will probably make more money as adults. Reading changes EVERYTHING          . That being said, books  can  be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Libraries are some of the best resources for book access–they play SUCH an important role in our community. You can also share/trade books with your neighbors, friends, and family members (just make sure you have a good system for tracking book ownership). Second-hand stores or garage sales are awesome places to s...

Bon Voyage

Many of you are aware that I like to travel. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few foreign countries and taking a handful of cruises, and I intend to do more in the not-to-distant future. Because you know me, you know I don’t finance these trips–I plan ahead and save for them. And if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you are also aware that I do use one credit card for which I earn flight miles, and I use this card on the trips where I see the world. There is one thing about my credit card for which I am especially grateful–whenever there is suspicious activity on my account, I get a text notification. The credit card company recognizes that charges abroad MIGHT NOT BE LEGIT, and they send me a message. All I have to do is confirm that it is, in fact, me that made the peculiar purchase, and I’m good to go. If I did not make the purchase, I respond in kind, and my card is deactivated. Note to self and others: one could avoid these potential interruptions if one calls credit car...