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Real World College Savings

As parents, most of our time is spent managing our day-to-day lives. While making sure our kids master life’s lessons, it’s easy to put saving for college on the back burner. Experts say we should start early and balance our efforts between saving for retirement and college. It’s a juggling act, but a necessary feat [...]

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What to Expect When Saving for College

If you are a parent to be, you’ve probably been undergoing a flurry of planning activities, from decorating the nursery to researching baby names. College savings is probably not high on the priority list. Yet, considering the impact of tax-free compound growth over time, it should be. Taking the college savings plunge in the early [...]

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Roth IRA Secrets

Published on 07 November 2009 by cloudfi in Investments, Retirement

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Roth IRA Secrets

The Roth IRA is a great opportunity for young savers.  While you are still in a low tax bracket, you can stash away money and never have to pay taxes on it again.  Take advantage of it now before you disqualify based on your income.
Pros
Here’s are the benefits of a Roth IRA for growing families:

Pay [...]

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Where to Park your Rainy Day Fund?

Published on 19 October 2009 by cloudfi in Blog, Investments, Saving

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Where to Park your Rainy Day Fund?

Make sure you have an emergency fund that will cover 3 to 6 months of living expenses. That’s a recommendation you will likely get from most financial advisers. It is good advice, and will buy you a surprising amount of peace of mind.
We’ve received quite a few questions regarding where do I park [...]

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Beware of Market Exuberance

Published on 19 October 2009 by cloudfi in Blog, Investments

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The Dow is back at 10,000.
If you are thinking about jumping on now for a nice ride, beware. It might be a bumpy ride. Important indicators signal that our economic problems are far from over. In an earlier post, we reminded folks to read the bond market’s tea leaves for [...]

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Most of us have the option of saving for retirement in a 401K plan (Wikipedia) which is usually, but not always, the best way to save for retirement.
Pros

Tax-Deferred: Save on taxes now.  You will need to pay for it later though.  Your tax rate now will most likely be higher than during retirement.   If this [...]

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Reading the Bond Market’s Tea Leaves

Published on 11 September 2009 by cloudfi in Blog, Investments

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We should look for clues in the bond market to help us gauge how the broader economy is doing. There are definite signs that we are in the early stages of a rebound.

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529 Plans Not Created Equal

Published on 08 September 2009 by cloudfi in College Savings

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529 Plans Not Created Equal

After analyzing over 5,000 investment options available through 529 plans, we can conclusively say that 529 plans are not created equal.

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Wills and Trusts for Young Parents

Published on 11 August 2009 by cloudfi in Blog, Estate Planning

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Top Reasons Establish a Will
Most young parents will need to create a will for the first time and it’s important to understand why they are doing it?

You want to decide who will raise your children.   If something unexpected happens to both parents, you’ll want to decide who becomes your child’s guardian rather a probate judge [...]

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Umbrella Liability Insurance 101

Published on 11 August 2009 by cloudfi in Blog, Life Insurance

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What is it?
Umbrella insurance refers to a liability insurance policy that protects your assets and future income beyond the standard limits in your auto and homeowner’s policies.  It’s an umbrella because it  covers liability claims from all policies underneath it, such as autos and homeowners policies.
For example, if you have an auto insurance policy with [...]

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