| Completely Ignorant!! Help! |
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Deerbunnie
First Time Poster
Cash: $ 0.25
Posts: 1
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
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| Completely Ignorant!! Help! |
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My husband and I are both self employed business owners. We have no savings, no retirement. Nothing. We sold our house and made a decent profit after we pay off some bills. I know we need to start saving for who knows what. I don't know ANYTHING about saving or investing. Any advice would be great. Thanks!!!!!
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Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:58 pm |
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chiron
Contributing Member
Cash: $ 11.54
Posts: 49
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
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Selling your house is sometimes nice because equity gains and the greenbacks you've dumped into it for X years all sort of come back at once, but I hope you realized that if you do not re-invest the "profit" in real estate of some kind within a few months [ie if you used the funds to pay down some bills and thought to toss the rest into savings], then Uncle Sam will be holding out his hands for "his" share of your earned income.
And yes, you already paid income tax on the money that paid for the home, and yes, it's a bunch of junk, but I'm fairly sure that's correct info.
Saving is pretty easy otherwise. Take some after-withholdings cash and dump it into an IRA, or use your companies, if they are full corps, to set-up some fund-matching 401k sorts of affairs, and a $300 session with a good freelance accountant could help you get going. If you have a lot of money to consider, take a glance at someone's like Jim's service of asset management.
Ciao
Business Web Site Design | Credit Report Repair
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Sat Feb 26, 2005 10:12 pm |
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BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
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An update to Chiron's note -
If you lived in the home (as your primary residence) for two of the last five years you can exclude from taxable income up to $500,000 in the gain from the sale of your home. It's a little-known tax "loophole" that is pretty great.
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
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Sat Feb 26, 2005 10:30 pm |
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chiron
Contributing Member
Cash: $ 11.54
Posts: 49
Joined: 10 Feb 2005
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See why I said to talk to someone like Jim? 
Hmm, wonder what this old dump is worth on the open market...
Business Web Site Design | Credit Report Repair
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Sat Feb 26, 2005 10:33 pm |
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BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
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I should clarify - the exemption of $500,000 is for Married Filing Jointly. The exemption is limited to $250,000 for singles, and there are some other restrictions as well, too many to go into here.
Hope this helps -
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
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Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:58 am |
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sallyforth
New Member
Cash: $ 0.85
Posts: 4
Joined: 23 Feb 2005
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Deerbunny,
before you start saving for retirement or investing you need to put at least3 months ( 6-8 months is recommended) into a savings account at your local bank. that way if there is any kind of emergency you do not have to go into debt. After that you can start investing for the longer term. A good book for you would be "Sound Mind Investing" By Austin Pryor. Good Luck!
Seeking wisdom on being a good steward. My real treasure is in heaven. Matt. 6:19-21
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Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:25 am |
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