| Already filed for '04, can I amend for IRA? |
|
|
|
|
|
BrianZ
New Member
Cash: $ 1.25
Posts: 6
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
|
| Already filed for '04, can I amend for IRA? |
 |
|
Hi all,
New to all this & have a quick question.
I've already filed & received my refund for my '04 taxes. If I were to now decide to start an IRA & put $3,000 in before April 15 would I be able to file an amended return & get additional money back? Of course this would apply only if I decide on a traditional ira.
Thanks,
Brian
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:12 am |
|
|
BrianZ
New Member
Cash: $ 1.25
Posts: 6
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
|
Ok, I figured out that yes I could/would do what I was asking. Now I have to just decide if I should go Roth or Traditional. I had thought Roth at first, but then was reading some stuff (from David Bach) saying Traditional is still the way to go. It gets kinda confusing trying to figure out what to do.
Oh, if I did a Roth I know the contribution isn't deductible, but would I still need to amend the return to say I'd made a contribution? I'm guessing no, but I don't really know anything yet.
Thanks,
Brian
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:34 am |
|
|
JAMES
New Member
Cash: $ 0.45
Posts: 3
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
|
| Thank you Carfuller |
|
|
Thank You for the advice I will be sure to check into it .
just trying to get the feel of everthing , this is just the begining
I'll be sure to pay closer attention to this site . so that the right changes
will be made . peace and LOVE 
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 5:50 am |
|
|
BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
|
Well, since I haven't done so, I'll thank Carfuller as well. 
Anyhow, back to the thread...
BrianZ, you shouldn't have to refile your taxes if you use a Roth IRA. I would recommend the Roth unless the traditional will make a dramatic impact on your taxes (which is unlikely). The Roth's non-taxed distributions and ready availability of your contributions have a much greater value in the long run than the tax benefit of the trad.
Hope this helps -
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 7:31 pm |
|
|
Andrew
Admin
Cash: $ 460.25
Posts: 1695
Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Location: Texas
|
James must have been replying to something else... ?
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 8:17 pm |
|
|
BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
|
I'm pretty sure he was - I was just poking fun. 
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:03 pm |
|
|
BrianZ
New Member
Cash: $ 1.25
Posts: 6
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
|
Thanks for your reply Jim.
I'm thinking a Roth through someone like Vanguard, invested in something like the Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Fund (I'm 32) or the Vanguard 500 Index Fund to start out with. I'd do $3,000 before April 15th so it could be an '04 contribution & then do monthly auto deducts to fund it fully for '05 & beyond. Sound like a good first step?
~Brian
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:23 pm |
|
|
BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
|
You're on the right track. With the smaller amounts available in a new Roth IRA like you're opening, the Target fund of funds approach is a good idea - you get diversification across asset classes that you couldn't necessarily get by choosing individual funds. After you've built it up a bit, you may want to consider allocating among specific funds yourself - but there's nothing wrong with the Target approach, either.
Hope this helps -
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:55 pm |
|
|
BrianZ
New Member
Cash: $ 1.25
Posts: 6
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
|
Thanks for the help.
~Brian
|
|
Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:30 pm |
|
|
BrianZ
New Member
Cash: $ 1.25
Posts: 6
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
|
I've been doing a lot more reading tonight (something that can be quite dangerous with me). I'm not sure I'm going to want one of the All-In-One type funds for my long term (I've been reading they might be to conservative for a 30-35 year plan). I'm thinking it might be better to use individual funds from various groups to set up my stuff eventually. Maybe start with two & add a few others as I go.
First is the multi route a better idea than the All-In-One idea?
If going the multi route is one better off to use someplace like Scottrade since they seem to have easier (cheaper?) access to more funds?
Is it better to get a variety of funds from one company (say various categories from Vanguard) or more than one?
Sorry if the questions seem kinda dumb. I'm starting to think I've read to much without properly understanding everything & am just getting my self a little confused.
~Brian
|
|
Sat Feb 26, 2005 5:42 am |
|
|
BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
|
|
|
|
First of all, BrianZ, reading more and more is a GOOD thing. Even if you totally disagree with what you're reading, it has presented you with the opportunity to question your basic assumptions and further solidify your understanding. Don't ever think that reading more is not a good thing.
Regarding your questions, there are positives and negatives to either direction (that is, fund of funds vs. choosing your own). When choosing your own funds, you'll need to do more research. On the other hand, when using the fund of funds approach (e.g., the Target approach), you are delegating that research to a manager, and you're paying that manager to make those calls for you. One is not necessarily better than the other, it just depends on how much you value your time, and how much confidence you have in yourself to make the proper decisions. The fund of funds approaches are typically more conservative than most personally chosen allocation schemes, but they're also more likely to ride out market downturns with less volatility.
The most important factor is that you take action, and get in the market. Sitting on the sidelines trying to decide where to start just delays your entry and potentially loses gains for you. Choosing between Vanguard, Ameritrade, Scottrade, Sharebuilder or what-have-you should be a small part of your investing decision-making process. Decide, get in, and be invested in the market.
I've found that many folks who decide to take an active approach to their investments often shoot themselves in the foot by trying to "outsmart" the market (changing from equity position to cash position and back) and almost always lose money on the deal. You're much better off (with long-term money) to just get into the market with your chosen method and stay there - only reviewing you situation once a year or so. And by "get in", I'd recommend dollar-cost-averaging money into the market unless it's at an obvious buying point - like we saw last year when the S&P dipped below 1100 several times. You've heard the old adage "a watched pot never boils" - it applies here.
Hope this helps -
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
|
|
Sat Feb 26, 2005 4:05 pm |
|
|
BrianZ
New Member
Cash: $ 1.25
Posts: 6
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
|
Thanks again Jim,
I know what you're saying by "get in" & I plan to next week. I think I'm liking what I'm finding about T. Rowe's funds. I think I've narrowed it down to two ideas.
1) Put the initial $3,000 in the T. Rowe Price RETIREMENT 2040 FUND and then for '05 do full monthly contributions to accomplish dollar cost averaging.
2) Put $2,000 in T. Rowe Price GROWTH STOCK and $1,000 in T. Rowe Price SMALL-CAP VALUE then for now put my monthly contributions into it $283 into the GROWTH STOCK fund & $50 into the SMALL-CAP fund. Eventually as more money is built up I'd shift some to a few other funds eventually having 4 or 5.
I'm leaning towards the number 2 approach, although I'm not sure it'll be those two specific funds (still trying to figure out how to evaluate things properly), as I feel it'd allow me to feel a little more "hands on" in everything. This would then be monitored & evaluated once every year or two.
~Brian
|
|
Sat Feb 26, 2005 9:55 pm |
|
|
BlankenshipFP
Money Talk Advisor
Cash: $ 79.56
Posts: 390
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: Illinois
|
Sounds like a plan!
Best wishes -
Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
|
|
Sat Feb 26, 2005 10:22 pm |
|
|
LottomagicZ4941
Senior Member
Cash: $ 7.91
Posts: 2511
Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Location: Earth
|
I also like Trowe Price quite a bit.
Fidelity buggs me though they also have some great funds.
The whole load here no load here. Make up your minds are you a load family or a no load family?
Also like Vangard though I don't actually have any vangard funds at the moment.
I've gotten co-workers into vangard. Got my sister into Trowe-Price. My dad is a big Fidelity fan.
Really like American Funds even if they are a load family and I get in load free through work:)
AS for the fund of funds. That is the route my sister took. However I'm a tad concerned that fund of funds could cause ethical delemas. What if someone were in a fund of funds with say Investco?
My Current Favorite Marketing Tool. If you like text adverts you will like it
Save 25% off some versions of Turbo Tax some say it's a CPA in a CPU
|
|
Fri Mar 18, 2005 5:26 pm |
|
|
|
