Advice quoted in Money Magazine
April 11, 2011 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
Money Magazine recently featured my advice to a reader who’s company had stopped matching their 401(k) contributions. The reader was wondering if they should start contributing to a Roth IRA instead of the company plan. See my comments at Money Magazine’s website.
Financial Advice Quoted on Retirement Savings
March 17, 2011 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
I recently had the opportunity to contribute to an article for Classical Singer magazine about the complexities of financial planning for musicians. Greg Waxberg wrote the article called “Filling in the Financial Gaps” and brought together advice from many financial planners on issues with budgeting, retirement planning, health insurance and more.
I shared a retirement savings strategy that works well when your income may be variable from month to month and year to year. This strategy is applicable to those with variable incomes in professional music careers, but also applies to anyone whose income varies. This could include self-employed, sales people with much compensation tied to commissions, and others.
Ideally, you should carve out a baseline retirement savings amount each month that fits within the minimum income you tend to receive. If your income is so variable as to make that impossible, you should set an annual savings goal for the year. When you have large compensation months, you direct 100% of it to achieving this goal until you hit it each year. After meeting your goal, you can split any overages between additional retirement savings and more discretionary items. This approach allows you to stay on track for meeting your financial goals even when your income varies tremendously. It also creates a reward for yourself of achieving your goals by allowing yourself a discretionary spending splurge after the goal is met.
Advice Featured in Dallas Morning News
October 11, 2010 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
The Dallas Morning News hosts an annual financial planning hotline and web chat to allow readers to get free financial advice from members of the Dallas-Fort Worth Financial Planning Assocation. I’ve participated in this event for each of the last 3 years, and this year’s questions reflected many of the issues that Texans are facing right now.
We received many inquiries on debt and how to dig out of some very tough situations. My advice to an online reader on debt settlement vs. debt consolidation was featured in Pamela Yip’s column about the event .
We also fielded questions on Roth IRA conversions. Many folks are considering converting this year because of the unique opportunity to choose between paying all the taxes with your 2010 return or split them over 2011 and 2012. While the opportunity to convert doesn’t go away after this year, the deadline to split the taxes over 2 years is fast approaching on December 31 this year.
There were also questions about contributing to a 401k when an employer has stopped matching, rolling your 401k to an IRA after leaving an employer and many other topics. If you’re interested in reading Ms. Yip’s column on the event, it’s available at DallasNews.com.
Best Financial Planner Award 2010
August 25, 2010 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
Thank you Keller Citizen readers for voting Keener Financial Planning Best Financial Planner again for 2010! The Keller Best of the Best issue for 2010 publishes September 22, and I was delighted to find out yesterday that, through your votes, Keener Financial Planning was selected for the second year in a row.
Keener Financial Planning’s mission is to provide objective financial advice on an as-needed advice to residents of Keller and surrounding areas for retirement planning, investments, college planning, and other financial decisions. Thank you to all of you who voted. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Interviewed by Wall Street Journal on keeping investing costs low
June 22, 2010 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
I was recently interviewed for the Wall Street Journal’s website about the importance of keeping investing costs low and how costs affect your long-term investment returns. You can read the article at WSJ.com.
Quoted by Jean Chatzky on Self-Employed Retirement Plans
June 2, 2010 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
I was recently quoted by Jean Chatzky on AOL’s DailyFinance.com on how the self-employed can save for retirement. While self-employed individuals do have to save more to make up for both their contributions and the employers, there are lots of great options available. Your choice of a Simple IRA, SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), or just a traditional or Roth IRA should be determined by your income, how much you want to save, your tax situation, and how much you want to contribute for any employees you have. See the full article on the Daily Finance Website.
Quoted by Jean Chatzky
May 12, 2010 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
Jean Chatzky’s column in the New York Daily News on “How to get by when jobless pay runs dry” quoted me on several considerations and strategies to cope with this difficult situation. I’m a fan of Jean Chatzky, so having the opportunity to be interviewed by her staff and being quoted in her column was pretty exciting for me. In the article, she provides excellent suggestions on how you can prioritze your expenses and resources in this challenging time to do the least amount of damage to your financial situation long-term. You can read the full article here.
Quoted on BankRate about Roth IRAs and emergency funds
April 30, 2010 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
When you’re juggling creating an emergency fund and saving for retirement, it’s important to be aware of your options. BankRate.com reporter Teri Cettina recently interviewed me about using a Roth IRA as a back-up to your primary emergency fund. A Roth IRA should not be your primary emergency fund, but it can provide a useful supplement that can help you work toward both retirement and emergency fund goals simultaneously. You need to understand the pros and cons of the strategy and make sure it really makes sense for you. Also be aware that Roth contributions are not treated the same as funds converted to a Roth. You can see Teri’s full article on BankRate.com.
Quoted in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine
December 7, 2009 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
I was recently quoted in “4 Ways to Trim Your Spending” by Laura Cohn in the January 2010 issue of Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine. Laura and I discussed that having one or two areas of luxury in your life is not a bad thing — it’s actually a good thing because it helps avoid a sense of deprivation that can lead to seriously blowing your budget. But choosing an area or areas of indulgence that makes sense given your income, other expenses, and goals is important. Where we can really get into trouble is allowing the indulgence to spread to too many aspects of our lives. The luxury vehicle, a nice home, designer clothes, fine dining, spa services, wine and grocery purchases, and lots of travel are some of the areas that can be just fine if we have one area of indulgence and it’s supported by our budget. But these same areas can lead to spending trouble for all but the wealthiest if we enjoy too many on a regular basis.
Quoted in Dallas Morning News on 2010 Roth conversions
October 25, 2009 by Jean Keener, CFP, CRPC, CFDS · Leave a Comment
I had the opportunity to talk with Pamela Yip, personal finance columnist at the Dallas Morning News, a couple weeks back about 2010 Roth IRA conversions. Her article provides a good synopsis of the changes for 2010, and quotes me on when conversion makes the most sense. Click here to read the article.