What You CAN’T Hold in an IRA

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antique cameo

We hear a lot about what we CAN hold within our individual IRA accounts, but never anything about what we CAN’T hold within them.  A Roth IRA or Traditional IRA is an appealing financial vehicle since you have a wide range of choices versus something like a 401(k) plan where you are limited to a number of mutual funds to pick from.  We all know that investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, ETF’s, and annuities can be held within an IRA.  The list goes on and on but you should be aware of the types of investments that are barred from these accounts.  Watch out for the following investments, since they’re not allowed in a tax deferred retirement account!

What you can’t hold in an IRA:

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Investing: Why Boring is Good

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In many ways, we are conditioned to believe that anything boring is undesirable. However, in some cases, “boring” can be a good thing.  I like to think that investing is one of those things that can be better when it’s boring, rather than exciting.  I consider myself a rather boring investor, focusing mainly on index funds and dividend aristocrats.  Here’s why when it comes to investing, why boring is good: Continue Reading

TradeKing Online Discount Brokerage | Review

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Putting your trust into an investment website can be somewhat scary.

How do you know if they are really trustworthy with your money and investments?

TradeKing online discount brokerage may be the place for you.  Let’s take a look at what makes TradeKing great in this TradeKing review.

At TradeKing.com, you do not need to have any worries about the safety of your trades.  Established in 2005, they strive to take care of their investors in every way they can.  They designed their company to make it easier for investors without any confusing double-talk and they treat everyone equal, instead of only giving their full attention to the large investors.

TradeKing treats each and every client like they would like to be treated themselves, and strive to work by principles of honesty, fairness and high-touch service.  At TradeKing  you can even converse with other investors in their Trader Network, so that you can see what others are investing in and what is working for them, getting much needed advice for your investments from people like you. Continue Reading

What Should I Look For in Bargain Stocks?

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Don’t we all wish that we had bought Apple Computers (NASDAQ:AAPL) in 2003 for $7/share (currently touching $400/share) or my all time favorite, Hansen Natural (NASDAQ:HANS) that could be bought for 50 cents/share just 8 years ago and now currently sells for $80/share!

These stocks were bargains in the hindsight but if you were investing then you would have not known just by looking at them.  Of course, no one knows the future and it would not have been possible to predict the launch and success of iPhone and iPads back then.  And if, in 2003, someone had told you that a maker of fruit juice drinks is going to be the hottest stock of the decade, you would have just laughed.

There are many such stocks today that are selling at a bargain price.  Some of these stocks will go on to deliver spectacular performance for the investors who have done their due diligence today and patiently hold on for a long time.  The question is how we find them.  Let’s see if we can answer the question “what should I look for in bargain stocks?”Continue Reading

OneShare.com Review | Stocks as a Gift

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Ever get stuck looking for the perfect gift?  You know the person doesn’t need another “thing” and a gift-card seems too impersonal.  How about giving a stock certificate?  OneShare.com enables you to give the gift of a stock certificate for that special someone.  What’s cooler than buying someone a piece of a company they love?

OneShare.com is a privately-owned company that sells stocks one at a time. Lance Lee, a stock broker, came up with the idea in 1996 after years of being asked by parents how to go about buying stocks as presents for their children.  Based in San Francisco, OneShare has sold hundreds of thousands of stocks to satisfied customers all over the world.Continue Reading

Should You Use Your Credit Card to Buy Gold or Silver?

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Gold and Silver Coins

Gold and silver prices have been on the increase for many months and this is no surprise to Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, business consultant and publisher of the Trends Journal.

This “Trends Expert” stated that gold and silver prices would continuously increase almost two years ago.  As CNN Headline News stated, “When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente.”  As per usual, Gerald Celente called it right.

Many financial experts are stating that gold and silver demands will continue to be high for quite some time to come.  According to the vice president of the RBC Capital Markets Global Futures George Gero, he stated at Forbes.com that worries about the US debt and tensions in the Middle East are a couple of reasons why investors like to turn to gold.

As of the posting of this blog, gold was $1548 per ounce and silver was $36.21 per ounce.  Compare that to one year ago, gold was about $1200 per ounce and silver was $18.50 per ounce.

So investing in gold and silver is still proving to be profitable.
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Investing VS Speculating: The Difference Between Building Wealth and Gambling

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How do we know when we’re investing—or speculating but thinking we’re investing? It’s not always obvious.

One of the factors that can make it difficult to know the difference between investing and speculating is that both produce gains and losses.   Some sound investment strategies can turn losses for a few years, while speculating rakes in high returns just long enough to earn some credibility.

Since the lines between investing and speculating can often be blurry how do you spot the difference between the two?Continue Reading

How to use a Stock Screener and Build Your Dividend Stock Analysis Template

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Picking stocks

As a dividend investor myself, I’m always looking for my next trade. In order to find the right stock to buy, I use a free stock screener and I complete my analysis with my dividend stock analysis template.  I wanted to share both tools so you can improve your stock research and build a strong portfolio.

One of the tools I use to identify dividend stocks for further analysis is the Fin Wiz Stock Screener. This is a free stock screener that allows investors to input reams of criteria to come up with a list of stocks to do further analysis on.

Here are the criteria I use to filter stocks:
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ShareBuilder Now ING DIRECT Investing, a Redesigned Site, and a Bonus!

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ShareBuilder has undergone a facelift! Not only has their parent company, ING DIRECT, redesigned the site to make it easier to use, they have also renamed it – ING DIRECT Investing.

It’s still the same awesome site it’s been when it was created over 10 years ago.  Their goal has remained the same: Bring Wall Street to Main Street.

I think they have succeeded.  They make it easy for the average investor to invest in the market.

So why a redesign and rebrand?

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IRA Maximum Contribution Limits – Roth and Traditional

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Roth IRA Contribution Limits 2011

An IRA can be a great tool to help you save for retirement and the traditional and Roth both have interesting tax advantages. But the amount you can contribute every year is limited.  The Federal government imposes limits as to how much money can be contributed to both the Roth IRA and the traditional IRA accounts.  An account holder’s age (and income) is also a factor in how much s/he can contribute per year.

The investors who are 49 years old or younger have had maximum limits that are $1,000 less that those investors who are 50 years old or older since the 2006-2007 investment year.

The nature of this investment fund demands that an investor contributes the maximum amount of contribution allowed every year in order to enjoy maximum yield.  For example, the contribution amount for a person 49 years of age or younger in 2010 was $5,000.  If he only invests $3,000 in 2010 he can’t add the $2,000 deficit to the $5,000 contribution allowed in 2011.  The IRA is a “use it or lose it” investment fund which means any money not invested into an IRA is lost forever.Continue Reading