Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Retirement

Using a Roth IRA as an Emergency Fund – Pros and Cons

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Roth IRAs are by far my favorite type of investment holding account available.

I love the idea of setting aside $5,000 in after-tax money in order to never pay taxes on the amount ever again.

There are other perks to using a Roth IRA besides never paying income tax on your nest egg.  One of the most prominent: you can withdraw your contributions at any time, even before retirement.  (This isn’t recommended, of course, but it is possible.)  You won’t pay any penalty or taxes for withdrawing your contributions under normal situations.  You will pay tax and penalties if you withdraw your investment earnings, so never do this.

This unique withdrawal capability has some people counting on their Roth IRAs as an emergency fund.

But is this a wise choice or a fool’s gamble?

Should I Use My Roth IRA as an Emergency Fund?

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Roth IRA 5 Year Rule on Withdrawals

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Roth IRA’s have become enormously popular in recent years especially with the conversion of traditional IRA’s to Roth’s.

Now that it seems as if nearly everyone has a Roth, let’s take a look at the rule’s withdrawals.  Sooner or later, we’ll all be doing it.

Before we get started, I recommend that you get advice from your CPA or tax advisor before taking any withdrawals from your Roth IRA. The rules on this are fairly complex and your individual circumstances will have a material affect on the outcome.

General rules on Roth IRA withdrawals

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5 Keys to a Frugal Retirement

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When we think about frugality, many of us consider the here and now.

However, it doesn’t hurt to consider that you might need to be frugal during retirement as well.

While many of us hope to be able to forget about frugality during our golden years, the truth is that you never know what will happen in the future to create uncertainty in your finances.

It makes sense to be prepared to live frugally in retirement, if the need should arise.

Here are 5 things to keep in mind as you prepare your retirement finances:

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Don’t Let These 4 Things Hold You Back from a Successful Retirement

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Each person’s idea of a successful retirement looks different from someone else’s.

However, no matter who you are, there are some things that can keep you from achieving your vision of retirement success.

As you plan for your future, be careful; don’t let the following 4 things hold you back from a successful retirement:

1. Insufficient Savings

If you aren’t setting aside enough for retirement, it will be hard to live the lifestyle you want.
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Roth IRA Contribution and Income Limits for 2012

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A Roth IRA can be a great way to build up retirement savings.  

One of the great advantages is that since you are putting money in after it’s taxed you get to take the money out, in retirement, tax-free.  And that includes the money’s growth over the years as well.

Another great advantage to the Roth IRA is that you can take out the contributions you put in without any penalties. This is due to the fact that you have already paid taxes on that money (opposed to a traditional IRA where you put pre-tax money in and get the tax break now).

As wonderful as the Roth IRA can be you can only put so much into it each year and there are limits to how much you can make as well.

Congress is always tinkering with the tax code and making changes nearly every year and in nearly all categories, and that includes Roth IRA contribution and income limits.

Below are the Roth IRA contribution limits for 2012.

Contribution limits

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