Investing Education

Bill Gates pledged $10,000,000,000 over 10 years for vaccines. Expects to save over 8,000,000 children under the age of 5 from an early death.

Bill Gates is offering $100,000 to the scientist who creates a next generation condom that “significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use.”

Bill Gates wrote a letter to Steve Jobs as he was dying, who kept it beside his bed.

As of April 2010, Bill Gates has donated over $36,8540,000,000 in his lifetime, which is more than half of his current net worth of $61 billion.

Bill Gates intends to leave less than $10M for each of his three children “so they can make their own way.”

Bill Gates has saved over five million lives by “bringing vaccines and improved healthcare to children internationally.”

Before filing your taxes this April 15th there are some simple things you need to have with you. We have made the below list to help you out. Feel free to print out a copy of the below and check off the information as you put it together so you are set to do your taxes when the time comes. We also recommend putting this checklist on the outside of a folder which can contain all of the documents as you find them. Then when you are done with taxes for the year you can store the full file in your filing cabinet to have it for next year and for the next couple of years in case you ever audited.

Personal Information

• Social Security numbers and dates of birth for you, your spouse, your dependents
• Copies of last year’s tax return for you and your spouse (helpful, but not required)
• Bank account number and routing number, if depositing your refund directly into your account (You can find this on your check book or by logging into your online bank account)

Information about your income

• W-2 forms for you and your spouse
• 1099-C forms for cancellation of debt
• 1099-G forms for unemployment income, or state or local tax refunds
• 1099-MISC forms for you and your spouse (for any independent contractor work)
• 1099-R, Form 8606 for payments/distributions from IRAs or retirement plans
• 1099-S forms for income from sale of a property
• 1099-INT, -DIV, -B, or K-1s for investment or interest income
• SSA-1099 for Social Security benefits received

Adjustments to your income

• Form 1098-E for student loan interest paid (or loan statements for student loans)
• Form 1098-T for tuition paid (or receipts/canceled checks for tuition paid for post-high school)
• Records of IRA contributions made during the year
• Records of moving expenses
• For teachers: Canceled checks or receipts for expenses paid for classroom supplies, etc.

Taxes you’ve paid

• State and local income taxes paid

These are some of the most common forms and documents you will need to complete your taxes. You should have received copies of most of these by February 1st since employers and other institutions are required to mail them out by then. If you think you are missing a document be sure to contact that party before filing your taxes since you don’t want to risk being audited.

There is a bright future that awaits you in stock investing. Most people would love to invest in stocks because the return on investment is huge. But the question is, do you still have plans to invest in stocks even after your retirement? Stock markets unlike real property, continues to increase. But when investing in stocks, it is important to remember that they fluctuate and sometimes, investors are at a losing end if they happen to buy shares when the dollar becomes weak or a company loses assets or value. Some are unlucky and buy into the market at the wrong time and end up losing thousands, if not millions of dollars investing, others however can make healthy profits with the right moves.

The best thing that you can do when you are getting older is to limit investing in stocks because any major losses may make retirement a difficult time for you. The market trend, inflation rate and the price of gold can affect the overall condition of the stock market. If you are new to stocks, you should be aware that you have to endure a lot of stress while you are investing. A financial adviser can help you on how to invest your money. Investing in the stock market is almost similar to gambling only the difference is you did not bet your money. Instead you let your financial adviser provide you with advance and manage investments for you.

There are many stocks and assets that are used in the stock market that play a pivotal role in your investment. Gold and physical assets like oil are used in investing because these are fairly stable and continue to rise over time. The lure of investing is tempting; just imagine you are promised by your financial adviser to invest your money with a promise of 30 to 40 percent revenue back. Because of the tempting offers for stock investing, there are some fraudulent companies who promise you good future in the stocks. These fraudulent firms generally disguise themselves as a call center, calls expatriates working in multinational companies to set an appointment for a call from the financial adviser who will do business with them within 2 to 3 business days.

The financial adviser will call the expat within three days and would tell the victim to invest his money through shares of stocks, gold, or annuity. Whatever has transpired during the cold calling, the victim ends up penniless. This is not to discourage potential stock investors but the bottom line is never trust your money to a person whom you have not even seen in person, or a non-reputable trading platform. It is very important to do your homework when selecting an investment professional or trading platform. If you do care about your hard-earned money and retirement money, think twice before investing in stocks. Stock investing can be your good option to save for retirement but you have to choose the right people to act on your behalf and be sure they have your best interests in mind.

Many Americans are happily anticipating the day when they can retire from work, and spend more time with the family by relaxing and taking more vacations. It is vital for a person to plan their retirement as early as possible so they can have enough money put away to save. It is critical that the money saved can last that individual for the rest of their years without that person worrying about entering back into the job market at an advanced age.

A question that many individuals have to weigh and ponder is whether to select the option of a Roth 401K plan for retirement or go with choosing the traditional 401 K plan. There are some unique differences between the Roth 401K plan and the traditional 401K plan. A person has to take the necessary time to review and compare both of the plans, to see what will be the long term benefits for them, as they approach and select one of the specific plans as a retirement option.

A Roth 401K plan will help an account grow tax free while a person is contributing to that account. It is only available to individuals who make up to $95,000 or married couples that make up to a combined $150,000 a year. The money contributions are not tax deductible, but a Roth happens to be a lot more flexible for individuals when it comes to withdrawing money early if it is needed before retirement. A Roth IRA will allow a person to leave money in its account and contribute to it for, however, long that a person sees it is fit for them to do so. A Roth does not have an age restriction of 70 ½ where a person is required to draw down their money at that age or they will begin to face late penalties by not withdrawing.

A traditional IRA is tax deductible in most cases. The withdraw period for a traditional IRA starts at the age of 59 ½ years and ends at the age of 70 ½. Taxes are paid on the amount that is withdrawn in that year for the individual. Any money that is withdrawn before 59 ½ years of age faces a 10 percent penalty in the amount that is withdrawn. A traditional Roth is available to anyone who wants to contribute to it. There are no financial restrictions to a person’s income with a traditional Roth.

Once a person decides, what option that they are going to select for their retirement, the only thing that needs to be done from now until that eventual day is to save money and let it build on a continuing basis. Those individuals that are disciplined about retirement who are able to think about their future are the one’s that will benefit and enjoy their lives as they get older. Those who show discipline in saving money will not regret the future once it arrives because they were able to look ahead and save money now, for retirement. Retirement is a beautiful and enjoyable thing, when a person has the money to do things in life that an individual feels is crucial to help in the enhancement of obtaining a happy and productive life.