Tag: CARES Act

December 4, 2020By Paula Pant

#288: Ask Paula – How Should You Invest a $1 Million Lump Sum?

Karen and her wife are in their 50s, financially independent, and partially retired. They need $150,000 to buy a new home, and they aren’t sure which option is best. Should they take advantage of the CARES Act and pull money from their traditional IRAs? Raid their Roths? Or take out a mortgage?

Ingrid’s mom is retiring this year. To fund her retirement, she’ll sell her property for $1 million. How should she invest this money so that she can live off of it in perpetuity?

Elaine has saved $20,000 in a 529 plan for each of her two kids, but she realizes that they may not attend college. Should she keep the 529 plans, or save money elsewhere?

Amanda is afraid to tap the equity in her home and use it to purchase a rental property. How should she think through whether this move is right for her?

Lisa and her family plan to sell their home and move across the country. They might have the option to pay cash for a home, but they also want to buy an investment property. Should they get a mortgage on their new home or pay cash?

My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer your questions on this episode. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

June 11, 2020By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

PSA Thursday – How Does the CARES Act Impact Student Loans?

Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.

In this episode, we cover how to manage student loans in the midst of the pandemic with Travis Hornsby, a Chartered Financial Analyst and the founder and CEO of Student Loan Planner. He is an expert in the complex topic of student loans. If there’s anyone who can deep dive

We cover:

The CARES Act, and its impact on student loans
Options for those with private student loans
Why you might want to stop paying extra towards your student loans
The changes in government policy around student loans as a result of the pandemic that you need to know
The best strategy for managing your student loans in 2020
How to view financial independence when you have an overwhelming amount of student loans

Keep reading...

May 11, 2020By Paula Pant

#256: Ask Paula: Bonds Are Tanking. Should I Switch to Real Estate Instead?

Jon is wondering if now is a good time to move his RRSP into a tax-free savings account, given the market downturn. He knows you can’t time the market, but the opportunity is tempting. What should he do?

Laurel’s question revolves around the CARE Act and early withdrawal from a 401k. She needs to rebalance her 401k and wants to buy a rental. Instead of selling stocks, should she sell bonds as a form of rebalancing and to withdraw for a rental property?

After seeing so many businesses experience financial hardship, Rebecca and her husband are curious: why don’t companies have emergency funds?

Salome sees the stock market downturn as an opportunity for tax-loss harvesting, but does this hold if you’ve held stocks for less than a year?

Josh and his wife have funds in Vanguard and Betterment, and they own their apartment in Queens, NY. Does the equity they have in their apartment count as real estate, or should they invest in something else for more diversification?

Jenny and her husband earn $220,000, max out their 403b and HSA, and have an extra $4,000 per month to invest. Where should they put this money?

Sheena has the option to purchase company stock at a 15 percent discount through an Employer Stock Purchasing Plan. However, it’s volatile right now. Should she contribute the maximum amount, or nothing?

My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer these questions. Enjoy!

Keep reading...