Tuesday, October 30, 2007

My Nest Egg Score

AG Edwards has developed a Nest Egg Score to help gauge the level of saving & investing in America. My Score comes out at 777, significantly better than the national average. Which gives me little comfort overall being aware of America's ongoing love story with debt. :)


Based on my score, AG Edwards recommends the following:
1. Continue to manage debt. My only debt is my mortgage.
2. Maximize your retirement contributions. I managed to maximize my contributions in 2007!
3. Consider your other financial goals. Next step is buying a bigger house as the family is expanding.
4. Review your investment mix. I manage my investment actively.
5. Create or review your estate plan. A bit premature as I do not have much of an estate yet.

The questions were general, and the possible answers had wide ranges. But my score will likely change with a major life changing event looming in the near future.

Monday, October 29, 2007

2007 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

2007 represents the first time I would have maximized my contributions to both my 401K and my Roth IRA. I will try to make it a habit from now on.

2007 Contribution Limits
401K - $15,500
Roth IRA - $4,000 if Modified Adjusted Gross Income below $99,000

2008 Contribution Limits
401K - $15,500
Roth IRA - $5,000

Sunday, October 28, 2007

First Post

I have been reading financial blogs for a couple of years now. I have learnt a lot from them and from other readers commenting on them. One thing especially I came to realize is that I have not been growing my wealth as much as I could have in the past 10 years as an income earner.

By starting my own blog which I intend to use as diary of everything financial in my life, I am hoping to gain some focus on growing my wealth. I hope it will help me keep track of my progress towards my financial goals, and help me make better financial decisions.

My long-term financial goal is to accumulate sufficient wealth so that I can have the luxury of retiring early if I wish to do so. How early? 55 years old would be nice. That gives me 20 years. Let's start now!