Happy New Year! Do you have $5,500 to spare? It's an uncomfortable question, especially if your credit card is still smoking from last month. There's no hangover quite like a… Happy New Year! Do you have $5,500 to spare? It's an uncomfortable question, especially if your credit card is still smoking from last month. There's no hangover quite like a holiday financial hangover. But I ask because that's the amount it takes to fully fund a traditional or Roth IRA for a year, and there's a lot of...

The perks of self-employment are plenty, but there’s at least one significant drawback: the lack of an employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401(k). Enter the solo 401(k), or what the IRS calls a one-participant 401(k). Designed for self-employed workers, this account mimics many of the features of an employer-sponsored plan, without the drag of working for the man. What is a solo 401(k)? Pretty much exactly what it sounds like: an individual 401(k) designed for a business owner with no...

If you’ve ever wished for a robot to clean your house or walk your dog, you’ll likely understand the appeal of a robo-advisor. These services don’t do windows or pet-sit, but what they offer is arguably more valuable: a relatively hands-off way to invest. How robo-advisors work Robo-advisors — also known as automated investing services or online advisors — use computer algorithms and advanced software to build and manage your investment portfolio. Services range from automatic rebalancing to...

The stock market is where investors connect to buy and sell investments — most commonly, stocks, which are shares of ownership in a public company. Definition: What is the stock market? The term “stock market” often refers to one of the major stock market indexes, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. Because it’s hard to track every single stock, these indexes include a section of the stock market and their performance is viewed as representative of the entire market. You...

Simply put, stocks are a way to build wealth. They are an investment that means you own a share in the company that issued the stock. Stocks are how ordinary people invest in some of the most successful companies in the world. For companies, stocks are a way to raise money to fund growth, products and other initiatives. What are stocks and why should you own them? When you buy the stock of a company, you’re effectively buying an ownership share in that company. Does that mean you get to sit...