It’s spring — time to clean out the gutters, tune up the lawnmower and wash down the windows. But as you attend to these types of tasks around your home, why not take the time to do some financial “spring cleaning” as well?

Specifically, consider these moves:

Dust off” your investment strategy. If there’s an area in your home that you haven’t looked at for a while, you may need to dust it off in preparation for the new season. And the same principle may apply to your investment strategy — if you haven’t examined it for a while, it may be time to clean it up to prepare for a new season in your life. read more »

Do you regularly contribute to a Traditional IRA? If so, you’re taking an important step toward building financial resources for retirement. But it’s possible that you could take an even bigger step — by converting your IRA to a Roth IRA. And you may have two especially good opportunities to make this conversion in 2009 and 2010.

Before we examine why this may be so, let’s take a quick look at the differences between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA. read more »

In the old days, if you worked for a company, your retirement income would likely have been in the form of a pension, with the amount based on your income level and years of service. Apart from those factors, you had little control over the size of your pension benefits. That pension model is still around, but it’s not as prevalent as it once was. read more »

Labor Day recently passed — and if you’re like many people, you certainly feel that your household is laboring pretty darn hard. And you’d be right. In fact, from 1975 through 2002, the average hours worked by all family members rose by 11 percent, according to the Economic Policy Institute. But all that work may not necessarily translate into the attainment of your financial goals - unless your money is working as hard as you are. read more »

This may be the time of year when your company gives you a chance to increase your 401 contributions. But how much to put in isn’t your only decision regarding your 401 — you’ll also want to look at your investment mix. Why? Because things change — and, if you want to get the maximum benefits from your 401, you’ll need to make sure it still meets your needs. read more »

A hurricane or tornado is headed your way. What should you do? Obviously, you and your family need to head for safety. What should you take with you? There are many possibilities, but you should give strong consideration to protecting your financial records. If they get lost or destroyed, it could mean countless headaches for you. read more »

You probably have a lot of dead lines in your life, some more important than others. You tell your daughter to finish her homework by 8 p.m., but you’re willing to stretch it. You vow to get the basement cleaned before the weekend is over, but you know you’re kidding yourself. However, when the IRS sets a deadline of April 15 for your to file your taxes, guess what? They mean it.

If you miss this deadline or even if you file on time but make a mistake, you may have to pay for it — and it could get expensive. How expensive? Let’s take a look at two different scenarios. read more »