Jessejchapman

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If you love something, you should let it go and see if it comes back to you because that’s true love, right? But if the something happens to be a $23,000 diamond ring your husband accidentally sold for a couple bucks at a garage sale, letting it go is no fun. Luckily for one California couple, that valued item did return after the Internet caught wind of the situation.

All’s well that ends well for the Orange County twosome, because it turns out people out there pay attention to news coverage when it involves a lost, pricy item.

ABC 7 in Los Angeles says the woman who bought the watch box that had the ring inside it  — unbeknownst to the husband who proffered the item at a local yard sale — gave it to her daughter and son-in-law.

When they discovered the jewelry inside the box that had sold for $10, they tracked down the couple and reunited them with the ring.

“I don’t think I’ll be taking it off anytime soon,” the woman joked. Or rather, she probably wasn’t joking and will at least allow her husband to move back into the main house.

Wedding ring accidentally sold at garage sale returned [ABC 7]

This is a post from staff writer Robert Brokamp of The Motley Fool. Robert is a Certified Financial Planner and the adviser for The Motley Fool’s Rule Your Retirement service.

This year, it happened — something many have been predicting for years: Taxes went up. And most likely, the hikes will just keep coming. There’s no other way to pay off the country’s debt and fund the ballooning entitlements due the baby boomers as they retire. The increases may not affect everyone, and those who earn more will pay more, but someone’s gotta pay.

One way to hedge against higher tax rates is to contribute to a Roth retirement account. Your contributions aren’t tax-deductible, but the withdrawals are tax-free once you turn 59 ½ and you’ve had a Roth account for at least five years. Who wouldn’t want tax-free money if tax rates are just going higher?

Well, as attractive as the Roth can be, it’s not always the best choice for everyone. You see, a contribution to a Roth means you are forgoing a contribution to a traditional retirement account, which might give you a tax-deduction today in exchange for paying taxes in retirement. So the choice is: Should you pay taxes today or in retirement?

Here’s the rule of thumb: If you’re in a higher tax bracket today than you will be in retirement, stick with the traditional account. However, if you expect to be paying a higher tax rate in your golden years, go with the Roth. The same math applies when considering a “conversion,” which is turning a traditional account into a Roth. The amount in the traditional IRA that comes from deductible contributions or investment growth is taxed as ordinary income in the year of the conversion, but then it grows tax-free.

That’s all handy-dandy, but there’s one problem: While it’s a safe bet taxes will go up, it’s difficult to predict what that will mean for any given individual. Still, here are some considerations:

• For many reasons, such as a drop in income, most people pay fewer taxes in retirement than they did while they were working. Plus, it’s likely that senior citizens, as a group, will bear the smallest brunt of future tax hikes.
• Make sure to factor in the difference in tax rates between the state where you currently live and the state to which you’ll retire, if you plan to move.
• A traditional vs. Roth calculation assumes that any tax savings from contributing to the traditional account is invested and saved for retirement. If you’ll instead spend those tax savings, then the Roth looks much more attractive.

As an example, consider the situation of a Motley Fool reader, who posted his Roth conundrum on one of our discussion boards. He’s in the 33 percent federal tax bracket, and pays a 9 percent state income tax to boot. It’s possible he’ll move to Texas after he retires, which is among the seven states that don’t have an income tax. (The others include Florida and Nevada, also popular retirement destinations.) So if he were to contribute $10,000 to a Roth rather than a traditional account, he’d be giving up on a $4,200 tax deduction, factoring in both federal and state taxes. He’s better off sticking with the traditional account, especially factoring in the possible move to Texas.

Sneaking in through the backdoor

The fellow can contribute to a Roth 401(k) because his employer offers the option. Otherwise, he’d be out of luck since his income makes him ineligible for a Roth IRA. Once you earn a modified adjusted gross income (AGI) of $112,000 if you’re single or $178,000 if you’re married, your ability to contribute gradually phases out.

However, all is not lost for those who don’t have a Roth account at work, are ineligible for a Roth IRA, or have already maxed out their 401(k)s. It gets complicated, so stick with us.

First off, not all contributions to a traditional IRA are deductible. If you have a plan at work and are single with an AGI of $59,000 or are married and have an AGI of $95,000, your ability to deduct the contributions gets phased out. If you’re above those income limits, you can make a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA. As the name implies, you can’t deduct the contribution, but the investments still grow tax-deferred.

Now, here’s where the Roth comes in. If you don’t have any pretax money in traditional IRAs, including SEPs, SIMPLEs, and rollovers from prior employers’ plans, you can immediately convert that traditional IRA to Roth. (And by “you,” we mean that you can ignore what your spouse has.) Here’s the real bonus: Because you couldn’t deduct the contribution and because the account didn’t have an opportunity to grow, you won’t owe any taxes on the conversion. This little trick has become known as the “backdoor Roth.”

It gets complicated if you have pretax money in a traditional IRA, since the amount is prorated across all the accounts for tax purposes. For example, if you have $50,000 in pretax IRAs, and then you make a nondeductible contribution of $5,000 to a traditional IRA and immediately convert that account to a Roth, only 10 percent ($50,000 divided by $5,000) will be tax-free. However, there’s one possible way around this. You can transfer those pretax assets to your existing 401(k), if your employer allows it. The downside: 401(k)s have limited and often pricier investments, and most don’t allow individual stocks and bonds.

Finally, based solely on the math, younger people in the 15 percent or lower tax bracket who expect to build up a large portfolio over their careers should choose the Roth.

Other benefits of the Roth

That’s the math. But there are other perks to the Roth that might tip the scales in its favor if the math is fuzzy.

• Contributions to a Roth IRA – not earnings – can be withdrawn tax- and penalty-free before age 59 1/2. This has its downsides, since it makes it more tempting to spend money that should be left for retirement. But there are some proponents of using the Roth IRA as a college savings account, and even an emergency fund.
• Unlike the traditional IRA and 401(k), the Roth IRA does not have required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 70 ½. The Roth 401(k) does, but you can transfer the money to a Roth IRA after you retire to get around RMDs.
• Anyone who inherits a traditional IRA will have to pay ordinary income taxes on the distributions. However, the Roth account will still maintain its tax-free status. And nothing says “I love you” like giving someone tax-free retirement savings. (However, all retirement accounts are included in the calculation of whether estate taxes are due.)

The bottom line

We know the direction of tax rates (i.e., up), but we don’t know the magnitude and the targets. They’re decided by Congress, and who knows what those folks will do? Of course, they didn’t put themselves in office, which means the decision ultimately lies with the voters — and they can be even crazier. Some people argue that we can’t even assume that distributions from a Roth will remain tax-free. But just as diversification is important in your portfolio, tax diversification can also make sense. For many retiree wannabes, one way to hedge against future significant tax increases is to have at least some assets in a Roth account.

Tired of the rat race of this business? Then this franchise is for you.

Editors needing therapy go here.

Adobe has been discussing this whole Creative Cloud thing.

Speaking of Adobe can you have a Photoshop clone in a web browser?

So you can use Adobe Encore with the new Creative Cloud version of Premiere Pro.

Here’s some Macros with Applescript for video editing.

This is a nice read on how to start your editing business.

I learned 4 things about the After Effects render queue here.

Is Adobe Anywhere the only tool that will make you a better filmmaker? Maybe but it’s really just for enterprise and not you.

If you need a RED survival guide get it here.

If you missed the Avid Media Composer 7 demo then watch this.

Get rid of those annoying Mac OSX “open with” duplicates.

WTF?! Fix it in post.

Want some info on Sony’s F65?  Go right here.

These are some good books on film editing.

Are video test patterns really necessary?

Let Avid answer questions about the new Symphony option.

This will help understand Avid Media Composer’s EQ Tool.

These gmail tips are gold.

Links from Twitter:

US Congress Announces Comprehensive Review of Copyright Law: wmk.me/ZPiujk

— Simon Phipps (@webmink) April 24, 2013

These hit me right in my “jaw-dropping photography” sweet spot. Wow.boredpanda.com/amazing-places/

— Chris Atherton (@finiteattention) April 24, 2013

2 Overlooked features in the new Premiere Pro, and thoughts on NAB here: blogs.adobe.com/VideoRoad/2013…

— Karl Soule (@KarlSoule) April 24, 2013

DIT Central – a new DIT forum – bit.ly/10xxcTk #r3d #4k

— OFFHOLLYWOOD (@OFFHOLLYWOOD) April 23, 2013

Seth’s Blog: You don’t have to pander bit.ly/17Mh3qp

— Seth Godin (@ThisIsSethsBlog) April 23, 2013

Fascinating description of the role of Film and Video Editor from the US Government – ow.ly/kgnOs #postchat

— Dylan Reeve (@DylanReeve) April 21, 2013

The first Live @thatpostshow was recorded at @nabshow 2013 on the @autodesk stage.Go here: area.autodesk.com/nab2013 then Click on “Guests”

— Kanen Flowers (@kanendosei) April 19, 2013

PART TWO: eVGA GeForce GTX 680 “Mac Edition” (Pro App tests) barefeats.com/gpu680v2.html

— Rob Art Morgan (@barefeats) April 18, 2013

interesting! #postchat #mediacomposer RT @peterjbrewer: The last ACE equipment survey @avid @mediacomposer #avid #FCP twitter.com/Peterjbrewer/s…

— Wim Van den Broeck (@editorbelga) April 15, 2013

 

Source.

I think this comment from Trinen is likely to be completely honest and accurate. Every company uses its fair share of obfuscation and evasive language but this is one of those cases where the answer is just completely honest and transparent.

Nintendo thinks about new gameplay ideas first, and then thinks about what franchise or IP might fit best with that. This is why you see Nintendo using the same IP for radically different games. Look at the difference between Super Mario 3D Land and New Super Mario Bros 2. Same IP, same "world," but completely different games that share little to nothing in common. Contrast this with how other companies re-use IP. Most companies use IP to make the same game over and over again with new features or refinements. Could you imagine EA using the Battlefield IP on a RTAS, or Ubisoft using the Assassin's Creed IP on a 2D over-head Zelda style game? Those could work, but they'd never think to do it. Nintendo makes original games with existing IP; other developers make sequels.

This unique way Nintendo uses IP goes over most people's heads, but it is one of their greatest strategic assets.

Which of these lines is a lie?

• Many of you have written to me telling me how you spent 150 man-hours studying the differences in Roth IRA accounts.
• “I don’t want to become a financial expert. I just want my money to go where it needs to go and work for me so I can get on with my life.”

If you guessed the first one, you are correct. Almost nobody cares about the details. They just want to know what accounts are the best…from someone they trust.

To make that possible, I took on the onerous role of applying my extremely obsessive research style to figuring out the best accounts you should use. For the 0.00001% of you who care about the minute differences in accounts, I explain them. But for most people, I just share the accounts I use…because you know if I chose them, I spent many hours of my valuable youth researching them for you.

This way, I can do the work and you can benefit from my type-A fanaticism.

And I want to get ultra-specific with my recommendations. Which would you prefer?

• Other “financial experts”: You should find an account that’s reliable and trustworthy!
• Me: Here is the exact account I use, and why. GTFO fake experts

If you want to know which retirement account I use, I recorded a quick video to share my recommendations.

 

And if you want to know how to create an automatic money system that you’ll spend less than 1 hour per month on — including automatic bill pay, investing, savings, and best of all, guilt-free spending — you can pick up a copy of my book on Amazon.

*   *   *   *   *

Got a question you want me to cover in an upcoming “Ask Ramit” video?

Could be personal finance, earning more money, productivity, finding a Dream Job. Share your question in the comments below, and I’ll answer the best ones in upcoming videos.

How to pick a Roth IRA is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Android and iOS: It's hard enough to remember to get in touch with people in one-off situations, but when you have to remember regularly—whether it's your mother once a week or a monthly phone meeting—you often need reminders. Luper reminds you and makes it easy to act on those reminders as well.

Luper begins with big, colorful buttons labeled with different intervals: weekly, monthly, quarterly, every six months, and yearly. Choose the one you want and add someone to your Luper queue. You'll then set a regular contact date for that person and decide if you want to call, text, or email them. When that date arrives, so will a notification reminding you to make contact. Upon tapping that notification, you'll be prompted to call, text, or email (whichever options you set). Luper simplifies repeated contacts, works on Android and iOS, and only costs $1 to download.

Luper ($1)