I don't think that snoony post was blaming the housing market on Pres. O. I think rather stating that when the two conditions are met, things will be different. 1) Change in political party. 2) Return of housing market I'm sure we can all agree that satisfying number 2 will change things ;) Farmhousegirl- Sorry you are dealing with red tape. Our land has a lot of erosion issues from nearby properties. We even have about 4 acres under a spillway easement from the neighboring pond....can't put any trees in it ;( And it has a LOT of road frontage we would love to block views from (over 400 feet!)

---""Personally, I dont think it is smart financial planning to have your entire life savings in your retirement account." Why not?"" I'd like to clarify the above response. The only exception that I can think of is an emergency account.--- Assuming you are funding your retirement account appropriately to provide adequate retirement income, why would you put additional savings into retirement accounts? Once there, you can't use them easily and without penalty until you are retirement age. No, tax savings from tax-deferred accounts are not inconsequential, but neither is the freedom that comes with having money available to use how when for what you want. I am putting money into a combination of 401k and Roth retirement accounts at a rate which will conservatively provide me with adequate retirement income. This is less than the max--(although well over employer-match). Every thing else goes into ordinary ol' non-tax-deferred investment accounts. It's not really "emergency" money--- i also have 6-month living expense emergency funds in my bank account. But I am in my 30s. Why would I put any money above and beyond what I will need for retirement somewhere that I can't easily reach it for the next 15-20 years? Maybe I'll want to go to grad school and want to use it for tuition. Maybe I'll get married and want to put my husband through school. Or my husband's kids. Maybe I'll want to buy a bigger more expensive house and want to use it for down payment. Or a second vacation and/or investment home. I might want to take a year off work and travel. I might want to take a year off work and be a mommy to a new baby. I might not *want* to take a year off work but be forced to when I'm fired from my current job and it takes me a year to find a new one. I might want start-up money for my own business. I might have a sudden desire for one of those convertible Mercedes two-seaters (is it the SL i think).... I might I might I might. Freedom (and security) is "why not?" (which are the same reasons btw that I'm saving it in the first place rather than simply spending everything above and beyond what I've decided I need to save for retirement)

Hello again - is it jbkidd? The librarian at that small library wanted to go home for supper - multiple staff here, so no problem. Amendment to the previous message: "So I contacted some other potential carriers, neither of which I'd wanted to have used, but I saw no reason to impart that information to the stockbroker." Additional comment: While the custodian of my RRIF account doesn't withhold tax when they make my annual payment (I just have them send the minimum allowable, late in the year), they provide me with a T-3RIF (or T-5RIF) about the amount withdrawn as current income which is added to my other income for tax calculation. When one makes a withdrawal from an RRSP of up to $5,000., the carrier is required to withhold 10% (if I remember correctly) to send to the government at that time, then send you a statement ater year-end of the amount you withdrew, plus the amount withheld, as income from your RRSP, then state the amount that they withheld as tax, for addition to your income and withholding in that tax year. If you withdraw up to $10,000 (or $20,000.?) the percentage withheld is 20%, I believe, which amount means that you'll have that much less cash in hand now - but that much less to pay when tax reporting time comes. ole joyful P.S. You may have read elsewhere around here that I, along with a few other personal financial advisors, and in contrast to the vast majority of them, don't like RRSPs much, in most circumstances. o j

Just a couple of things to consider--with your IRA, don't you have to start withdrawing at a certain age? If so, what happens if that money is tied up in a CD? Do the penalties apply? As to POD. That may or may not help your heirs. When my mom died, yes--we 'kids' just took the CD's to the bank, with the death certificate, signed off that we were direct heirs, and walked out with the $$$ (well, a check for the others, and I just deposited mine, since I banked at the same establishment). HOWEVER , when my aunt died, those POD's meant nothing--because of it not being a direct descendant, they became part of the TAXABLE estate. Also, the annuity she had, that she left me?--both my accountant and the annuity company said it was NOT part of the estate. Guess what? The STATE would NOT release the estate funds until I paid the tax on the entire $40,000+ that I'm getting (in $100/month installments, mind you)!!! I won't live long enough to get the entire thing, so that means my heirs, may end up paying tax on top of tax! Look, we're mostly amateurs here. And mostly probably don't live in your jurisdiction. Best advice anyone can give you is to sit down with your accountant and follow his/her advice--after double checking that they're right with whatever govt entities might be involved down the road. Laws and practices vary greatly from state to state--you really need to know what applies where you live. Good luck.