CollegeIllinois! is sure making hay over the recent market downturn… Article here
At least someone is benefiting from all the carnage!
January, 2009:
Update on Liar’s Poker
I’ve just read a fascinating article on the current financial crisis – you can read it for yourself here.
This article is written by Michael Lewis, who wrote the book Liar’s Poker in the late 80′s, describing what he thought was the foreshadow of a doomsday event at that time… and with his update he’s telling us that this most recent financial meltdown is the culmination of 20+ years of the problems he originally saw in 1986, finally imploding as he called it. It’s a good read, if you’re interested in learning why and how this mess came about.
The lesson here is to question everything about your investments in order to fully understand how a profit is earned from the investment. And question again. And again, until it makes complete sense, or move on to investments that you can understand.
2009 IRA MAGI Limits for a Filing Status of Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)
2009 IRA MAGI Limits for a Filing Status of Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)
Note: for the purposes of IRA MAGI qualification, a person filing as Married Filing Separately, who did not live with his or her spouse during the tax year, is considered Single and will use the information on that page to determine eligibility.
For a Traditional IRA (Filing Status Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)):
If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job and your spouse is not covered by a retirement plan, there is no MAGI limitation on your deductible contributions.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at work, and your MAGI is $89,000 or less, there is also no limitation on your deductible contributions to a traditional IRA.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $89,000 but less than $109,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 25% for every dollar over the lower limit (or 30% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $109,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2009. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job, but your spouse IS covered by a retirement plan, and your MAGI is less than $166,000, you can deduct the full amount of your IRA contributions.
If you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is greater than $166,000 but less than $176,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 50% for every dollar over the lower limit (or 60% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
Finally, if you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is greater than $176,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2009. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
For a Roth IRA (Filing Status of Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)):
If your MAGI is less than $166,000, you are eligible to contribute the entire amount to a Roth IRA.
If your MAGI is between $166,000 and $176,000, your contribution to a Roth IRA is reduced ratably by every dollar above the lower end of the range, rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If your MAGI is $176,000 or more, you can not contribute to a Roth IRA.
2009 IRA MAGI Limits for a Filing Status of Single or Head of Household
2009 IRA MAGI Limits for a Filing Status of Single or Head of Household
. Note: for the purposes of IRA MAGI qualification, a person filing as Married Filing Separately, who did not live with his or her spouse during the tax year, is considered Single and will use the information on this page to determine eligibility. .
For a Traditional IRA (Filing Status Single or Head of Household):
If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job, there is no MAGI limitation on your deductible contributions.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at work, if your MAGI is $55,000 or less, there is also no limitation on your deductible contributions to a traditional IRA.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $55,000 but less than $65,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 50% for every dollar over the lower limit (or 60% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $65,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2009. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
For a Roth IRA (Filing Status Single or Head of Household):
If your MAGI is less than $105,000, you are eligible to contribute the entire amount to a Roth IRA.
If your MAGI is between $105,000 and $120,000, your contribution to a Roth IRA is reduced ratably by every dollar above the lower end of the range, rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If your MAGI is $120,000 or more, you can not contribute to a Roth IRA.
2009 IRA MAGI Limits for a Filing Status of Married Filing Separately
2009 IRA MAGI Limits for a Filing Status of Married Filing Separately
Note: for the purposes of IRA MAGI qualification, a person filing as Married Filing Separately, who did not live with his or her spouse during the tax year, is considered Single and will use the information on that page to determine eligibility.
For a Traditional IRA (Filing Status Married Filing Separately):
If you are not covered by a retirement plan at your job and your spouse is not covered by a retirement plan, there is no MAGI limitation on your deductible contributions.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is less than $10,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 50% for every dollar (or 60% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If you are covered by a retirement plan at your job and your MAGI is more than $10,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2009. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
If you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is less than $10,000, you are entitled to a partial deduction, reduced by 50% for every dollar over the lower limit (or 60% if over age 50), and rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
Finally, if you are not covered by a retirement plan but your spouse is, and your MAGI is greater than $10,000, you are not entitled to deduct any of your traditional IRA contributions for tax year 2009. You are eligible to make non-deductible contributions, up the annual limit, and those contributions can benefit from the tax-free growth inherent in the IRA account.
For a Roth IRA (Filing Status of Married Filing Separately):
If your MAGI is less than $10,000, your contribution to a Roth IRA is reduced ratably by every dollar, rounded up to the nearest $10. If the amount works out to less than $200, you are allowed to contribute at least $200.
If your MAGI is $10,000 or more, you can not contribute to a Roth IRA.
My first book, A Social Security Owner's Manual, has just been published. You can 
And if you've come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed "advisor's advisor".