| Subscribe Read in Browser |
 |
|
|
|
|
| This Week In Your Wallet |
 |
Fire up the grill…take a dip in the pool…and start your Christmas shopping? Even though the holidays are months away, experts say setting up a dedicated savings account today, and putting a little bit in it weekly, can help you to avoid debt – and stress – once December rolls around. Another tip? Start shopping now to avoid any potential inflationary price increases. "Buying gradually gives you time to compare prices, stack coupons, earn rewards, and wait for genuine sales instead of panic-buying whatever's left," writes Kyle James for ConsumerAffairs.
The gender pay gap just widened for the second year in a row – a first since the government started tracking it in the 1960s. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2025 Current Population Survey shows that women working full-time earned 81 cents for every dollar men earned in 2024, down from 83 cents in 2023 and 84 cents in 2022. Stretch that across a 40-year career and AAUW puts the cost at $542,800 in lost earnings for the average woman. One likely culprit for the widening gap is how men and women respond to layoffs. Women feel more pressure to get back to a paycheck fast – 63% said they'd consider a lower offer, versus 52% of men. Remember – if you’re job hunting, know your market rate before you negotiate, and don’t let urgency talk you into accepting a lowball offer.
It's never too late to fix a retirement plan that got knocked off course – whether by a layoff, a caregiving detour, or a decade of paying for someone else's tuition. We rounded up seven ways to catch up, starting with the one most people avoid: eliminating your high-interest debt for good. "If you have nagging high-interest credit card debt, make it a high priority to pay it off," writes Jocelyn Black Hodes for HerMoney. "While debt consolidation loans are tempting, they can be riddled with fees and the application process can be a hassle. Instead, start with a spreadsheet to prioritize your debt and create an easy-to-follow payoff plan. You will save yourself potentially thousands of dollars that you can put into retirement accounts instead." |
|
|
|
| Things That Save You Time |
|
|
|
|
|
| What Happens When Life Blows Up The Plan? Four Women Get Honest About Personal Finance, Trade-Offs, And Starting Over |
Nobody’s "Personal Finance 101" covers getting fired at 40, how to pay for a spouse’s dental emergency with no insurance, or discovering you were in the bottom 5% of earners at one of the country’s most prestigious papers. HerMoney sat down with four women to talk about unexpected moments, like these, where plans fell apart – and what they did next to rebound.
In episode two of From First Paycheck to Forever Paycheck – our three-part series with AARP – Jean joined Hannah Williams of Salary Transparent Street, Viviana Vazquez of OverGenPoverty, Ashley Parker of The Atlantic, and Carly Roszkowski, VP of Financial Resilience at AARP, to talk about the curveballs nobody plans for.
For Roszkowski, it was COVID. Her husband, then nearly 50, lost his job and pivoted careers entirely. "This new career did not pay the same level, and did not have health benefits or much of any benefits," she said. "When you're in those high-earning years, and [your kids] haven't started college yet, you're saving for retirement, saving for college, you have a huge mortgage — yeah, that one threw us for a loop."
So, how did she manage…and what are the keys to bouncing back when life blows up the plan? Tune in to find out. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Ask Jean |
 |
| Q: |
Today’s question comes from Laura. She writes: "Is it possible to convert an inherited traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?" |
| A: |
Yes, but the answer really hinges on one thing – your relationship to the person who left you the account.
If you’re the surviving spouse, good news – you get the most flexibility here. You can treat the inherited IRA as your own and roll it into your existing Roth IRA or convert it into a new one. Just know you'll owe income tax on whatever pre-tax amount you convert.
If you’re a non-spouse beneficiary – for example, a child or sibling – the IRS is stricter. You can't do a direct conversion from an inherited traditional IRA into an inherited Roth IRA. What you can do is take a distribution from the inherited IRA (which is taxable) and, separately, contribute to your own Roth IRA.
One more thing non-spouse beneficiaries should know – most inherited IRAs are now subject to the SECURE Act's 10-year rule, where the account has to be fully emptied by December 31st of the tenth year after the original owner's death.
The bottom line? Unless you're the spouse, converting an inherited traditional IRA to a Roth usually isn't in the cards. But there are still smart moves to make with what you've inherited, so it's worth a conversation with a tax pro before you decide anything. |
|
| Submit your questions to Jean here. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| We maintain a strict editorial policy and a judgment-free zone for our community. We strive to remain transparent in everything we do. Website posts and newsletters may contain advertisements, links and mentions of products from our partners. Learn more about how we make money. |
| *This is a sponsored post |
|
