Daily Money - Meet the Teens Saving for Retirement

As a teen, I used to find cash in my jeans all the time. It felt like magic, but it was just babysitting money, stuffed into my pockets and forgotten for a while. If I had any goal for those earnings, it was college — not retirement. That concept was barely on my radar. So I applaud the teens in today’s featured story, who are well ahead of where I was at their age, and well ahead of many adults. These teens recognize the power of compound interest and have already harnessed it to start saving for their future. This holiday season, let them be an inspiration to the young (and not so young) people in your life.

Retire with Money is off Friday for Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holiday and see you next week!

This week in our Retire with Money Facebook group, a member consulted the group on this question: “My wife and I both work and are 52 years old. We aim to retire in about 10 years. We are in the 37% federal income tax bracket. I'm trying to decide if I should do a conversion from my traditional IRA to Roth IRA this year of about $50 - 75K (and therefore pay the taxes on the conversion). My financial advisor says yes. But, my tax guy says no because he does not think we'll 'overcome' the 37% tax we need to pay this year.” Some members questioned why he’d consider a conversion now, when he’s in the highest tax bracket. If he thinks he’ll be in a lower bracket in retirement — especially early on, before RMDs kick in — it might be best to wait until then they said.

It’s a complicated question, and hard when two trusted professionals disagree. My two cents? I’d consider hiring a tie-breaker for a one-time consultation. You can find financial planners who charge by the hour here.

Goldman Sachs predicted gold will get to $2300 by next year, while Bank of America is a little bolder at $3000. Journalist Paul Garner believes $5000 is the mark — $3000 by next year and $5000 by 2023.  

We do believe gold will get to $5,000. It will not happen in the next 12 months. There will be pullbacks occasionally, but it will happen. In the meantime, the rest of the world is moving towards economic independence. All the money we lent to other countries and in our own market will slowly lose its value. But gold has proven itself to be the only asset to hold its value through all economic crashes. Gold is also highly liquid. If you need to cash out your gold IRA, just call your broker and she or he should be able to guide you through the process. Finally, just remember that gold is a part of your portfolio. It is not meant to be the be-all and end-all of your investments. It is a hedge, the one asset that could protect the money you saved for retirement.

Now’s the time to consider a Roth IRA conversion and these other moves to lower your tax bill. CNBC

These films can help keep you company if you can’t see your own family in person. THE ATLANTIC

Among other changes, Biden has proposed indexing Social Security’s annual cost-of-living increase to expenses that seniors frequently spend on. KIPLINGER

It can get confusing when you’re working from home in a different state than your office is located. NEXT AVENUE