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How to set and invest your emergency fund

How to set and invest your emergency fund

Christine Benz of Morningstar

Emergency funds are an absolutely crucial aspect of any financial plan, regardless of the life stage or situation.

Best Events in Southwest Florida – March 2025

Best Events in Southwest Florida – March 2025

March is one of the most exciting months in Southwest Florida, offering food festivals, cultural celebrations, car shows, live music, and St. Patrick’s Day events across the region. Whether you’re in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Sanibel, Bonita Springs, or Estero, there’s something happening every weekend. This month brings family-friendly festivals like the Fort Myers …

The post Best Events in Southwest Florida – March 2025 first appeared on 365 Things to do in Southwest Florida.

The post Best Events in Southwest Florida – March 2025 appeared first on 365 Things to do in Southwest Florida.

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The Savings Game: Penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans

The Savings Game: Penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans

Once you establish a retirement account, such as an IRA or 401(k), you want to maintain your balances and obtain tax-free growth for as long as possible. When unplanned expenses arise, you don’t want to make withdrawals from your retirement accounts unless there are no other viable options.

If you do have to withdraw funds from your retirement plans, you need to know how to do so without incurring penalties.

There are now over 20 exceptions to the 10% penalty. Ed Slott, a retirement plan expert, believes that “early withdrawals from retirement accounts should be discouraged because they reverse the retirement savings process, and early distributions are the most expensive. They are highly inefficient as they can be subject to both income tax and the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty, which combined can erode half of the distribution. It would be better to take the necessary cash from a non-taxable account.”

There are three categories of early withdrawal exceptions: exceptions that apply to both qualified company plans and IRAs; exceptions that apply only to IRAs; and exceptions that apply only to company plans. read more

Microsoft shutting down Skype in May

Microsoft shutting down Skype in May

By MATT O’BRIEN, AP Technology Writer

Microsoft is closing down Skype, the video-calling service it bought for $8.5 billion in 2011, which had helped spark a transformation in how people communicate online.

Trump makes US copper mining a focus of his domestic minerals policy

Trump makes US copper mining a focus of his domestic minerals policy

By MEAD GRUVER

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a step toward granting the U.S. mining industry’s biggest wishes by singling out one metal as a focus of his domestic minerals policy: copper.