Page 33 - Flathead Beacon // 3.30.16

Open House and Informa onal Mee ng
Public Discussion of
Swan River Bridge Feasibility Study
The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and Flathead County are in the initial stages of a Feasibility Study examining potential improvements to the historic Swan River Bridge on Bridge St. in Bigfork. The purpose of this study is to consider options to repair or replace the bridge while retaining the historic character.
An open house and informational presentation will be held Tuesday, April 12, in the Bigfork Elementary School cafeteria (600 Commerce St.). The open house will run from 5 to 8 p.m. with a short presentation beginning at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is intended to solicit input on needs and concerns about the bridge and to inform interested parties about the Feasibility Study. Study team members will be available during the open house to discuss the study.
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Bigfork Elementary School
GRAND AVE.
N
BIGFORK
BRIDGE
SWAN RIVER BRIDGE
209
FLATHEAD LAKE
The meeting is open to the public and attendance is encouraged. MDT attempts to provide accommodations for any known disability that may interfere with a person’s participation in any department service, program or activity. For reasonable accommodations to participate in this meeting, please contact Jan Nesset at (406) 556-4707 at least two days prior to the meeting.
Alternative accessible formats of this information will be provided upon request by contacting the Of ce of Civil Rights, P.O. Box 201001, Helena, MT 59620;
(406) 444-9229; fax (406) 444-7243, or e-mail to a [email protected]. Those using a TTY may call
(800) 335-7592 or through the Montana Relay Service at 711.
Comments may be submitted in writing at the meeting, by mail to Ed Toavs, Missoula District Administrator, at MDT’s Missoula District of ce at PO Box 7039, Missoula, MT 59807-7039 or online at:
www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/comment_form.shtml
Please indicate comments are for project UPN 9020-SWAN-RIVER-BRIDGE-STUDY and submit comments by May 12, 2016.
FINANCIAL CORNER JESSE RIGLER
PUT YOUR TAX REFUND TO WORK
IN 2014, THE AVERAGE TAX REFUND was rougly $2,700. If you got that much this year, what would you do with it?
You can probably think of a lot of things you might do with $2,700. You might decide to splurge and buy some big-ticket item you’ve been eyeing. Or you could use the money to pay down some bills, which might be a good idea, espe- cially if it helps improve your cash ow. As an alternative, though, you might want to consider investing the money.
You might not think $2,700 would make that big a di erence to your invest- ment portfolio. But if you invested that $2,700 in a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA, and you left the money alone, what might you earn? After 30 years, your $2,700 would have grown to more than $20,500, assuming no fur- ther contributions and a hypothetical 7 percent annual return. That’s not a for- tune, of course, but it would help boost your retirement savings somewhat – and since it originated from a tax refund, it was accumulated pretty e ortlessly from your point of view.
Now suppose you put in the same amount – $2,700 – to your IRA each year for 30 years. Again assuming that same hypothetical 7 percent annual return, your money would have grown to more than $272,000. And that amount can indeed make a rather big di erence in your retirement lifestyle.
Keep in mind that you’d eventually have to pay taxes on that $272,000 if you had been investing in a traditional IRA, which is tax-deferred but not tax-free. It is possible, however, that if you start
taking withdrawals when you retire, you’ll be in a lower tax bracket.
If you meet the income guidelines for contributing to a Roth IRA, though, you could avoid the tax issue altogether on your $272,000. That’s because Roth IRA earnings grow tax-free, provided you don’t start withdrawals until you’re 591⁄2 and you’ve had your account for at least ve years.
Thus far, we’ve only talked about putting your tax refund to work in your IRA – which, as we’ve seen, can be a very good idea. But suppose you’ve already developed the excellent habit of “max- ing out” on your IRA each year by con- tributing a set amount each month? You can currently only put in up to $5,500 per year to your IRA, or $6,500 if you’re 50 or older. So you could fully fund your IRA by putting in about $458 per month (or $541 per month if you’re 50 or older). Those amounts are not unreasonable, especially as you move deeper into your career and your salary increases. If you do reach these limits each month, what could you do with your tax refund?
You can start by looking closely at your portfolio to see if any gaps exist. Could you, for example, use your tax refund to further diversify your holdings? While diversi cation can’t guarantee pro ts or prevent losses, it can reduce the impact of volatility on your portfolio — and the less you feel the e ects of volatility, the more likely you may be to stick with your long- term strategy rather than overreacting to short-term price drops.
So when Uncle Sam sends you that refund, consider investing it one way or another. You’ll be putting it to good use.
Jesse Rigler is a nancial advisor at Edward Jones in Kalispell.
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MARCH 30, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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