With the right tools, the dollars you compound in your IRA or 401 (k) can go a long way to making your retirement a more comfortable one. Knowing a few tax-smart strategies can help you build your tax enhanced accounts starting today.

1. Take your company 401 (k) with you when you leave your employer.

2. Never borrow against your IRA.

3. Since a ROTH IRA is a tax-free IRA you don’t have to worry about when you need to cash out. Just remember the ROTH has to be in existence at least 5 years and age 59 ½ before you can take any money out.

For the first time, a majority of American women are living without a spouse, according to a new report. The New York Times, which based its report on census results, says 51% of women in 2005 reported living without a spouse, up from 35% in 1950 and 49% in 2000. Several factors are behind the shift, including women marrying at a later age or living with partners. Women are also living longer as widows and divorcees.

All the more reason that women must take control of their financial futures today.

Good information if you are concerned about foreclosures. Lisa

Tips to buffer your home’s worth if you’re near an empty property

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Gary Kent has more foreclosed properties to sell than ever before during his 23 years in the real estate business.

The San Diego-based realty agent currently represents about 100 homes for sale, 85 of which are foreclosures. A year ago, Kent represented about 20 homes for sale with only a couple of foreclosures among them.

“I feel sorry for the people who lost their homes, but I’m probably going to have to best year I’ve ever had,” Kent said.

While all those foreclosed homes mean opportunity for Kent, they spell trouble for homeowners in the neighborhoods in which they are located. In addition to the potential for dragging down the values of surrounding homes as lenders try to unload, vacant foreclosures also present an inviting target for vandals and squatters.

“When there are a lot of foreclosures in a neighborhood that will put downward pressure on other homes. The banks will try to get foreclosures off their balance sheet as fast as they can, and they will be aggressive at pricing them,” said Celia Chen, director of housing economics at Moody’s Economy.com.

Even when priced below the competition, foreclosed homes can linger on the market. Kent thinks it could take up to four months to sell the foreclosed properties in his listing book, particularly those that appeal to “low-ballers” and “bottom-feeders” willing to wait in order to pressure lenders into taking just 50 cents to 75 cents on the dollar for the homes.

Although Moody’s Economy.com sees home prices overall declining through 2008 due to excessive inventory, individual owners can take steps to make their property more attractive, Chen said. She recommended home improvements such as fresh paint and landscaping to ward off the impacts of falling prices due to a great number of foreclosures in a neighborhood.

Keeping watch

For those homeowners fearing that the “low-ballers” and banks trying to unload foreclosed homes will sap the value of their own properties, Kent suggested that residents could band together to watch out for a property.

“They could try forming a little neighborhood watch where people watch over that house to make sure there’s no vandalism, no squatters trying to move in, and to avoid people from stealing the fixtures of the home,” he said.

Banks will board up houses that are vandalized or that people break into, Kent said. Making sure that doesn’t happen can keep banks from dumping problem homes at fire-sale prices, he said.

Homeowners who have to sell in an area where foreclosures are numerous might want to follow the lead of home builders, which are throwing in extras in to attract buyers while keeping up the selling price.

“One thing that the builders do is to offer to put all kinds of things into the house at no extra charge, like granite countertops,” said David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. “That gives the buyer more house for the money.”

Also, paying your buyer’s closing costs is an option that some home builders take, Seiders said. Those strategies “help hold the price up, but they do come out of the builder’s margins,” he said, as they would cut into home sellers profits.

More than two million households in the subprime market have already either lost their homes to foreclosure or hold subprime mortgages that are likely to fail in coming years, according to consumer groups.

According to a recent survey from Yahoo Real Estate and Harris Interactive, 22% of homeowners are at least somewhat concerned about the possibility of foreclosure due to their inability to meet monthly mortgage payments.

But even more Americans think there is opportunity in the situation: 37% of all U.S. adults would be at least somewhat interested in buying a house in foreclosure.

Don’t sell in a panic

It’s important to think of homeownership as a long-term investment, said David Berenbaum, executive vice president with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. “People have been in an environment where they’re flipping homes. We need to look at homeownership as promoting intergenerational wealth.”

Berenbaum added that owners should remain calm rather than panicking and trying to sell now. Owners don’t actually lose money on a home until they sell at a discount to the purchase price, he pointed out.

“We will weather this storm,” he said. “At some point the housing market will come around. What we don’t want to see are homes that are empty, home that create a destabilizing environment.”

Markets at risk

Here is a list of the 10 metro area markets where mortgage delinquency rates have increased the most between the fourth quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2007, according to Equifax and Moody’s Economy.com.

Modesto, Calif. — 3.9% rise
Stockton, Calif. — 3% rise
Merced, Calif. — 2.8%
Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, Fla. — 2.7%
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. Metropolitan Division — 2.5%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. — 2.5%
Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. — 2.4%
Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. — 2.3%
Atlantic City, N.J. — 2.2%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. — 2.2%

Ruth Mantell is a MarketWatch reporter based in Washington.

With the subprime markets tightening their purse strings where do buyers go who have low credit scores or lower than ideal income to qualify for a mortgage? Today it is harder then ever to get a good loan if your credit score is below 600. By doing your own due diligence, you can research for information to help you make an informed decision on mortgages no matter what your credit score, income or other factors such as fees associated with the loan.

www.Dontborrowtrouble.com Freddie Mac provides good information on avoiding-high priced loans.

www.Fanniemae.com helps you find products (mortgage loans) that help low-to-middle income families buy homes.

www.Annualcreditreport.com I cannot stress the importance of knowing not only your credit score but what exactly is on your credit report. You can check your report from each of the three major credit reporting companies free of charge.

Beware of adjustable rate mortgages. In my opinion, you would be better off to continue to rent until you feel you can afford the higher payment associated with a fixed rate mortgage knowing the payment itself will not change.

As a busy professional who travels every week, I joke that I live on United Airlines. Always on the go, I’ve been known to get frustrated because I can’t find time for myself. Small things like a daily 30 minute walk, time to read a good book, or how about a nice long soak in a tub. But just taking a little bit of time for myself to relax makes it easier to get back on that airplane.

If you feel like me, try these suggestions. I recently put four strategies into place to help get more free time into my busy schedule. If you have other ways to grab more time for yourself, please share them.

1. Stay focused. This is a big deal for me. I am the e-mail queen and have a hard time walking away from e-mail. Then I realized that it’s crazy—and distracting and inefficient–to constantly be online when I am trying to do something else. Now I check e-mail and voice mail only at specific times. By doing this, I have saved over one hour a day by not constantly looking out for e-mail—and I still get as much done as before.

2. Make good use of waiting time. Sitting in the doctor’s office? Don’t go there without taking something to read or do. Catch up on correspondence, go over paperwork, pay bills. This will free up time at the end of the day to do the things you want to do.

3. Write it down. Have a small tablet so you can jot down notes of important things you need to do. Don’t force yourself to rely on your memory. You’ll end up spending needless time wracking your brain for that important to-do item. It takes more time trying to remember than just writing it down in the first place.

4. Monitor time-sapping. According to a recent survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2005 the average American watched 2.6 hours of television a day. Many of us use TV as relaxation. But if you took half the time and spent it in the bath tub, imagine how much better you will feel about life and time management!

To feel successful, we need to be aware that we too need a “time out” from the hectic pace all of us share.

In most parts of the U.S., recent home buyers have faced uncertainty. Reasons for this include fluctuating home prices, higher interest rates in some cases, and nervousness with their local economy.

In many cases qualified borrowers have decided to rent instead of buy. With the spring season moving underway, The New York Times just completed an analysis of buying versus renting in every major metropolitan area.

They found that even though rents have jumped, the costs that come with home ownership such as mortgage payments, taxes, fees to real estate agents – remain higher than the costs of renting.

What does this mean to investors? If you have bought property for the long term and can afford to hold it, now is a great time to do so. You should be able to capitalize on an inventory of good quality renters with higher than usual credit scores, something that we as investors have not seen in years. Keep those investment properties if you can!

Now that another tax season has come to a close, we should start to plan for next year. Budgeting for the maximum contributions you can make to your IRA or 401 (k) is something everyone needs to do to ensure a secure financial.

The ABC’s of growing your money tax deferred or tax free depending is simple.

1. Max the maximum contributions to your IRA or 401 (k)

2. Know when it makes sense to convert to a Roth. Plan this conversion in advance to achieve your best tax strategy.

3. If you can save more and are self employed, consider an Individual (k) and an IRA. You will save the most with this strategy other than a defined benefit plan.

For more information on which IRA is best for you or how you can have both an Individual (k) plan and an IRA, visit www.theentrustgroup.com and contact a local office for assistance.

“It’s the year of the housing hangover” said Sean M. Snaith, Director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. New home sales fell to the lowest levels in seven years. Of course no one has a crystal ball to see if prices will continue to drop.

Florida, California, Arizona, and Nevada have all experienced some slide in home prices. If you have been in the market for a home of your own, a 2nd home for vacation or a retirement haven, now may be the time to start looking.

How would you spend your time? I recently asked a small group of women investors this question. Their responses may surprise you.

The number one most popular response: Travel. Not just in the U.S. Women want to see the world! So much so, most of the group has a travel slush fund established.

Number two: (and this one surprised me) Alter their appearance; Botox, Laser, face lift and body enhancements. If money was no object, most women agreed they would change something physically about themselves.

Number three: Volunteer. They would give money. Most would like to give time to their favorite cause.

Number four: Get healthy. More exercise, eat right, reduce stress, get more sleep, and spend time with good friends and family. In other words, do all the right things to get and stay healthy.

There were many other suggestions like, learn a new language, and start a new business.

I think it is interesting to see that as we age the most important things to us are living life to the fullest and taking care of ourselves! Maybe we are finally learning how to make ourselves our top priority!

Reminder: Tax deadline, April 17th. Make your IRA contribution today! www.theentrustgroup.com