11-20-2008, 09:37 AM
Vanraw Wrote:Grieve Wrote:Breand Wrote:I bailed on my 401k todayIt's tempting, but I've sold at the bottom before, and it sucks. Right now my 401k is down almost 50% on the year, though, and that sucks also...
Yea Selling on the bottom is bad. And trying to pick bottoms is a fools game.
It doesn't matter with a 401k, but if you have standard investments, alot of people are locking in tax losses. Basiccly it means selling, taking the loss, and then reinvesting in something else. So you turn the money right back into the market, but you lock in the tax deductions.
Its one way to take a little advantage of the situation and pay less taxes.
If I sell and re-buy the same stock to lock in a loss, does that have any affect on my ability to write off the loss?
Also, lets say I sell and lock in 12,000 in losses. I read that the limit you can write off per year is 3,000 but you can carry forward the remainder and continue to write the rest off (3,000 per year) over the next 3 years. Is that still the case?
CK, have you had any problems with Sharebuilder? I was going to try it out but I haven't made the effort to switch from ETrade and Fidelity.
"Hamilton is really a Colossus to the anti republican party. Without numbers he is an host within himself. They have got themselves into a defile where they might be finished but too much security on the republican part will give time to his talents and indefatigableness to extricate them. We have had only middling performances to oppose to him. In truth when he comes forward there is nobody but yourself who can meet him. His adversaries having begun the attack he has the advantage of answering them and remains unanswered himself. For God's sake take up your pen and give a fundamental reply to Curtius and Camillas" - Thomas Jefferson to James Madison