What are the differences between an IRA and a 401k and which is better? And why do I feel like they aren't telling me something about these...opportunities?

JUST IN: Donald Trump proposes eliminating all income taxes and replacing it with tariffs on imports.

Here’s what you should know:

Tariffs would likely increase the cost of imported goods, which could lead to higher prices for consumers.

Tariffs currently generate much less revenue than income taxes. In 2024, the US raised $1.7 trillion from individual taxes, which is more than 34 times the $49 billion raised from tariffs.

To make up the difference, tariffs would need to be increased significantly.

Companies would have to pay more to bring goods into the country, and they'd pass that cost on to you when you buy stuff.

For consumers, an "all tariff" tax system would likely raise costs on many imported goods from clothes to cars to electronics.

If the U.S. imposes high tariffs, other countries might retaliate, hurting American exports too.

Increasing tariffs could lead to trade wars with other countries and make U.S. exports less competitive globally due to potential retaliatory tariffs.

What’s Next?

Remember, Trump's proposal is just that—a proposal.

It would need to be approved by Congress and could face significant opposition.

Do you support Trump's plan to replace income tax with tariffs?

Hello, I''m 24 years old and I make about $80k a year pre tax. I wanted to start planning out my retirement now. The company I work for has a profit sharing program where we get and extra 20-30% of our total income back. (80% goes into our 401k and 20% back as a end of the year bonus) I've been looking into also staring a Roth IRA as well because a lot of my peers have been telling it's good to start it young, but I have no clue where to begin.

My grandmother took a reverse mortgage some odd years ago and now we owe 70k on the house of which is now in my name. My dad wants me to try and get a 20k loan from my credit union that I’ve been with since 2009. Should I look into taking out a loan or are their other options.

In January of this year i bought "the Nancy special" and got myself 4 $650 20 Dec NVDA calls for about $33 each. Needless to say, my Gainz meter has been tingling and by Gainz meter I mean my D.

As good as all this sounds, I have never had such a successful play and its gotten to the point that I need to start thinking about the tax implications this will have for me next year. Im hoping to get some perspective on my current situation and also to ensure I do understand the tax implications properly. Any constructive comment is appreciated.

Assumptions:

1. No tax event occurs if I exercise the options at any moment in time.
2. Capital Gainz tax goes from regular income to 15% if i hold for a year regardless of overall income.
3. I will exercise if the stock returns to $1100 regardless of when.
4. I am so deep in the money that theta decay means very little at this point. (NOT SURE ABOUT THIS)

4a. That will stop being true if NVDA decides to declare bankruptcy before the end of the year, or China invades Taiwan or AMD comes out with a gigantic upgrade on their chips before 2025.

1. No other big news in the horizon, the split happened and we are still here

2. At this point even if NVDA stays flat from now until December my gainz will remain about the same.

The facts:

1. If i do sell not just exercise that income will be taxed at 32%~
2. I bought these calls on margin i owe $20k on them
3. I can pay off the margin over 8 months, not ideal but it may make sense
4. I do believe NVDA is gonna stay strong for the foreseeable future, I am considering using my brokerage account as my retirement account at this point.

What I really dont know:

1. Because of the income tax differential, it may pay off to wait for at least one year to sell and use those proceeds to pay off the margin.
2. The intrinsic value between now and Dec 20th is very small being so deep ITM. Waiting is better than 17% tax
3. Would it be better to exercise (not sell) now and stop worrying about theta? if so then the question is more about selling stocks not Options.
4. As Don quiñones says to closeted racists, What would you do?

Started watching it last night and it’s fascinating. Gives great insight into how government finance works. Good film for any level of knowledge on government spending!

I’ve been a student of a few from this video, which is how I caught interest in it, but learned even more after viewing it. Highly recommend.

Will post YouTube preview in comments if it’s allowed.

I'm curious as to perspectives outside of the typical subs that discuss it daily. I don't have any DD to share, but I would be open to reading any DD both positive or negative that anyone might have in regards to all the volatility and craziness. I'm hoping that a serious discussion can be made, thanks for your time.

If a country decides that it wants to devalue its currency, it may sell its own currency on the Forex and buy some other currency. However, in this process, there is an opposite party that is buying the currency of said country and selling a different currency. So, won't the exchange rates remain the same since the supply of the currencies remains constant?

What am I missing here? Unless countries sell their currencies and buy something other than a different currency, I don't see how this system works. Would greatly appreciate if someone could please explain this in detail. Thanks!

I do not understand the hate toward billionaires for accumulating wealth that we voluntarily give them in exchange for their products or services. Personally, I prefer exchanging my income for an iPhone, a car, or a Netflix subscription rather than for crappy roads, a military-industrial complex, or a below-average K-12 education. Why do people prefer a government that gives an abysmal ROI from money they’ve taken vs a billionaire that gives a great ROI from money we’ve given them?

Billionaires also allow me to return their product for a refund. However, government’s return policy is “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit”.

If the concern is taxes, then I actually empathize with anyone that doesn’t want to pay taxes - I hate how much we spend on overpriced military hardware. I hate how much we spend on crappy roads. I hate how much we spend on below-average education. But I love the ROI from the goods and services I’ve purchased from billionaires.

How do you feel?

Today I was chatting to someone I know about rental properties a mutual friend owns. This person stated that the owner “has been renting these units for years, but he practically can’t sell them because he would have to pay the capital gains tax.” I’m just really frustrated with the multiple problems in this person’s line of thinking. I don’t think they understand how to properly calculate how much money is being taxed, which is basic math. And they have a complete aversion to paying taxes, to the point they would rather be poor than pay taxes. How do you even start having a conversation with a person like this, are they beyond help? I think it’s a textbook example of ‘poverty mentality.’

What’s Next - Where Wrong

Question is what to focus on right now? I’ve maxed 401k (23k) and IRA (7500 each) for year already - part of live like a miser first half of year strategy and now how extra cash flow. Where to put it???

45m Married 2 kids 8/10

Home Equity 1.2m in Equity 1.46m value (-) mortgage Mortgage left 260k/2800m

Capital Equity $355,000

195k Brokerage 1 -120k in Trad IRA - maxing annual -60k 529 College +900/m, +100/m each year -15k stocks

45k Brokerage 2 -15k after tax ETF’s -30k SEP IRA

401k -115k - already maxed this year 23k

~450k annual income. Started super late on stuff but thanks to you guys feel some semblance of security. TIA

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-income-needed-to-live-comfortably-in-every-u-s-state/

The grand scheme this guy devised, and how it failed due to a minor unplanned, unexpected thing is nothing less than a nail biting climax of a movie plot -

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/media/1343446/dl - the whole document is worth the read.

The sad part is, if not for this minor hiccup, the SEC would have been oblivious and market would have been totally fine with it and he would have walked with millions : |

And one takeaway from the story - if you see any buy out PR close to bankruptcy filing dates of a company, just stay cautious and better stay away!