January 24, 2012 • Page 4 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com 1610 DAVE SAYS: Condos Townhomes Lay The Foundation First! Dear Dave, We’ve read about your plan, and we’re in pretty good shape ?nancially, but we don’t know what to do next. We have $400,000 in a 401(k) for retirement, but we don’t have an emergency fund or any other savings. The only debt we have is our house. What should we do about Baby Steps 4 and 6? Mary ment plans. Baby Step 6 is paying off your home early. The thing that worries me is you’ve completely skipped Baby Step 3, which is having three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund. This is money set aside strictly for emergencies, not vacations, toys or a new car. The problem right now is if you have a real emergency, you’ll have to cash out your 401(k). If you do that, the government’s going to penalize you 10 percent, plus your tax rate. That’s about a 40-percent kick in the teeth just because you didn’t do things in the right order! Again, you’re in pret- Dear Mary, You guys have done a great job of saving for retirement and staying out of debt. Let’s go over the Baby Steps you mentioned. Baby Step 4 is putting 15 percent of your income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retire- ty good shape overall, but in building your ?nancial house you’ve put the roof on before you’ve laid the foundation. If I’m you, I’m going to temporarily stop my 401(k) contributions until I get my emergency fund fully loaded. By temporarily, I mean six months at most. That way, you’ll be covered when life happens without having to sacri?ce your retirement savings! —Dave Just What She Needs Dear Dave, My daughter is a student and has $13,000 in student loan debt. h hometown t exclusive PREMIER DEALER Friendly Service at Your Local Sears Hometown Store. a FRIDAY, JANUARY 27 & SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2012 15 Dear Meg, Let’s look at it this way. Pretend she didn’t have any student loan debt. Would it be wise for her to borrow money on a student loan in order to invest in a Roth IRA? Of course not. If you don’t pay off the loans, and invest it instead, it’s just like you borrowed money to invest. That’s not a good SAVE ON KENMORE® APPLIANCES 2011 % Recently, her grandparents dissolved an LLC, and they want to give her a gift of $12,500. Should she use this money to pay off the loans, or invest it in a Roth IRA and keep working to pay off the student loans herself? Meg SAVE OVER $ 1250 WHEN YOU BUY ALL 4 APPLIANCES ALL KENMORE® APPLIANCES* off PLUS BUYMORE c SAVEMORE EXTRA % 15 20% 25% off EXTRA 99 1999 $ 30-IN. WIDE SAVE $1180 $ $ $ K Kenmore white 19.7-cu. ft.† 1 bottom freezer b refrigerator r 04678092 0 Kenmore Elite® 28-cu. ft.† refrigerator with LED lighting 04671053 Kenmore 5.3 cu. ft. capacity electric range with large oven window 02290212 99999 WHEN YOU BUY FOUR OR MORE INCLUDES ICE MAKER 31% SALE BUY ALL THREE GearWrench® 8-pc. ratcheting wrench set 00944001/2 Offer good thru ru 1/28/12. 30% OFF all mechanic's ll h i ' tool sets over $100 $ 19999 SALE SAVE $100 Craftsman 255-pc. mechanic's tool set 00935255 Offer good thru 1/28/12. $ 4999 SALE $ SAVE $30 a. Craftsman C3® 19.2-volt drill 00917191 50 $ SPEND 10 $ a $ 6999 SALE plan. Your daughter needs to get her student loan mess cleaned up, and this is the perfect opportunity to do just that. And I think it’s pretty cool that God gave her what she needs to ?x things. Besides, she can’t do a Roth IRA, except to the point that she has an earned income, anyway. The last thing this girl needs is a pile of debt waiting on her when she gets out of school. She’s not in a position to be an investor right now. The minute she pays off her student loans, she should get to work on saving a pile of money for an emergency fund so she can complete her studies without racking up more debt! —Dave Sears Hometown SALE SAVE $5 b $ 14999 SALE Houses For Rent Available cute 2-bedroom, close to downtown, $525/month. Stove/refrigerator, lawn/snow service. Lease, application, pets welcome. (605)665-1828. Country living 2 or 3 bedrooms, garage, no pets. $550+ utilities. Lease, deposit, references. (605)660-3123. Cozy 1-bedroom house, with off-street parking, $350/month plus electricity. No pets/ smoking, small deposit required. Ready now. (605)665-3818. For Rent: 5-Bedroom home in Vermillion. $1000/month plus utilities. CAll (402)355-2222. 1625 Mobile Homes For Rent 2 and 3-bedroom mobile homes in Westgate. Large yards and decks. All units have C/A, washer/dryer, Most have dishwasher and sheds. $500-$700/month. (605)624-3625 3002 W. 23rd 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 3-car garage. $650/month plus utilities. Lisa, Anderson Realty (605)661-0054. FARM FO R S ALE LEG AL: NE4- l a bo u t 10 a cr o fbl g.si Secti n 5, 5, ess es d te, o To w n shi 30N,Ra n ge 1E,Ced a rCo u n ty,NE p LO C ATI N : W est o fHa r n gto n o n Hi a y 84. O ti ghw PRI E:Sea l bi sw ilbe a ccepted o n o u rbi f r o n l C ed d l d o m y, a n d d elver to o u ro fi n o l tertha n 4: P. .Febr a r 6, i ed fce a 30 M u y 2012. Depen d i g o n bi s,bi d er m a y be i vi to a n d d s n ted prva te a u cti n . i o O W N ERS :Steve a n d Li d a Eva n s n I S PEC TI N S :To m a k e a r a n gem en ts,pl se ca l Pf l& N O r ea l ei Asso ci tes,I c.W a u sa ,NE a t 402a n , 5862277. I f mat n or ion b r ochu r es,t m s a n d b id f m s a r e er or a va ila b le b y con t ct g Pf & Associa t I c.b y a in eil es, n p hon e or e- a il. m PFEI & AS S O C I L ATES ,I C . N W a u sa ,N E 6 8786 •4 02- 86 5 2277 w w w. f n d a ssocia t com p eila es. M a rvin Hochst ,S a lesp erson ein m a rvin @ p f n d a ssocia t com eila es. Fra n k W eb erg ,Broker f n d m a n @ g p com . et la n Jen n if K u m m ,S a lesp erson er Jen n if p f n d a ssocia t com er@ eila es. Craftsman 1/2-HP chain drive garage door p opener 00953985 Gift Card Valid for redemption between 1/29 and 2/4/12 except where prohibited by law. One Award Card per customer. Redeemable at your local Sears Hometown Store. YanktonToby & Kerry Woehl Sears Owned & Operated by: 2901 Broadway, Yankton Owned and Operated by Name • Store address • Store hours • Phone number Owned and Operated by Name • Store address • Store hours • Phone• Saturday: Monday-Friday: 9am-6:30pm number Please Recycle When Done Reading! 1615 2-bedroom house new hardwood floors, finished basement, garage includes appliances. No pets, 1-year lease. $575/deposit. (605)660-8700. SAVE $40 Craftsman Evolv™ r 3-gallon compressor 00915206 GET A ET 1999 Craftsman 17-pc screwdriver 179 set 00931794/41608 SAVE $30 b. Craftsman Nextec™ 12-volt lithium-ion drill with battery and charger 00917586 Not shown: save $10, 29.99 Craftsman C3 19.2-volt battery powered by DieHard®, 00911375 SAVE $30 Friday & Saturday SELF CLEAN yourchoice SALE SAVE $30 OFF all t l storage ll tool t over $100 Craftsman 11-drawer basic ball-bearing tool chest 00931014/5/8 OFF 3999 30 ® 37% OFF % 43999 199999 $ 307 WHEN YOU SAVE $80 SAVE $470 *Exclusions apply. See below for exclusions. Offers good thru 1/28/12. Colors, connectors, ice maker hook-up and installation extra. †Total capacity. 97 c. Kenmore dishwasher 02213273 Reg. 704.99, 563.99 d. Kenmore® 25-cu. ft.† side-by-side refrigerator 04651103 Reg. 1269.99, 1015.99 b. Kenmore gas or electric range 02292203 Reg. 749.99, 637.49; 02272403 Reg. 809.99, 637.49 Price is after tiered event savings. No additional discounts apply. off APPLIANCES* $ a. Kenmore® over the range microwave 02285063 Reg. 539.99, 449.99 ‡ EXTRA SAVE $132 KENMORE STAINLESS STEEL KITCHEN ‡ buys all 4 appliances! W WHEN YOU BUY THREE off APPLIANCES* A RAMSEY d ® WHEN YOU BUY TWO APPLIANCES* Dave * For more ?nancial help, please visit daveramsey.com. b WHEN YOU BUY APPLIANCES *OVER $399 EACH TWO NEW DELUXE TOWNHOMES 631 Sawgrass On Fox Run Golf Course, exceptional lot and views. One level, no stairs construction. High efficiency, low maintenance. 2-bedroom, 2-bath. Concrete siding, blown insulation, association membershiprare properties. Call Merle (605)760-1719. Speakers Jim Erwin - Soybean Growth and Development Jason Kokes - Field Drain Tile: Approval, Effects, Impacts Garry Moore - Drainage Districts • 605-665-7861 STORE 11am-4pm 9am-6pm • Sunday: NAME 2011 APPLIANCE OFFER: *Buy More Save More Event excludes Electrolux, Jenn-Air®, Dacor, Fisher & Paykel, floor care, sewing machines, countertop microwaves, water heaters, water softeners, water filtration, air conditioners, air cleaners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, accessories, closeouts, and Everyday Great Price items. These discounts are calculated no purchase price of items less discounts and coupons, not including tax, installation or delivery. See store for details. Offer good thru 1/28/12. KOKES AG SERVICE Winter Workshop Tuesday, Jan. 31 Tyndall Auditorium PREMIER DEALER JA#201C022_301 Pork Loin supper beginning at 6:00 pm Program to follow RSVP to 463-2426 by Jan. 29