There are 3 separate buckets you should have for your investments:

• Bucket #1 is the tax-deferred bucket.

• Bucket #2 is the tax-free bucket.

• Bucket #3 is a taxable account.

A brokerage account is a financial account that allows an investor to buy and sell various financial instruments, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities. The account differs from Roth and IRAs due to the use of after-tax money and different tax rules. A brokerage account can be accessed anytime. It is not a retirement account. Instead, it is taxed on just the capital gains, which are profits generated from the sale of investments that have appreciated in value.

What exactly is a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), and why should you care? In this layman's guide, we'll break down the concept of RMDs and help you understand why they matter for your retirement.

There are compelling reasons to file your taxes as soon as you can, with one significant factor being safeguarding against scammers attempting to misuse your identity for fraudulent tax refunds.