Changes few between 1998, 1999
But you'd better hope you kept good records if you've been trading a lot in the stock market.

The compound solution to saving? The IRA
Workers can stash up to $2,000 in an individual retirement account each year. And tax-deferred compounding can turn thousands of dollars into hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.

Learning the rules of the Roth, and non-Roth, IRAs
Q. I know the tax-free earnings of a Roth IRA must stay in the account for at least five years and you must be at least 591/2-years-old to withdraw them without penalty. But can't I invest my Roth IRA in a two-year CD as long as when it matures I roll it over (or do a trustee-to-trustee transfer) to another Roth IRA CD?

Taking the pain out of tax preparation
Few people think tax preparation is fun, but it doesn't have to be painful. Here are some tips to help you get the tax breaks you deserve without getting yourself in trouble with the IRS.

Lose your investment records?
If you sold stock or mutual fund shares in 1999, you need to know your cost basis to figure out your capital gain or loss. If you have lost your records, you are required to make a good-faith effort to reconstruct the information -- unless you want to pay tax on the full amount of the sale proceeds. Here are some steps you might take:

Finding the ideal IRA
Individual retirement accounts come in three main types: Roth, traditional deductible and traditional non-deductible. You can contribute to more than one, but combined contributions are limited to $2,000 per year -- or total earned income, whichever is less. Here are a few of the basic details.