I’m not eligible for the Roth IRA because our MAGI is too high.
I can’t deduct contributions from IRA because my spouse is covered by a retirement plan and our MAGI is too high. That pretty much kills any benefit to using a traditional IRA for a year, I think.
SO where else could I put that $$ to approximate what would have went into a 401K?
1. Pay down mortgage. Since current payoff date is a few years into retirement, if I pay it down now I could bring that payoff date in, potentially to equal my retirement date. This has a similar effect to having contributed that $$ to the 401K during 2017.
2. Pay off solar panels. We could also use the $$ that would have went into the 401K to pay off the solar panels. This would have the benefit of freeing up cash now, but really doesn’t benefit our retirement any.
