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Marinating That Retirement Savings Plan: SDIRAs and BBQs

July 3, 2024

By: Brianna Avillo

Key Points 

  • Hosting a summer barbeque to remember requires preparation, similarly to the planning necessary for possible peace of mind during retirement.
  • Deciding your barbecue’s theme in accordance with cultivating the menu is pivotal. The same goes for determining which type of Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) is right for you.
  • There are other components to consider, including food prep, grill safety, and entertainment. Likewise, it’s equally important to consider diversifying your retirement portfolio and perform due diligence on prospective investments.
A gathering of friends has assimilated in a backyard with a grill master tending the food.

BBQ Pitmasters and investing moguls may make an unexpected duo, but with a spritz of propane, they can spark up one tenderizing retirement savings plan. Those hoping to host a gathering amid summertime typically consider a barbeque as a prime option. Prospective investors eager to feel protected in their later years are usually drawn to Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRAs). What it takes to curate a joyful cookout, and what’s necessary to build a possibly secure retirement savings plan holds an abundance of parallels. Let’s get to basting and plating! 

Planning the Perfect Pachanga

Before you begin purchasing goods for your barbeque, you may want to first understand the intention behind this gathering. Is it to celebrate a specific event or victory? If this is just a hang for the sole purpose of getting loved ones together, then you may want to opt for a certain tone – or better yet – a theme. This will help you decide the proper ambience for this rendezvous, and home in on the type of décor and overall look you’ll be implementing into your backyard or outdoor space. If there’s a chance this party could extend past sunset, you may want to set up string lights, lanterns, or candles to keep your assembly illuminated at dusk. 

Friends share a skewer fresh off the grill as they share ideologies about retirement savings plans.

Prior to establishing your Self-Directed IRA or retirement savings plan, you should analyze your fiscal ambitions and all the account options available. SDIRAs allow your gains to grow in a tax-advantaged instrument. You can choose whether you would prefer for your funds to accumulate tax-deferred (Self-Directed Traditional IRA) or have them grow tax-free (Self-Directed Roth IRA). If you run a small business and are hoping to provide retirement savings plans to your employees, a Self-Directed SIMPLE IRA may be ideal. If you’re self-employed, the Self-Directed SEP IRA could prove to be beneficial. 

Additionally, if you plan a transaction-heavy investment, a Self-Directed IRA LLC or Self-Directed IRA Trust may edge out the competition. These accounts are submerged with the mighty power of checkbook control, which gives you the ability to perform everyday transactions without the involvement of your Self-Directed IRA custodian. Furthermore, you can invest in real time and in accordance with your schedule, and in the interim, avoid transaction fees. 

Season and Sear Your Retirement Savings Plan

Arguably, the most significant part of your barbeque is the cultivation of your menu. The options can range from customary fare such as hotdogs and hamburgers, to the unconventional grub like slathered ribs, glazed pork chops, and blackened chicken. Collect intel on your confirmed guests and consider offerings that coincide with any allergies or dietary restrictions. Though barbeque as a genre typically consists of meat, try to be inclusive if any pescatarians or vegetarians attend. You can also utilize your grill for side dishes - like corn or vegetable skewers - adding an extra umph to your menu. 

The beauty of choosing to employ a Self-Directed IRA as your retirement savings plan is that these tools grant you access to an abundance of alternative assets. Alternative investing has gained acclaim, with asset options like real estate, precious metals, promissory notes, and small businesses at the head of the sphere. It’s strongly encouraged that you thoroughly research the industry market of your interest to gain a better understanding of its workings, and whether it aligns with your retirement savings plan aspirations. Once you’ve developed a sense of your industry’s market patterns, you’ll be able to gauge a more accurate timeline between funding your SDIRA and purchasing your investment. 

Vegetables and meat cook atop the grill after marinading, like how you should mentally marinade potential alternative assets you’d like to invest in before purchasing one with your retirement savings plan.
Become a Pit Boss and Retirement Savings Master infographic, which explains five ways you can conquer the grill and simultaneously conquer your retirement savings plan.

Save the Pressure for the Pressure Cooker

While it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of hosting, you also deserve the chance to experience and enjoy the function you’ve created. To reduce cooking time, consider prepping food in advance. This way, all that’s left for you to do is toss what needs to be cooked on the grill. If you would prefer to throw a no-frills shindig, hosting a potluck-styled event could be your speed. Have all your guests bring one of their signature side dishes; the sharing of recipes can help deepen everyone’s connection and bring strangers together.

When constructing a strategy for your retirement, it’s typically suggested that you spread your funds across several investments. Diversifying your retirement portfolio can potentially help mitigate your overall risk. Self-Directed IRAs stand as remarkable retirement savings plans because alternative assets are generally uncorrelated to Wall Street products. Your retirement savings plan ought to leave you feeling calm and confident in its results. Varying where your money is invested can put you at ease as you know you’re not overconcentrating.

Fend Off Grill Hazards and Retirement Saving Plan Setbacks

The head chef of the barbeque prepares food in a way that is alignment with grill safety precautions.

Safety should always remain a top priority. Unfortunately, outdoor fires are possible, and leaving flame-fueled food unattended is a common way for a fire to occur. The U.S. Fire Administration suggests a few tips for keeping your barbeque safe, including cleaning your grill after each use and not storing your grill near siding, hanging trees, or deck railings. It’s encouraged that you familiarize yourself with grill safety practices and precautions to keep your guests safe. 

Performing due diligence on any prospective investment is crucial. Inasmuch as research on your investment matters, so does the understanding of your Self-Directed IRA’s parameters. Getting acquainted with prohibited transactions, contribution limits, and the various IRS-employed rules and regulations is vital. To secure the validity of your retirement savings plan, you’ll want to ensure you don’t do something inadvertently that compromises the integrity of your account. 

Winning the Long Game

Whether the meat is taking longer to cook than expected, or you’re waiting for late attendees to appear, sometimes the timing of food isn’t executed as planned. Providing entertainment with an option-full snack table can maintain the party's high energy and engagement. From standard lawn games like cornhole and ladder toss, to card or board games, to a lively playlist that can incite dancing, having entertainment at arm’s reach to your guests can make your job easier as you’re wrapping up at the grill. 

Self-Directed IRAs are customized to serve you during your retirement. As an account holder of a retirement savings plan, embodying patience and adopting a long-term investment strategy is typically key. With this type of account, instantaneous gains is likely not the goal. Rather, steady, persistent growth over the years is generally the ultimate outcome for this venture. 

A group of barbeque attendees play limbo on the lawn, confident that their Self-Directed IRA investments will guide them towards a fruitful retirement.

Charred and Charmed: Barbeques and Retirement Savings Plans Merge

Friends at a barbeque encircle a table and feel a peace of mind knowing that they chose the right retirement savings plan for their future: the Self-Directed IRA.

With the sun on your back, a cold drink in your hand, and the smell of woodchips or charcoal drifting in the air, barbeques elicit sensations reminiscent of summer. Spending time with loved ones and creating memories to cherish tends to remain as some of the most meaningful elements of our life. This can extend to our retirement savings plan, and the application of Self-Directed IRAs. When you feel a sense of security for your retirement, you can relax. Moreover, you’ll feel as though you will be able to fully immerse yourself in these bonding moments with loved ones during your retirement. 

Self-Directed IRAs give you sovereignty over your investments, and let you add your personal touch to your future. Any season is the right season to start saving for your retirement. Our Self-Directed IRA Specialists are rigorously trained in a variety of asset classes and would love to share their knowledge with you. Schedule a discovery call with our team and start saving for your future today! 


Disclaimer: All of the information contained on our website is a general discussion for informational purposes only. Madison Trust Company does not provide legal, tax or investment advice. Nothing of the foregoing, or of any other written, electronic, or oral statement or communication by Madison Trust Company or its representatives, is intended to be, or may be relayed as, legal, tax, investment advice, statements, opinions, or predictions. Prior to making any investment decisions, please consult with the appropriate legal, tax, and investment professionals for advice.

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