Author page: JVB Investment Company

Home buyers and sellers finally have reason to celebrate in 2015. After almost a decade of limping along toward recovery, it seems as though the housing market has finally hit a more comfortable stride. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, well-known gauges of the U.S. housing market, real estate is finally showing healthy signs of improvement.

Data released by Case-Shiller at the end of April indicates that home prices have continued to rise across the United States. (Source: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, April 2015) And as it turns out, no one factor is responsible for the trend. Rather, a variety of factors are being credited for the recovery.

Actually, there are two five-year rules you need to know about. The first five-year rule determines when you can begin receiving tax-free qualified distributions from your Roth IRA. Withdrawals from your Roth IRA–including both your contributions and any investment earnings–are completely tax and penalty free if you satisfy a five-year holding period and one of the following also applies:

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If you made a New Year’s Resolution to get healthy, you may get more bang for your resolution buck than you bargained for. That’s because healthy habits can benefit your wallet as well as your body.