Consider traditional IRA, health savings accounts, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA and 401k to lower tax liability if you are not using some of them now. 

Yes, definitely max out your employer match for 401k and max out your Roth IRA.

I have a 401k at work and individual IRAs that are 100% invested in Index funds (the entire US market).    

A few of them were funded from my IRA(which was wiped out as a result).

Hello BPiansI am closing on a house in a week and plan to use my IRA funds for down payment.I am considering using Mountain West IRA out of Idaho and I am based in Seattle area.

There is a lot of information out there so I guess I am just looking for some initial information- like a get started kind of thing.I have been self employed for some time- I have a SIMPLE IRA.  

When you guys invest in Tax Liens, do you do so within an IRA you have or do you just invest in them outside of any tax protected shelter and just incur any capital gains taxes?

Hey everyone - I have very little knowledge of how to structure the financial part of my business.I know a self directed ira can be a good place to put profits and also to buy new properties, but what's the best way to pay myself...in other words, how can I put cash in my pocket without getting slammed with taxes?

I am considering a self directed IRA.

technically, private money is any source of money that will not be guaranteed by a government financial institution.This means that portfolio loans, hard money, self-directed IRA loans, PPMs, and mortgages from your favorite uncle are all different flavors of private money.Hard money is usually a subset of private money that is distinguished by the short loan term(e.g. 6 months to a year), relatively high interest rate, and excessive (disclaimer: my opinion) origination fees.