Erik Evans, CFP®

Having fewer retirement accounts sounds much cleaner and easier to manage, no doubt about that. Depending on your situation, you should consider these benefits of rolling old 401ks into your existing IRA:

1. Greater flexibility in choosing your investments. Fidelity makes the entire investment universe available to you, your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) will not. If you are knowledgeable about how to research investments, Fidelity should be more attractive to you (lower expenses ratios, better investment profiles).

2. Your retirement savings will continue growing tax-deferred, but you can also convert some of your IRA to a Roth. The TSP Roth provision is a relatively new feature and your plan may not have that available yet. A conversion in 2012 will trigger a bigger federal income tax bill for this year -- and maybe a bigger state income tax bill too. However, two positive factors may outweigh the extra tax hit: a) today's federal income tax rates might be the lowest you'll see in your lifetime, b) if you convert this year, you don't have to worry about it being hit with the new 3.8% Medicare surtax on investment income, which will kick in next year.

3. Easier to move or transfer your individual retirement account from one custodian to another. If you get discouraged with Fidelity, or find they are charging you too much, there are plenty of options out ther. Your TSP will be "locked" until you either retire or leave that employer.

4. Withdrawing money from your IRA (income taxes and potential penalties may apply) for things like college expenses, health insurance premiums or the purchase of a new home is easier than from an TSP. That said, find out if your TSP has a loan provision. This feature may end up being more valuable to you depending on your specific situation.

5. Marriages and marital problems are another reason to consider an IRA rollover. Your surviving spouse is automatically entitled to your 401k funds if you die. That could be a problem if you have children from a prior marriage and want them to share in your retirement savings. You can only change the 401k beneficiary if your spouse notarize his consent. On the other hand, your IRA rollover provides greater range of flexibility in terms of beneficiary designations; you can have as many as you need.

It sounds like you may be at the front end of your career, but there are times when it makes sense to stick with your 401ks/TSP, at least for a while. For instance, if you retire or get laid off between ages 55 and 59 1/2, you can take penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k). You'll pay income taxes, but you won't have to pay the 10% penalty. If you roll your money into an IRA, you must wait until age 59 1/2 to withdraw without a penalty.

Regardless your political views, income tax rates are likely going up. So contribute as much as you can to your TSP and keeping up the good work saving for retirement!

You need to be concerned about this and do everything you can to stop it from bleeding through to your credit report. But I think Honda is trying to scare you by claiming it is already has, and you can confirm that by accessing your Government-mandated free credit report at https://www.annualcreditreport.com.

Since you co-signed the loan, you are on the hook if your friend doesn't pay up/solve the lease overages. Start by letting your friend know this is putting you in a really difficult position. Then make Honda aware of the back story, and especially that their may be a pending lawsuit. Ask them to first solve that discrepancy before coming back to you for payment. Finally, recognize that you may actually have to pay up. That's the whole idea of co-signing a loan...your friend didn't have the credit score to afford the car, but with yours as a guarantee, that made the lease possible.