Hello and welcome to Money Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for a Richer life.

I'm your host, Laura Adams.

In this show, I'll share tips for what to do if you discover that you've contributed too much to your traditional or Roth IRA.

The individual retirement arrangement or IRA

is one of my favorite savings vehicles

because it offers so much flexibility and tax savings.

Most IRAs give you a wide variety of investment choices,

whether you're very conservative or like to throw caution to the wind.

We know that the recession has made it difficult for many

to continue socking money away for retirement. So if you maxed out an IRA for the

2008 tax year, pat your back and let me say good job.

And if you haven't done it yet but still want to, there's some time left.

The deadline to contribute funds to an IRA for the 2008 tax year is April 15 of 2009.

The maximum allowable contribution for traditional or Roth IRAs is $5,000 if you're under 50 and $6,000 if you're age 50 or older.

There's a special exception for those who participated in a workplace 401k plan

maintained by an employer that went into bankruptcy.

If this is your situation, the IRA contribution limit is generally increased to $8,000 no matter your age.

But what if you overloaded your traditional or Roth IRA account by mistake?

Excesses could be the result of contributions from you, your spouse, your employer, or from a botched rollover.

The good news is that excess contributions can be corrected without penalty if handled in a timely manner.

Let's say Johnny is 35 years old,

earned $40,000 in 2008,

...