Reader Question: My husband and I have a combined estate of about $2 million and one child. We are concerned with the guy she is dating and would like some advice on how to keep him from getting any of her inheritance upon our death since she is our only heir. Any advice would be appreciated. A.M. […]
Protect Your Child from a Bad Relationship
Your Kid…A Money Guru?
Most kids arrive at the ‘real world’ with little or no financial training. Think about it. The schools or college rarely teach any courses about how to manage personal finances and many parents are living a financial tightrope struggling to pay their bills throughout the year. It’s no wonder that generation after generation of kids struggle with money […]
Credit Monitoring v. Security Freeze- Which is Best?
Reader Question: I read your article about signing up for Target’s credit monitoring program. The fact that you have to give all of your personal information to them, online no less, where it can be hacked, keeps me from signing up for this or any credit monitoring program! I’ve authorized a credit freeze with the three […]
Reverse Mortgages for Retirement Planning
A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) commonly referred to as a reverse mortgage, is essentially the opposite of a traditional mortgage. With a traditional mortgage, you borrow money from a lender and you repay the loan in monthly installments until it is repaid (including interest). With a reverse mortgage, you’re taking a loan on your home and, […]
Best Strategies for Retirement Planning- Part II
Last week, I began a discussion of retirement planning strategies. If you missed that column, visit the Resource Center at www.WelchGroup.com; then click on ‘Stewart’s Column’. Here are the remaining strategies: Save more money. If you are a pre-retiree, a detailed retirement analysis will likely suggest that saving more money is needed. Figure out how you are going to […]
Best Strategies for Retirement Planning- Part I
With interest rates continuing to hold near historical lows since 2008, retirees increasingly find themselves in a struggle to produce enough cash flow to pay their bills. In addition, life has a way of producing financial surprises that force people to dip even further into their savings. Whether you are a pre-retiree (10 years or less away […]
Free Credit Protection for 1 Year
Identity theft thieves are proliferating across America and are using ever more sophisticated techniques to hack your personal information. There have been well-publicized thefts of customer information by Target, Neiman Marcus and other high profile retailers. I suspect identity theft will become one of the big financial stories this year. After the Target breach, their fourth quarter profits […]
Life Insurance’s Nasty Surprise
Life insurance is one of the most complicated and confusing financial products in the marketplace and, for the uninformed, can create some nasty surprises under certain circumstances. Life insurance policies fall into two broad categories: ‘term’ life insurance and ‘permanent’ life insurance. Of the two, term insurance is much more easily understood. With term insurance, you typically […]
Preventing Identity Theft When Someone Dies
Reader Question: Your recent article on identity theft was very informative, but in trying to put together end of life info for my spouse (or me) to use in the event of the other’s death, I was trying to find the process for notifying the three credit bureaus of a death, so as to prevent […]
I Overfunded My Roth IRA- Now What?
Reader Question: Concerning a Roth IRA. Suppose at the start of the year one is unsure how much their earnings would be due to overtime/bonuses. What happens if I contribute the full amount allowed to a Roth IRA and end up exceeding the income limit that allows me to participate? I want to maximize my saving […]