Downsizing

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#225 Bond Summer School

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We're cramming in a summer class on bonds, led by Bond Yoda, Marilyn Cohen. Marilyn founded Envision Capital Management 20 years ago after stints at William O’Neil & Company and Cantor Fitzgerald. Besides her impressive credentials, our favorite fact on her bio is: "In her spare time Marilyn raises service dogs for the disabled and regularly conducts pet therapy sessions at the VA Hospital."

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Marilyn covers the differences between bond funds and individual bonds; the costs involved in buying bonds directly and how you can learn more about the mark up and recent trading of bonds at http://www.investinginbonds.com/.

How should you invest your bond portfolio? Marilyn advises that investors keep it US-centric (though not treasuries) and make sure to focus on 3 to 10 year maturities. She also weighs in on whether or not you should consider so-called "bond alternatives", like REITs, dividend stocks, preferred stock.

You can check out Marilyn's e-book about bonds for free at Smashwords.com or for $0.99 at Amazon.com.

I also mentioned a CBS This Morning segment on saving, which you can find here and the New York Times 1% More Calculator.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer in the World. Here's how to contact us:
  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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#203 Who's Watching Financial Fiduciaries?

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We always talk about the importance of working with fiduciary advisors, but who's keeping tabs on them? Guest and current FPA President Ed Gjertsen weighs in on the question. He says that the oversight is conducted by a trio of entities: the CFP Board of Standards, the SEC and FINRA. Ed also discussed why he and the FPA remain "fee-neutral".

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Jack from GA needed advice about his future retirement from the military, we discussed in greater detail why revocable trust may not be necessary for most and reviewed new IRA rollover rules for Marilyn.

In case you missed it, last week was the official start of tax season. Here's last week's CTM segment outlining what you need to know about changes to your tax returns and here's how to stick to your New Year's Financial Resolutions.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 
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#202 Downsizing, Dollar Cost Averaging

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Oh sure, I wanted to call this episode, "Islanders Shutout Rangers," but this is a financial, not a sports show...and after all, I can only torture Mark so much. After a brief recap of the game, we spoke with Tom (a Bruins fan), who needed help deciding whether or not he should downsize prior to retirement.

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Vicky and John sought guidance on putting cash to work, which allowed me to explain how hard it is to time the market and why even if you are risk averse, you may want to allocate a small percentage of your portfolio to stocks.

Jennifer had an interesting question about how to treat her rental properties; Rosetta and an anonymous e-mailer had estate questions; Jeff, JD and Mark asked about index funds vs. ETFs vs. Robo-Advisors; Alan asked about scrubbing his credit report of errors; and Vicky asked about ditching whole like policies for her kids.

Here's last week's CTM segment about weak retail sales and the negative impact on stocks.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

  • Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE