fee only advisor

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#235 The Labor Day Show

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As Serena Williams tries to make tennis history, tune into the Grand Slam of money shows! We started with Bob, who is 72 years old. Half of his $3 million nest egg is invested in rental real estate: Is that too much?

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Michael and his wife are in their late 40's with two teenage boys. Is their asset allocation appropriate or are they too heavily invested in equities? Michael also expressed frustration over finding a fee-only advisor.

Meanwhile, John is trying to decide between using a financial adviser or doing it himself and Felissa wanted to know whether her approach for her non-retirement funds should be similar to that of her retirement account.

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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#215 Retirement Planning Week

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We celebrated the conclusion of National Retirement Planning Week with guest Anthony LoCascio, a fiduciary advisor with more than three decades of experience in retirement and tax planning. Anthony breaks down retirement for Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials.

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Speaking of the Millennials (those who are currently 18-34), did you know that they are the biggest generation in US history—even bigger than the Baby Boomers. According to Goldman Sachs, there are 92 million Millennials, compared to 77 million Boomers. And as it turns out, the generation has a firm grip on certain aspects of their financial lives. Check out this segment from CBS Evening News for more on the slackers-turned-savers.

We fielded great questions from Millennials Sam, Tim and Anon!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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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#214 Are You Retirement Ready?

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As we head into National Retirement Planning Week, guest James Nichols joins us to reveal the results of the Voya Financial "Retire Ready Index". The results emphasize that retirement savers need combine knowledge, planning and action to help reach their goals.

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Here are some of the online tools that James mentioned:

And check out this segment from CBS This Morning, where I discussed retirement planning.

Before James joined us, we fielded a retirement question from John (should he convert his 401 (k) into a Roth?); a beneficiary retirement query from Mike and Gary asked about REITs.

If you are toiling away at your taxes this weekend, here are some Last Minute Tax Filing Resources.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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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#213 Annuity Haters

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Guest Gary Schatsky, a fee-only financial advisor, Chair Emeritus of NAPFA and Annuity Hater, joins the show to discuss why annuities are rarely advisable (Gary says just 5 percent of the time!) He also weighs in on the concept of fiduciary and explains why he believes that working with a fee-only advisor vastly reduces the potential for conflicts of interest.

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Kenny from NY read my recent post, "Spring Cleaning for your Money" and wanted to know how to reduce the taxable income generated from some of his mutual funds. One easy fix: use index funds in taxable accounts and keep managed funds in retirement accounts.

Meanwhile, Terry from MN is sitting pretty in her early retirement, but is not sure whether she should roll over her old 401 (k) into an IRA; and she also needs allocation tips. Poor Michael was unable to max out his retirement contributions and now is starting a fatter tax bill, while Steve asked about beneficiary IRA accounts and Wayne asked for advice about changing careers - from a pilot to a financial planner.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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 

Radio Show #141: Ode to Big Al

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This was my first show back since my father (aka "Big Al" or "Albie") passed away. Dad loved the show-he thought it was so cool that you  shared your financial concerns and questions with me, and that I was able to help you out in any way that I could. If you missed the Father's Day show with Big Al, check it out here. And this is my syndicated Tribune column that I wrote for Father's Day.

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We started the show with a great call from Jo in Atlanta, who wanted a solution to her rebalancing needs. Beth from NY recently lost her father and asked about how to invest proceeds of insurance for her mom.

Ed weighed in with a question about Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) and Karl is wondering whether or not to grab an early retirement offer from the USPS.

Two listeners are at opposite places: Patrick wants to know how to jump into the stock market and Andrew is worried about how to get out!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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 

Radio Show #140: Living with Parents to Save Money

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Sometimes circumstances may force kids back to the nest, but in other cases, it's a wonderful tradition that can help the younger generation save money early in their lives.

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Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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 

Radio Show #139: Financial Infidelity

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Financial infidelity can be just as damaging and hurtful as any other type of infidelity. In this week's show, we provide advice about spouses hiding assets and salesmen hiding the truth!

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A few examples of bad behavior came to light during the show. The most egregious example was that of June, whose husband of 44 years has gone behind her back and moved retirement assets. What is her recourse and what should she do? Helen's case was not nearly as bad, but it appears that her husband has engaged a broker to manage their accounts without consulting her.

Then there's Jerry, who is a small business owner. A wolf in sheep's clothing (aka an insurance salesman) is pitching him a "7702 Retirement Plan" which is just a sneaky marketing gimmick to sell an expensive insurance policy.

With financial infidelity abounding, it's no wonder that Stanley is keeping all of his family's assets at T. Rowe Price, but is it OK to do business with only one company? The ability of the industry to grab at your dollars also means that if you are like Bill and have a decent paying I-bond, keep it! Same goes for Pam, who has just inherited $500K -- rather than invest it and assume risk and cost,  she should use some of the money to pay off her outstanding mortgage.

Finally, Susan wants to minimize the tax hit from her Required Minimum Distributions of her retirement accounts.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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 

Radio Show #138: Cash is King

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Listeners have amassed sizable cash reserves-now what to do with all of that moo-lah? Is it time to pay down the mortgage, invest or do maintain the position?

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Walt, Lynn Steve and Ang are all sitting on a pile of cash. In each case, the advice is slightly different, proving once again that every situation is unique.

Mark has had a variable annuity for five years and has been offered the opportunity to purchase a rider that would protect his downside risk-is it worth it? Meanwhile, Nell's advisor is suggesting a change in how he will charge her for his services. She wonders if the new fee is worth it?

Katie asked about combining retirement accounts and Elmar and his wife want to know what steps they should take to  go from two incomes to one.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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 

Radio Show #137: Debt Deal Done (Now Back to Work!)

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Congress finally got its act together and agreed on a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. Sure, we may have to go through this all over again in January and February, but in the mean time, it's back to our regularly scheduled programming!

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Our young listeners are so great, because in answering their questions, I can review some of the basic premises we should all be applying throughout our lives. Leah got us started with questions about rolling over an old retirement plan and whether or not to combine assets with her soon-to-be husband. Aaron's wife wants to buy a house, but is that the best idea at this point in their lives? Steve needed advice about where to invest $5K and Tim and his wife have whole life insurance and want to know whether to exchange it for term -- YES! 29 year old Jaydan wrote such a nice e-mail, that I wanted to give him a shout-out on the show and in the show notes as well.

On the retirement front, Cheryl asked about the nasty provision of Social Security that reduces benefits for federal employees (Windfall EliminationProvision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). While there is legislation pending to undo these punitive rules, given the state of affairs in DC, I wouldn't hold my breath for action.

Ena has a wonderful problem: she has saved $1.35 million and needs a strategy to create income from the portfolio in retirement. Now is a good time to interview fee-only advisors. Howard asked about index vs. managed funds (INDEX RULES!), Andy is weighing a lump sum versus an annuity for his wife's retirement account, and Robert asked about the file and suspend strategy for Social Security.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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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Radio Show #136: How to Choose a Financial Advisor

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With all of the drama out of Washington DC, you probably didn't realize that it was just Financial Planning Week. To celebrate, our guest, fee-only financial planner Gary Schatsky of ObjectiveAdvice.com provides everything you need to know about how to choose a financial advisor.

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For those who are in the process of interviewing financial professionals, here are the 10 Questions you should ask!

We started the show with a great call from Louiseann from MD brought up a vexing question: where can a small investor go? Then we helped Chris from OR, who is managing her own $1 million portfolio and needs to understand how to evaluate her performance. Linda from TX wants to know what type of retirement plan would be best for her husband, who is a doctor earning big bucks!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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