lump sum vs DCA

Radio Show #115: Stock index highs (ho-hum, again?)

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This may seem like heresy from a former investment advisor, but let’s be clear: Not everyone needs a financial advisor. If you have the interest, the discipline, the time and the intelligence to manage your own financial life, then you should do it!

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That’s what I told Mayer from CA, who wanted to know whether he should fork over $2,500 for a "deep-dive" with a financial advisor and David from Delaware, who is happy managing his money with dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs).

I’m not so sure about Faith, who probably needs a second opinion for her current advisor and Rita, who is trying to figure out whether to get back into the stock market after selling out last fall. I’m guessing that 34 year-old Alex, who has $500K in cash because he is scared of the stock market, might also benefit from working with an advisor. (It’s not that I am anti-cash – after all, I told 77 year-old Paddy to stay put with his money market account, because he self-identified as someone who has a low tolerance for risk.)

We fielded real estate/mortgage pay down questions from Brad in Arkansas, Vanessa in Colorado and Victor in Washington.

Katie asked a slew of questions about her financial life, including what is the appropriate amount and type of life insurance and what are the rules around opening a non-retirement account?

Margie and Kendall weighed in with questions about revocable trusts; and Sandra and Irvin provided me with ample opportunity to rant against variable annuities.

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 #114: Mother’s Day, LinkedIn tips, stock records

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Want to know how to make the most of your LinkedIn profile? Guest and branding expert Jason Seiden of Ajax Workforce Marketing has come to the rescue!

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I met Jason at  LinkedIn's FinanceConnect:13 in New York, where I had to admit in front of a room of 350 people, that my LinkedIn profile was terrible! Enter Jason, who laid out three basic questions that every LinkeIn user should ask:

  1. What do you do?
  2. Who do you serve?
  3. What do you want to communicate to the people you want to attract?

Note to self: Add "Update LinkedIn profile" to the to-do list!

I bet Mark from CA and Matthew from MI have no problem with social media, but the 20-somethings needed help with their new retirement plans. We talked about contribution levels and allocation.

The bombshell of the show was that I am "the other woman" in Lyle’s life, who found us on WBAL in Baltimore, MD. Lyle has been catching up on the show by downloading older podcasts (you can do that here). Meanwhile, he and his wife are selling rental property and would like to invest the proceeds for income.

Do Roxanne and her husband need their current life insurance policies? They are in their mid-50’s and the need for coverage is diminishing with every year of saving, while Cary from MD asks about lump sum investing vs. dollar cost averaging (DCA).

According to research from Vanguard, two-thirds of the time, investing a lump sum yields better returns than putting smaller, fixed dollars to work at regular intervals. Then again, one-third of the time DCA is better, so choose carefully.

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