Financial

None of us can see what the future holds for us. But you have to make certain assumptions if you’re going to create a strategy for building the resources you’ll need for a comfortable retirement. But what happens when those assumptions prove unrealistic? Unfortunately, many people are wrestling with this very problem.

It’s been about a year since stock prices hit their low point during the long bear market. Since then, of course, we’ve seen a big rally, but some of the decisions you made when the market was at its lowest point may still be affecting your portfolio’s performance and prospects.

Medicare enrollment is automatic for some of us. In fact, anyone who has received a Social Security check or 24 months worth of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B.1 Part A is hospital insurance; Part B is medical insurance. If you’re getting Social Security checks and approaching age 65, you’ll get a Medicare card in the mail three months before your 65th birthday.

Stocks that tend to pay sizable dividends. Institutional and individual investors buy preferred stocks because they offer fixed dividends – in fact, dividend yields are typically greater than those of common shares.1 Preferred stocks are occasionally called hybrid securities, because they have characteristics of debt instruments as well as equities. Let’s review some of their features and pitfalls. Priority dividend payouts. As the ...

You may not have the pictures, suntan or souvenirs to show for it, but if you’re at least 70-1/2, you’ve just finished a “vacation.” And that means you’ll have to do some work — on determining how much to take out of your retirement plans this year. Typically, when you reach 70-1/2, you must start taking withdrawals (“required minimum distributions,” or RMDs) from your traditional IRA or your employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a ...

Most investors pay a great deal of attention to the price of their investments — yesterday’s price, today’s price, tomorrow’s price, next year’s price and so on. And that’s understandable, because we always want the prices of our investments to rise. Yet, if you focus too much on prices, you could end up making some costly mistakes. Why?

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so you’d better get going with the flowers and chocolates for your sweetie. But this year, why not go beyond the traditional gifts and give a present that can make a difference in your loved one’s life for years to come? Specifically, why not give a financial gift? Of course, you could always put some cash or a check in a card, but with a little creativity, you can make a financial gift that has a longer-lasting and more profound ...

A turbulent ten years. The 2000s gave us remarkable opportunity and remarkable volatility. They tested our patience, and many investment strategies. They taught us to hold on, hang in there and diversify. Stocks. Was it really a “lost decade”? It depends on how you were invested. Yes, the Dow ended the 1990s at 11,497.12 and ended the 2000s at 10,428.05, amounting to a 9.30% slip.

Are you a member of the “Sandwich Generation”? This designation — which applies to people caring for their aging parents while supporting their own children — may be applicable to you if you’re either a younger Baby Boomer, born in the late 1950s or early 1960s, or an older member of “Generation X,” born in the mid-1960s.

On Jan. 25, some of us celebrate Opposite Day. Its origins are murky and even its exact date is in some dispute, but Opposite Day has proved to be a source of fun for many people, especially children, who choose to eat breakfast at suppertime and otherwise do things in reverse.