An alternative to Medicaid spend-down
Picture this: Your spouse has made a permanent move to a nursing home. You don’t have long-term care insurance, Medicare won’t cover the cost, and you have too much money to qualify for Medicaid — but not nearly enough to afford the nursing-home bills. The monthly tab — easily $8,000 or more for a semi-private room — is rapidly depleting your nest egg. Now what? This is where a ... READ MORE
Banks inch up depositor interest rates
Slowly, but surely, being a saver is paying off again. For years after the recession, banks paid next to nothing on deposits — much to the detriment of savers everywhere. Now, banks have increased lending and need more deposits, so they’re willing to pay higher interest rates. The big publicly traded banks are paying roughly 0.40 percent on their deposits right now, which is up... READ MORE
More risks stemming from hack of Equifax
Long after the Equifax breach was announced, people were still struggling to freeze their credit reports as credit bureau websites failed, lured people to look-alike products, or even redirected visitors to download malicious software. But that’s just the start of the gauntlet people may have to run to protect their financial lives. The Equifax hack exposed the names,... READ MORE
Are your bonds lowering or raising risk?
Most retirees hold a mix of stocks and bonds, assuming that their bonds will not only generate income but also cushion the fall if stocks crash. But are your bonds really taming your portfolio’s risk — or amping it up? For much of the past two decades, bonds could be depended on to zig when stocks zag. But now, some analysts and money managers are warning that the correlation between ... READ MORE
Making the most of your donor dollars
This year’s seemingly endless string of natural disasters has inspired countless acts of heroism and generosity. But as the year-end giving season begins, some philanthropy experts worry that a phenomenon known as “donor fatigue” could affect individuals’ willingness to support other worthwhile causes. Many global crises don’t get much news coverage in the U.S. For example,... READ MORE
Calculating the true cost of divorce at 50+
You’re sitting across the kitchen table from your spouse, when she informs you that she wants to separate. After decades of marriage, you’re facing divorce.While becoming unwillingly single can be difficult at any stage of life, splitting up after the age of 50 can be doubly devastating, because you have a limited amount of time to financially recover before retirement.According ... READ MORE
Several good reasons to buy used goods
Bedbugs. Weird smells. The possibility of imminent breakdowns. People have all sorts of excuses for not buying used stuff.Those who deliberately buy used items, though, say such fears are not just overblown — they’re also expensive.Katy Wolk-Stanley, a labor and delivery nurse, has a short list of things she’ll buy new, including personal care items (toothbrushes, makeup,... READ MORE
Don’t procrastinate rebalancing portfolio
Rebalancing a portfolio is like going to the gym. You know you should, but it’s so easy to put the task off until tomorrow, or next week, or next year. That’s especially true when stocks, now in the ninth year of a bull market, seem to march ever higher. Shifting money from winning stocks to low-yielding bonds may sound tougher than tackling that treadmill.Older investors may... READ MORE
Strategies to stop being the family ATM
If you want someone to stop asking you for money, the worst thing you can do is say no and then give in after persistent pleading.Such “intermittent reinforcement” — granting a reward after an unpredictable number of requests — makes it more likely the person will ask for another handout than if you just said yes at the start, said Brad Klontz, a certified financial... READ MORE
Fiduciary rule means better money advice
In a Harris Poll conducted in March on behalf of Personal Capital, a digital wealth management firm, 46 percent of respondents said they believed all financial professionals are legally required to always act in their clients’ best interest. Another 31 percent were unsure whether this was the case.Imagine those individuals’ surprise (and maybe yours), in the coming weeks and... READ MORE
