• The First Steps in Planning Home-Based Care for an Elderly Relative
    08/10/2010 - 02:00

    No one wants to see someone they love in a nursing home. That’s why many older Americans and their families would opt for home-based care whether it’s for a temporary illness or disability, or end-of-life.
    Yet the best time to plan for such an event is exactly at the time when no one wants to – when everyone’s healthy and in no mood to think of being sick.

  • Why It’s Important To Take an Interest in Retirement Plan Fees Again…Or For the First Time
    08/10/2010 - 02:00

    As investors start cautiously peeking at their investment statements again, it’s a good idea to take a renewed interest in investment fees and sales charges they pay to their personal retirement plans as well as those at work.
    Why? Because most individuals never take the time to learn about what they’re being charged in good economic times. In a continuing economic slump, however, every nickel charged to an account provides a teachable moment.

  • The Do’s and Don’ts of Passing Down Vacation Property to Family
    08/10/2010 - 02:00

    A family vacation home is a place of fun, memories and refuge for generations of friends and relatives. But when the matriarch or patriarch who bought the home dies, it’s not uncommon for the same family members to go to war over visitation rights and ownership of the property, which can be worth a significant sum.

  • Medical Tourism: What You Should Know
    08/09/2010 - 02:00

    The latest Deloitte Center for Healthcare Solutions report on Medical Tourism projects renewed growth in medical tourism in 2010 as the economy recovers. The reasons? Consumer pocketbooks will be able to better withstand trips for non-emergency care outside the country. Also, it’s believed that more insurance companies will eventually agree to fund procedures at international hospitals that win extensive accreditation.

  • The 4 Percent Rule -- What is the Right Amount to Withdraw from Your Retirement fund each year?
    07/21/2010 - 02:00

    With stagnant incomes and roller-coaster investment returns over the past decade, individuals on the brink of retirement might wonder what became of all those “rules of thumb” affecting how they handle their nest egg once they walk away from their jobs.
    They’re still there. But the question of how well they work comes down to the individual.

  • Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy
    07/21/2010 - 02:00

    It doesn’t take much these days to damage a credit score. Before the recession, late payments and blasting through credit limits would take its toll. But in the past year, Fair Isaac, the company that developed the algorithm that is the leading determinant of our scores, made an important change in its formula.

  • A Midyear Financial Checkup Can Make For a Smarter Second Half
    07/21/2010 - 02:00

    This is not the time of year when everyone wants to stay indoors with their finances. But a midyear review of your tax situation, retirement and spending issues can be far more valuable than the rushed attempt most people make at the end of the year -- or when it’s too late at tax time.
    Summer’s actually a good time to do this task because there’s still enough time to correct lapses in savings, spending or tax planning. Here’s what most people should cover:

  • Some Annuities Offer a Way to Pay for Long-Term Care
    07/20/2010 - 02:00

    Current estimates from AARP put the annual cost of a private nursing home room at a national average of $78,000. As older Americans are still struggling to reassemble their retirement plans from the worst economic downturn in 70 years, relatively few are considering the potentially most devastating threat to their plans: the spiraling cost of long-term care.

  • Feel Like Un-Retiring? How to Prepare
    06/24/2010 - 02:00

    Last October, the MetLife Mature Market Institute released a study that said the over-55 workforce will account for almost 93 percent of the net increase in the U.S. civilian labor force between 2006 and 2016. At the same time, MetLife reported that many American workers plan to stay on the job “at least” until age 69.

  • Planning for a Child’s Private School Education
    06/24/2010 - 02:00

    Sending your child to private school is an expensive proposition. For most people, it’s made a little tougher by the fact that it’s necessary to save for a child’s college education at the same time. Some have the income that makes this easier, but for the rest, it’s necessary to create a pay-as-you-go system that will somehow make it all work.
    The parents who make it work tend to plan from the time the child is very young. They keep abreast of every possible resource for scholarships, discounts, loan programs and other forms of financial aid.

Market Snapshot

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