Ask Terry Archives

I'm grandma owner/participant of my grandson's 529 plan. Should I transfer it to his parents 529 plan for him. Trying to avoid negative impact on his future federal aid application. He's 14, starts h/s this Aug. Straight A student. All his subjects are accelerated. Thank you very much. Their account is w/ Brightstart mine is…

I have a question on this. I have decided to take half of my divorce settlement 26k after a year separation and use it toward purchasing a home and the rest for cash reserves. I haven't worked for the past year to get our girls settled to the divorce and was primarily a stay at…

Hi Terry, I'm having difficulty paying off my credit card debt and am currently only able to make minimum payments. The card I have had the longest, also has the biggest balance of over 30k. This kills me since I used to pay off my credit card in full every month until I lost my…

I recently was gifted $28,000. I am 74 years young with about $250,000 invested in CD's and a managed account. Besides social security I earn $30,000 a year working part time. With the market at an all time high, do I wait to invest this money in a managed account or ETF's and put those…

New to your site - What is Chicken Money? Terry Says:  Chicken money is money you simply cannot afford to lose!  So you don't take risks with it.  These days it's frustrating, since Chicken Money belongs in bank CDs, Treasury bills (www.TreasuryDirect.gov) and money market funds.  None pays very much!  But remember the mantra of…

This may be a study in frustration. I didn't find the site before I made a decision to annuitize 4 annuities amounting to some $400,000.00 because I am concerned about the stock market. I want to certain my grandchildren get the money I worked hard to accumulate The annuities will be paid 10 years certain…

Hi Terry, I wrote to you over a year ago in reference to my inability to get a credit card after some financial problems. At the time I was an American Express cardholder for over 30 years and had a Chase card, and a Capital One card. I lost them all but paid back the…

Hello, My son is 23 yrs old and is a wild land firefighter and has just been offered benefits. How much should he invest in his 457 ICMRC retirement plane. He doesn't know if they match or not . He will find out .. but depending on this how much should he invest?

What are both the positives and the negatives of putting a portion of a 401 K into an annuity after reaching the age of 70? Terry Says:   Please read the column I just posted on that subject.  Your question, and others like it, inspired me to write about it at greater length than I do…

A 80yr old needs very much to retire, but she has co sign for a vehicle for a family member and now that person has now no income,can the 80yr.old take vechicles back....Don t know what to do??? Terry Says:  No 80 year old "has|" to co-sign for any one, even a close family member! …

I just signed up for your newsletter. I don't see any link for the financial organizer form.

I recently transfered my some monies to an existing IRA that I've had for many years. I was wondering if it is wise to put this money into an ETF fund that is managed and automatically rebalanced according to your personal goals. I am not investment savvy and need help making investment decisions. I am…

I contacted "commercial real estate income funds" because I heard about it on WGN, the minimum investment is $25,000 with 8% in monthly pay outs. My IRA is not doing anything for me and is stagnant. Is this a reliable company?

where is the link for the Personal Financial Organizer? thank you, barbara

Like many I am paying (1.3%) a fund management fee, in this case for my IRA/Roth retirement money.Universal advise is to invest through Index Funds. Please help me learn how to move my money to index funds without tax liabilities. Sincerely Don Pritchett

-Does cost of buying an annuity and amount of return f lactate with interest? -can I buy delayed annuity be start payng 5 yrs or so after purchase? Website gives only 13 months delay. -are there any plan available which will provide inflation protection? thanks in advance.

Hi Terry, I hope you're well and happy. I am a 71 year old widow and will sell my house in the next year or two. Since I have done okay this far, my main goal is to not make any big money mistakes. Another goal is to minimize any possible burden on my daughters.…

Dear Terry, I am in desperate need of help. Our credit card bills amount to 40,000.00. Yep you read that right. It has become increasingly hard to keep afloat. So here is my question. My husband has about 600,000.00 in his 401k. He is about 5 years from retiring. My house is worth about 300,000…

I understand the data on average superiority of index mutual funds to managed funds while building retirement funds. How do these data apply to post retirement management of retirement funds when one is constantly withdrawing funds from the principal amount in retirement accounts rather than adding to retirement accounts? Also, in your recent column you…

my 92 yr old dad needs options for his universal life policy taken out in 1987. The insurance company is asking for over $5000 to keep the policy or he gets NOTHING.