Ask Terry Archives

HI Terry.. I am 54 and married. Should I pay off my home equity of 30000 dollars or save for retirement. I have no savings Terry Says:  The simple -- but difficult -- answer is BOTH!  I don't know whether you have a mortgage or a home equity loan/line of credit.  It's not so serious…

My husband and I are both age 72 and are residents of Illinois. We are currently spending the month March in Florida and have come across a condo that we are considering buying as an investment. We have enough money in a savings account to pay cash for the unit and by renting it Jan,…

I am almost 66 and retired my husband almost 71 and collecting on his IRA is still working part time. Can I open an IRA in my name if he is still bringing in a paycheck, I know he can no longer put money in his. Terry Says:  In order to open an IRA (after…

My mother recently passed away and I am preparing to sell her house (her only asset) and will stand to gain about $350,000.00 from the sale. My husband and I have negligible investments and savings. Our monthly income is $9000.00 and our expenses are $7000.00 with the excess earmarked for long term expenses. We currently…

Hi Terry, given a backdrop of rising bond yields (assuming we'll get there at some point), which do you recommend: individual laddered bonds (either high quality corporate or gov't) with varying maturities that are held to maturity or bond funds? If it helps you can assume this is for a $1M retirement portfolio where bonds/fixed…

Hello Terry, I am over 80+ years old, widowed for many years. I have 2 adult children , both disabled on Soc. Sec. disability & Medicare. I do not have long term insurance as I could not afford it. I keep reading about Special needs trust fund but find they are very expensive & believe…

About seven years ago my mother cosigned for a $25,000 non-governmental student loan for a granddaughter. I had her transfer the house to my brother about two years ago because she started to get letters that my niece had fallen behind. I don't see my niece making this debt good anytime soon and my mother…

My IRA is being managed now, but the fees (I think about 2% per quarter) are eating up most of any gains. I have just under 200k in my IRA. And I am living on SS and a small pension. Which almost cover my monthly cost. Terry Says:  To put it simply, you are being…

My mother is bed ridden and unlikely to ever not be and she needs round the clock care. She is 85 and my dad is also 85 but in good health. He lives in their home where my mother also resides with the round the clock care. They have three sons including myself. Payment for…

Dear Terry, Can you please tell me if the IRS audits all home sales for ownership and use tests regarding exclusion of gain on sale ? Thanks for your advice. Terry Says:  I don't know if they audit all sales -- but I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side if you DO get…

My wife and I are 10 yrs away from a planned retirement both are healthy but we are thinking if long term care health insurance should be added to our portfolio. You talked about short-term long care insurance, what are the factors to determines if that would be a good choice for our current situation…

I have short and intermediate bond funds. What should I do to protect myself if or when interest rates rise? Should I invest in individual bonds now? Terry Says:  As I have explained many times, when interest rates rise, bond prices fall.  No one wants to be stuck for a "long time" with an old,…

Terry, 8 years ago a financial planner convinced me to transfer all of my 401 k nest egg into a variable annuity At the time I was 44 years old. My first thought at the time was wow arent there a lot of fees? and dont you open up a annuities when you are in…

My husband and I are both 55 and looking over our retirement investments. What balance of stocks/bonds do you recommend for our Vanguard IRA/SEP investments? They recommend 70/30 but wanted to see if you thought different and if there is anything else to consider here. Terry Says:  It's not a fixed percentage that matters --…

My husband and I are about 5 years from retirement, and are concerned about making sure our money lasts. We are also concerned that with current low interest rates, if the stock market dives we may end up with much less than we now have. We went to a financial adviser who recommended that we…

I am a landlord in cook county and the real estate taxes are breaking me my house depriciated 33% and taxes go up.unanble to afford anymore. Where can I find a step by step process to claim the exemption? Terry Says:  Yes, property taxes are going up everywhere, and they will continue to be a…

My husband and I received letters from Prudential regarding the Long Term Care Insurance policies we have with them. They are offering an increase from $128.00 to $148.00 for the "Daily Maximum for Nursing Home Care". Our current monthly premium amount would increase from $87.18 each to $123.16 each. The letter states that "rejecting this…

you've written a couple articles 1) long term care combined with life ins 2) consider long term care ins now. how can we get reprints? thks, denny Terry Says:  Here's a link to the most recent one -- about a year ago:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-savage/two-new-ways-to-buy-long_b_5030662.html

Dear Terry, I sent you a this question a few minutes ago and realized I didn't give you enough details of my financial situation. I'm 61 and work 2 jobs. I have 65K in my 401K. I'm married and my 66 year old husband is getting social security but doesn't have a 401K. Between the…

Hi Terry, my husband told me that he is required to open up a savings account in his name only in order to receive his MRD from the IRS. That they would not deposit it in our joint account. Is this accurate? Terry Says:  Absolutely incorrect.  On many accounts.  First, he does not receive a…