by Kenny | Oct 27, 2022
Answers to your most pressing questions about the rising cost of living — past, present and future Prices crept up, then surged higher in the first half of this year. In June, the consumer price index rose to become 9.1 percent higher than it had been a year earlier —...
by Kenny | Oct 20, 2022
Your needs are unique if you are divorced, widowed or never married Ah, the single life. You can do as you like. There’s no need to deal with a spouse who has opposing views, a different vision of retirement. A spouse who spends too little or too much, or has...
by Kenny | Oct 13, 2022
Older adults are concerned about the impact of inflation on Social Security retirement benefits. Americans have real concerns about being able to make ends meet with Social Security retirement income, even as many admit they have not done much financial planning for...
by Kenny | Oct 6, 2022
You’ll be retired by this time next year. Here’s what to do now You’ve scrimped and saved and planned for decades, through good times and bad. Now your goal is to retire in this uncertain environment, perhaps in the next year — even though the last six months have...
by Kenny | Sep 28, 2022
What’s the price of happiness in your state? Can money buy happiness? According to a recent Purdue study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, income can correlate with emotional well-being and life satisfaction. “Globally, we find that satiation...
by Kenny | Sep 22, 2022
Sometimes the writing is on the wall Retirement may seem untenable with inflation soaring and gas prices skyrocketing, but for some older adults, hanging on to their job can cause more harm than good. Sure, you still have money coming in, but at what price to your...
by Kenny | Sep 14, 2022
A long and happy retirement takes more than just money. Here are seven things happy retirees do – besides dutifully saving the money they’ll need to quit the 9-to-5 grind. Retirement planning is all about numbers. It centers around one question: Do my financial assets...
by Kenny | Sep 9, 2022
Coronavirus scams keep coming as fraudsters follow the headlines The COVID-19 pandemic continues to fuel a parallel outbreak of coronavirus scams, many targeting older Americans. As of mid-June, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had logged nearly 754,000 consumer...
by Kenny | Aug 31, 2022
With no spouse and no children, she’s looking elsewhere for backup The Problem Elizabeth Spiegler, 68, a retired office manager in New York City, was thinking ahead. She wrote me wondering who could handle her financial affairs if someday she can’t....
by Kenny | Aug 25, 2022
Talking about who will control your assets is tricky; doing it slowly may help My husband and I have never told our adult children, now in their mid-30s, how much money we make, how much we have tucked away and how much we spend in a year. But after talking with more...
by Kenny | Aug 18, 2022
History shows that the market typically moves in cycles. In the past 125 years, there have been five bull markets and four bear markets. Investment strategies that work in bull markets may not be effective in flat or bear markets. Over the last 125 years, the stock...
by Kenny | Aug 17, 2022
A long and fulfilling retirement takes more than just money. Here are seven things happy retirees do – besides dutifully saving the money they’ll need to finally quit the 9-to-5 grind. Retirement planning is all about numbers. It centers around one question: Do my...
by Kenny | Aug 10, 2022
The reality of quitting work can be far different from the fantasy. Here’s what you need to know Even if you love your job, there are times when you’d rather be alphabetizing the spice shelf than riding a packed train alongside hundreds of sniffling fellow...
by Kenny | Jul 27, 2022
In 2007, at age 52, I was forced to retire overnight. An MRI had revealed a tumor, the size of a large eggplant, sitting on my pelvis. In 98% of these cases, my oncologist told me, bone tumors are secondary cancer. He estimated that I had about six months to live. But...
by Kenny | Jul 21, 2022
Prepare for the monetary shock of widowhood When you lose your mate, you lose so much—your best friend, your equilibrium, your future together. And just when you’re at your lowest, it hits you: You could lose a lot of money, too. Your finances may crash in myriad ways...
by Kenny | Jul 14, 2022
Thinking about retiring? The keys to contentment are at your fingertips Some might say that an ideal retirement would find you waking up in a private Mediterranean villa on a mattress made of freshly ironed $100 bills. And it’s true: Money is a big part of a...
by Kenny | Jul 8, 2022
Caregivers can play a key role in keeping criminals at bay It’s a sad fact of life: Criminals target older Americans for fraud. Many older folks have nest eggs. Cybersecurity is not their second language. They came of age during more trusting times. And they may be...
by Kenny | Jun 29, 2022
Steep rises in energy, housing, food WASHINGTON — Inflation soared over the past year at its fastest pace in more than 40 years, with costs for food, gasoline, housing and other necessities squeezing American consumers and wiping out the pay raises that many people...
by Kenny | Jun 23, 2022
Economic downturns are inevitable. Here’s how to protect your retirement nest egg Sooner or later, the economy will fall into a recession, because that’s the nature of the economy: Busts follow booms. For many retirees, the biggest challenge is the investment...
by Kenny | Jun 17, 2022
IRS tax code offers perks to taxpayers of a certain age If you’re 50 or older, there is one benefit to reaching this milestone that you may be overlooking: tax breaks aimed right at you. Now you can contribute more to your Roth or traditional individual retirement...
