Browse by Categories

• Consumption Smoothing
• Couch Potato Investing
• Financial Planning
• Home Ownership & Mortgages
• Income Investing
• Index & ETF Investing
• Living Lite
• Mutual Fund Investing
• Q&A (from print)
• Retirement
• Social Security

• Where does your money go?

  How does your spending compare with other people? It isn't difficult to find out. Just visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site. Then prowl around the figures from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (see links below). I did that and here is what I learned... Posted Jan 20 2007, 06:00 PM by scottb with | with 16 comment(s) Filed under: Consumption Smoothing, The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• On Newsstands Today! Live Forever and Spend Money

  Is there a "How to cash out for Dummies" manual? Q. I'm in my 50s with considerable savings. I'm also pretty good at my sales job. I am like many, however, in that I know how to save but have no idea how to pragmatically prepare for retirement income... Posted Oct 04 2006, 08:00 PM by scottb with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• How to Reduce Risk in Retirement Withdrawals

  Is there a best way to take Required Minimum Distributions from IRA accounts? Q. Have any general views been established concerning exactly how to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)? Suppose, for instance, that you have three or four mutual funds... Posted Sep 18 2006, 06:03 PM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Withdrawal strategy can avoid some risks

  Minimum distributions may not match the demands of the tax man Question: Have any general views been established concerning exactly how to take required minimum distributions? Suppose, for instance, that you have three or four mutual funds in an IRA.... Posted Sep 14 2006, 10:20 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Retirement Income Planning, Advanced Version

  If there were a Hero Award in financial planning, William P. Bengen would be a shoo-in for nomination. The southern California Certified Financial Planner does more than financial planning for his clients. He also does original research that is more important... Posted Sep 10 2006, 07:22 PM by scottb with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Less Debt Means More Purchasing Power

  Q. Dave Ramsey, author of "Financial Peace," suggests that people should never purchase something on a credit card that they can't pay for when the statement arrives. Suzi Orman has similar ideas. It seems to me that this would be a good thing for individuals... Posted Jan 12 2006, 02:50 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Q&A (from print), The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Portfolio Survival vs. Personal Survival

  Q. One issue that seems to be neglected is the impact of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) on the survival prospects of IRA accounts. This isn't a trivial problem. When you withdraw the RMD you must pay a tax so there is less income. Second, any money... Posted Sep 08 2005, 11:26 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Q&A (from print), The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• The Coffeehouse vs. The Couch Potato

  "Which is the better investment: The Couch Potato portfolio or the Coffeehouse portfolio, for someone who is 58 years old and wants to retire at 60 and live, hopefully till 90?" The question comes from a San Antonio reader. The short answer is that the... Posted Jul 26 2005, 10:48 AM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Couch Potato Investing, The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Positioning Your Portfolio for Withdrawals

  Q. I have a SEP-IRA of $350,000 in 36 different stocks and mutual funds. I'm 62 and would like to start taking some money out in four years. What should I do? ---J.J. by e-mail from Dallas A. Simplify the portfolio, reduce the price volatility of what... Posted Apr 14 2005, 01:55 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Home Ownership & Mortgages, Q&A (from print), The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Putting the Building Block Portfolios Together

  As investors, we're surrounded by an amazing number of choices. There are thousands of mutual funds, dozens of large mutual fund firms, and scads of small boutique fund firms. In spite of this, building a basic portfolio with products from a single firm... Posted Mar 22 2005, 04:21 PM by scottb with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Couch Potato Investing, The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• New Rules for Retirement Spending?

  How much can you spend in retirement? Nine years ago I took the legendary Peter Lynch to task for giving bad advice on that question. He had told readers of Worth magazine they could invest 100 percent of their money in common stocks and safely withdraw... Posted Nov 30 2004, 10:15 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Retirement, The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Portfolio Survival: Income Trumps Diversification

  Will international investments make your retirement nest egg last longer? The answer to that question comes from the same three Trinity University professors---Philip L. Cooley, Carl M. Hubbard, and Daniel T. Walz--- who did one of the original studies... Posted Jun 01 2004, 03:27 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• The Margarita Portfolio

  CABBAGE KEY, Florida. It's a tiny place, but boaters love it. It's quiet, protected, and far too small for cars. Indeed, this little island has a few paths but no roads. There are some cabins, a boat dock that will hold a handful of boats--- provided... Posted Mar 16 2004, 12:30 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Couch Potato Investing, Living Lite, The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• With a Good Match You Can Tolerate A Poor Fund Family

  Q. My employer offers a Simple IRA. They match the first 3 percent. This is great, but the only fund company they are offering is John Hancock Funds, with class A, B, or C shares and horrendous yearly expenses. Should I invest anyway to get the match... Posted Feb 26 2004, 02:12 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Income Investing, Q&A (from print), The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival

• Benchmarking A Manager For Your 401(k) Plan

  Q. My employer offers a 401k with several funds from Merrill Lynch and other companies. They have an investment vehicle called a Goal Manager. This is a no fee plan. It is a selection of 10 funds used to create portfolios based on five models--- conservative... Posted Nov 06 2003, 10:05 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Mutual Fund Investing, Q&A (from print), The Spender's Portfolio & Portfolio Survival