Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Liz Weston

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

By

Today’s top story: How to get traction paying off your credit cards in 2020. Also in the news: 8 moves to consider for IRAs and 401(k)s under the new Secure Act, using points and miles for wedding travel, and the 5 best states for retirees in 2020.

How to Get Traction on Paying Off Your Credit Cards in 2020
Finding the right strategy for your situation.

8 Moves to Consider for IRAs, 401(k)s Under New Secure Act
Looking at the major changes to retirement savings plans.

Ask a Points Nerd: Should I Use Points and Miles to Book Wedding Travel?
To pay or not to pay?

Here are the 5 best states for retirees in 2020
Which one sounds good to you?

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

By

Today’s top story: Smart ways to establish credit in 2020. Also in the news: 3 strategies to recover from holiday overshopping, the pros and cons of merging money when married, and how to downgrade your Chase card without losing your points.

Smart Ways to Establish Credit in 2020
Sorting through the options.

Overshopped in December? Try These 3 Strategies to Recover
Beating the holiday shopping hangover.

Does Marriage Have to Mean Merging Money?
A look at the pros and cons.

How to Downgrade Your Chase Credit Card Without Losing Your Points
A change in annual fee has customers thinking twice.

How to have a ‘no regrets’ retirement

By

Most retirees regret not saving more. A 2018 study by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found 73% wish they’d put aside more money on a consistent basis, and half felt they waited too long to get serious about retirement saving.

But retirement is about more than the balance in your 401(k). Even people with sizable nest eggs can wish they handled certain aspects of retirement differently.

Hoping to learn from others’ mistakes, I asked advisers with the Financial Planning Association and the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners to share their clients’ biggest regrets about retirement. In my latest for the Associated Press, the common themes in their responses.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

By

Today’s top story: 8 million student loan borrowers must do this in 2020. Also in the news: 5 ways to get credit-healthy in the New Year, how to take charge of your credit this year, and where to file state and federal taxes for free.

8 Million Student Loan Borrowers Must Do This in 2020
Time to renew your income-driven repayment plan.

5 Ways to Get Credit-Healthy in the New Year
No better time to get started.

How to Take Charge of Your Credit This Year
How to make your credit shine.

Where to File State and Federal Taxes for Free
Filling begins January 27th.

Q&A: Planning philanthropy

By

Dear Liz: You recently explained to a reader why it was better to make one donation of $1,000 rather than 10 donations of $100. I understand why you gave the response you did and you made some good points, especially about the importance of researching charities before you give. You also mentioned the costs each organization would incur in processing the smaller donations. As a longtime nonprofit executive, I think the social capital enjoyed by those organizations outweighs the costs. It often is helpful to the organization to be able to count that donor among their ranks to demonstrate that they have widespread support, for example, or to include that donor in future efforts to serve the community. My experience is that it’s not always just about the dollars and cents.

Answer: Thanks for adding your perspective. It’s understandable that a charity would prefer a small donation to no donation. The charity still gets some money, even after processing fees, and the opportunity to add another donor to their mailing lists.

Savvy givers, however, want as much of their money to benefit their favorite causes as possible. Giving larger donations to fewer charities is a good way to do that, since that approach minimizes processing costs as well as the volume of appeals for more donations. Also, adequately researching and monitoring 10 different charities is a tall order for most busy people. Winnowing the choices can help ensure we’re rewarding the best-run charities, rather than those that spend the bulk of their donations on fundraising and overhead.

Q&A: Your retirement plans require lots of decisions. Get help

By

Dear Liz: We are a working couple in our late 50s. We live a comfortable lifestyle, have no mortgage, no debt, and we enjoy our careers. Through luck and diligence we have built a sizable net worth of $4.5 million (37% equity in our primary residence, 37% IRAs, 25% taxable equities). The investments are being managed by a family member. We plan to wait as long as possible before taking Social Security but would like to quit working within the next five years. As we look to retirement, we are undecided about where we’d like to live. We could stay in our current large house in Los Angeles, or we could move to a just-as-expensive nearby beach town and opt for a much smaller condominium.

I’d like to purchase the condo before retirement (paying cash, as we are debt-averse at this stage of our lives). This plan could improve our current lifestyle by providing a weekend retreat. Once retired, we might then have the luxury of deciding which home to keep and which to sell.

However, my partner is rightfully concerned about having too much exposure to real estate and missing out on the portfolio growth we’ve enjoyed by staying in the stock market as long as we have. What should we do?

Answer: It’s not a bad idea to test drive your planned retirement community before you give up your current home. But your partner is right to be concerned about having too much money tied up in real estate. Most people need to keep a substantial portion of their portfolios in stocks even in retirement. Plus, any money you pull from your investments could incur a rather substantial tax bill.

One solution could be to purchase the condo using a mortgage. Interest rates are quite low, and it sounds like your finances are in good-enough shape to pass the extra scrutiny lenders often give second-home purchases. If you eventually decide to sell your current home, the proceeds could be used to pay off the loan.

This would be a good time to hire a comprehensive financial planner who can help you figure out how this next phase of your life will work. The planner also could help you with all the other retirement issues you’ll face, such as picking a Medicare supplement plan, managing required minimum distributions and paying for long-term care.

You can get referrals to fee-only planners from a number of organizations, including the National Assn. of Personal Financial Advisors, the Garrett Planning Network, the XY Planning Network and the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners.