Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Liz Weston

How to make your money biases work for you

By

The way our brains work can cost us a lot of money. But some of our mental quirks can be turned to our advantage.

Cognitive biases are the faulty ways of thinking that can persuade us to run up debt, save too little and make stupid investment decisions. The bandwagon effect, for example, entices us to buy the hot stock everyone’s talking about, rather than the mutual fund that makes more sense for our long-term goals. Or we sign up for a too-large mortgage because of optimism bias (“I’ll figure out a way to make the payments, somehow!”).

We can try to be more rational, but sometimes it makes sense to exploit our faulty wiring instead. In my latest for the Associated Press, three money biases that you could put to work for yourself.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

By

Today’s top story: Retirement costs that could surprise you. Also in the news: A new episode of the SmartMoney podcast on keeping your New Year’s money resolution, how procrastinators can win at gift-giving, and another reason to not pay for your gas at the pump.

Retirement Costs That Could Surprise You
Covering all the bases.

SmartMoney podcast: ‘How Can I (Actually) Keep My New Year’s Money Resolution?’
Making it past the first week and beyond.

How Procrastinators Can Win at Gift-Giving
You might need to leave the house.

Another Reason to Not Pay for Gas at the Pump
Hackers have a new way to steal your info at the gas station.

Q&A: Rising insurance premiums

By

Dear Liz: I’m an insurance agent specializing in long-term-care policies and just read your advice to the woman who was upset about how much her premiums had risen. Her premiums were $2,400 annually starting when she was 55 but are $4,470 now that she’s 77. First, thank you for noting that these premium increases are because insurance companies didn’t expect people to live so long and nursing home rates to increase so much. Please also tell your reader that, at her age, her premium for the coverage she has now would be well over $12,000! She bought early and she’s definitely getting a ridiculously low premium for the coverage she has. I’m sorry that she’s on a fixed income, but ask her how she’ll pay for a $60,000-per-year stay in a nursing home. If she can’t afford her premium, she should reduce her amount of time covered, not the amount of dollars covered.

Answer: Let’s be clear about who’s at fault here. It’s not the people who bought long-term-care insurance policies and expected them to remain affordable.

Insurers are supposed to be experts at predicting risk, but they made incorrect assumptions about how many people would drop their policies (known as the lapse rate), how many would file claims and how long those claims would last. Insurers also overestimated the returns they could get on their bond investments, which also help determine premiums.

All these stumbles have led to repeated premium increases that have threatened to make coverage unaffordable right when people need their coverage the most.

This woman is well aware of the high costs of long-term care; that’s why she bought the policy in the first place and kept paying it all these years. Her premium might seem “ridiculously low” to you, but anyone with an ounce of empathy could understand that $4,470 is a huge chunk of change for most seniors.

Keeping her coverage means giving up some of the benefits she was promised and had been counting on. Reducing the number of years the policy protects her, for example, could make her premium more affordable but leave her exposed to devastating costs if she needs many years of care.

This is a crappy situation for people who were trying to do the right thing. They don’t deserve to be sneered at for being upset about it.

Q&A: When savings are meager, it might be time to unretire

By

Dear Liz: I’m 67, retired and have $83,000 in a 401(k) that I left with my employer. Should I see a certified financial planner? Based on my current income, I either need a job, or I have to start pulling $10,000 from my 401(k) each year, which will clean out my account in eight years.

Answer: You definitely need a job.

You could burn through your nest egg even faster than you expect if the stock market drops or an unexpected expense crops up. And retirement is loaded with surprise expenses, from healthcare bills to home repairs to long-term care. Even in a best-case scenario, you’re likely to run short of money long before you run out of breath.

A planner could have warned you about this and suggested that a few more years of working, saving and delaying Social Security could have given you a far more comfortable retirement.

It may not be too late.

If you can return to work full-time, you could suspend your Social Security benefit. That would allow it to grow by 8% each year until you turn 70. If you’re married and the higher earner, that also would increase the survivor benefit that one of you will have to live on once the other dies.

Even if you can’t work full time, a part-time job could ease the drain on your 401(k). If you’re a homeowner, you also could consider a reverse mortgage that would allow you to turn your home equity into a lifetime stream of monthly checks, a line of credit or a lump sum.

A fee-only advisor — one who is paid only by clients’ fees, rather than by commission — could help you review your options. The Garrett Planning Network offers referrals to fee-only planners who charge by the hour.

Another option for people on a budget: accredited financial counselors or financial fitness coaches. These folks aren’t certified financial planners, but they can help with budgeting, debt management and retirement planning. You can get referrals from the Assn. for Financial Counseling & Planning Education.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

By

Today’s top story: How your employer can help you save for emergencies. Also in the news: Tips and traps when buying a used car at auction, 4 questions to consider before opening a new credit card, and how to actually read your retirement account statements.

How Your Employer Can Help You Save for Emergencies
Employer-supported emergency funds are on the rise.

Tips and Traps When Buying a Used Car at Auction
Don’t get stuck with a lemon.

4 Questions to Consider Before Opening a New Credit Card
Think before you apply.

How to Actually Read Your Retirement Account Statements
Deciphering the tiny print.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

By

Today’s top story: Make sure a new holiday credit card plays well with others. Also in the news: How one couple paid off over $200K of debt in six years, how to tell if consolidating your student loans would actually save you money, and the 10 best finance movies of the decade.

Make Sure a New Holiday Credit Card Plays Well With the Others
1 in 4 consumers will open a new credit card over the holidays.

How I Ditched Debt: ‘Happiness Journey’ Fueled Payoff
How one couple paid off over $200K in six years.

Here’s how to tell if consolidating your student loans would actually save you money
Not all loan consolidations are equal.

The 10 Best Finance Movies of the Decade
Financial lessons on the big screen.