Dear Liz: For decades I owned two credit cards that earned airline miles with all my expenditures. I always paid the bills in full on time and never missed a payment. Earlier this year, I mailed in checks to cover the balance as I always do. But then I noticed the checks had not cleared my […]
Recent Blog Posts
Q&A: Approaching retirement? Don’t count on rules of thumb
Dear Liz: I have a few questions about my income taxes during my upcoming retirement. I would like to know if doing a Roth IRA conversion will be worth it for me since I might be in a higher tax bracket when I retire. Is there a rule of thumb in regards to doing this […]
Q&A: What to do if you don’t trust your trustee?
Dear Liz: I own several properties. I have a living trust that names my two minor children as beneficiaries. I’ve told my attorney that I want to transfer the properties to my children using the county form. This will give my children who are under 10 years of age ownership as tenants in common with […]
Q&A: Why Social Security imposes an earnings test
Dear Liz: I am under full retirement age, collecting Social Security and working part-time. I just received a letter from Social Security telling me I earned over the $22,320 limit and now have to pay back some of my Social Security. I was aware of the limit, so the letter was not unexpected. What I’m […]
Q&A: Should you keep more than $250,000 in one bank?
Dear Liz: You recently wrote that it’s easier to have one bank than many, but I worry about FDIC insurance limits because I have more than $250,000 in savings. Answer: You may be able to get more coverage at one bank than you think. FDIC insurance is per depositor, per ownership category, per bank. Ownership […]
Q&A: Why living trusts are a good option, most of the time
Dear Liz: My goal is to avoid probate and allow simplified access for my heir, who is also my executor. I have no family. I have chosen payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts instead of putting all financial assets in my trust, against the wishes of the attorney who drew up the trust for my condo. I […]