Wisdom on Wealth

QUESTION: I made a big mistake earlier this year by not being aggressive enough with my portfolio. I intend to correct my mistake. Would you advise getting back in?

ANSWER: Nope. Not the way you mean.

QUESTION: My first wife died many years ago. I am now married to a wonderful woman. We each have children, but none together. All are grown, some doing better than others. I just want to leave everything to my wife (or she to me) and we’ll split it equally with our children once we are both gone. What’s the simplest way to do that?

ANSWER: I appreciate your good intentions. But they are unlikely to produce good results.

QUESTION: My daughter graduated from college nearly a year ago. She has a car we bought her in college and she is still on our insurance. It’s time for her to get her own coverage, but she doesn’t have any experience with this and I don’t think I would be much help either. She lives out of state, so our agent can’t help her. What advice should I give her on how to find coverage?

ANSWER: The purpose of auto insurance is to protect the insured financially against damage done to her car or by her car.

QUESTION:  All my life I thought I would retire at age 65. But it now seems like I’ll have to work longer. I still owe money on my house and my 401K needs to grow more. How much of a difference can working a few more years really make?

ANSWER:  Small steps can make a big difference in retirement planning.

Dee Lay and his wife (Fee Lay, of course!) arrive at age 65, trying to figure out if they can retire. It will be five more years before their house is completely paid off. Dee has about $500,000 in his 401K. After paying taxes, the mortgage and his 401K contribution each year, Dee and Fee spend about $5000 a month to live.