Money Matters

Many baby boomers find that their aging parents need health care assistance. Luckily, there are options to help parents grow old gracefully, either in their own home or in a facility, and several ways that you can finance the cost of their care. Healthy seniors who can look after themselves generally are eligible to enter a continuing-care retirement community that allows them to buy or rent an apartment and ensures lifetime nursing care when necessary. Another option is private long-term care insurance, which can help cover nursing home costs or the cost of an in-home aide. Maintaining Their Own Home…

Slow economic growth, high unemployment, more market volatility: Welcome to the “new normal” economy. While the “new normal” doesn’t sound particularly promising, a sluggish economy doesn’t have to derail your financial goals. There are some simple things you can do to help protect yourself from whatever the future holds. Tip 1: Expect a Bumpy Ride There is no such thing as a financial crystal ball — even the most savvy industry insider can’t predict when the next market decline will happen. But, using history as a guide, the only thing we can be reasonably sure of is that another crisis…

Many of today’s baby boomers are looking to capitalize on home equity to enhance their retirement savings. Popular strategies include downsizing to a smaller residence, relocating to an area where the cost of living is more affordable, and taking out a reverse mortgage. Regardless of which strategy you choose, understand that relying too much on your house to fund your retirement could work against you when the real estate market cools, as it has in recent years. Making a Move Selling your existing home and relocating to a more affordable residence may be a reasonable option if you have considerable…

You’ve heard it all before. Get to a certain dollar figure and you’ve “made it”. Often times that figure seems to be $1 million in savings.  This statement that  $1 million is enough to get a person through retirement is just way too simplistic and a dangerous proposition. For starters, the age one retires and the life expectancy based on genes and health will have a huge impact on this. A frugal person can make $1 million go a lot further than say one who’s planning on taking out $100,000 every year in retirement distribution. Other sources of income also…