Chris Farrell

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Chris Farrell

Columnist | Your Money

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Chris Farrell is economics editor for American Public Media's weekly "Marketplace Money" show and author of "The New Frugality." He answers reader questions on most Sundays. Send questions to cfarrell@mpr.org and put "Your Money" in the subject line.

Carrying a home mortgage into retirement can increase anxiety

Explain again about the elderly and the housing bubble: Why would just the bubble bursting on home prices by itself backfire, if their assets let them pay their mortgage as usual?

Updated: February 27, 2010, - 08:33 PM

In saving, think 'margin of safety'

Warren Buffett's mentor, the legendary investor and market scholar Benjamin Graham, wrote that when challenged "to distill the secret of sound investment into three words, we venture the motto, Margin of Safety."

Updated: February 20, 2010, - 07:51 PM

Wage pressures argue for frugal lifestyle

The wage story is even more disturbing than the devastating job losses of the severe recession. Fact is, a majority of workers haven't had much of a pay increase for the past several decades.

Updated: February 13, 2010, - 04:52 PM

Covering rules on required minimum distributions

QI have read in Kiplinger's February magazine (page 68), "If you're still on the job at age 70 1/2, you can generally skip the required minimum distribution (RMD) from your employer plan until you retire." I would like to know if this is absolutely true as I am still on the job full time and just over that age.

Updated: February 07, 2010, - 12:21 AM

Tax rule allowing early withdrawal of IRA money can be risky

Q I will be retiring at age 57. I am considering my options, one of which is a monthly withdrawal from my IRA, roughly in the 4 percent annual range, under Rule 72T for five years to get me to Social Security. As I understand it, this would be allowed without penalty. At the end of the five years, can I discontinue the payments and or readjust without penalty?

Updated: January 30, 2010, - 11:01 PM

Chris Farrell: Payoff from home veggie garden isn't just monetary

Q My wife and I are near retirement. We live on an average-size city lot in St. Paul. How much money might we save in groceries if we use the back yard for a vegetable garden?

Updated: January 24, 2010, - 02:28 PM

Savings bond differences are tied to interest calculation

QCould you please explain the difference between EE bonds and I bonds? Which is the better investment at this time?

Updated: January 16, 2010, - 09:26 PM

Stocks? Fooey! She wants CDs with high rates

QLike many conservative investors, I long for the days when CD rates were higher than 1 percent or less, when the government wasn't trying to manipulate me into the all too risky stock market which demonstrated in the last decade that it is not to be trusted as a secure repository for retirement savings. The "free market economy" serves those at the upper income levels, not those of us who want to live without spending precious time on keeping track and understanding basic concepts of the abyss of the investment world. It just does not interest me, and the past two years have shown how unreliable, indeed destructive, risk can be. My question is, is there a movement to promote a return to CDs offering higher interest rates?

Updated: January 10, 2010, - 12:11 AM

Resolved: Use incentives to whip your budget into shape

It's easy to dismiss New Year's resolutions. After all, how many gym memberships have you bought in a sudden burst of enthusiasm only to stop going after a couple of weeks? The same rhythm of enthusiasm and disillusionment holds with household budgets.

Updated: January 02, 2010, - 07:57 PM