your money
Chris Farrell
Columnist | Your Money
Phone:
Email: cfarrell@mpr.org
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.
Paying off the mortgage feels good, but maybe isn't best
Q My husband and I have discussions about what to do with "extra money" we may have each month. With stocks not doing so hot, we want to know what may be the right thing to do. Should we put our extra cash toward paying down our mortgage or bank more cash and bulk up our Roth IRAs? We already max out our 401(k) plans. The idea of paying off our house early is really appealing.
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If you're not happy with a financial product, deep-six it
Q I am curious ... I received a notice regarding a change in terms to my Target Visa card. The...
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Reverse mortgages costly, but a way to avoid moving
The main advantage is that the homeowner gets access to the home's equity without moving. But don't overlook the drawbacks.
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After the dust clears, index investing will still stand up
Given the broad market downturns this year, is the idea of index investing dead?
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They've made all the right moves; time to play it safe
Q My wife and I will be retiring a year from now. We both will have defined benefit pensions through the Minnesota Teacher Retirement Association. We have a relatively nonextravagant lifestyle and plan to live primarily on our pensions. Our financial adviser tells us that we are well diversified with a moderate amount of risk. We have been maxing out our 403(b) contributions for the past several years and we both receive employer matches up to $2,000. We have no debt, our home and cars are paid for and we pay off our credit cards.
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This credit crisis is no reason to ditch the IRA account
Thinking of withdrawing the whole works in your small IRA and paying the penalty? Stop!
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With time on your side, stick with stocks
Q I'm taking a new job and I'm trying to figure out what to do with the profit-sharing I've earned with my employer. Should I look into opening an IRA to roll it into? Or just take the cash and pay the penalty, considering the state of the market? I'm entering a position financially where I can focus on investing. But is now a good time to get started?
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Sale can make a 'paper loss' real
By taking money out of an IRA in a panic, you create many problems.
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Whole life policies work for some, but not for Farrell
Q I am wondering if your position on whole life insurance has changed at all in light of the current credit crisis and ensuing market meltdown. Over the years, I have heard you and other financial experts discourage whole life and cash-value life insurance, and I generally would have to agree that it is a fairly bad investment. My wife and I own whole life policies, and we have close to $40,000 available to us that we can either leverage as a low-interest loan or take as straight cash value. I guess I'm feeling pretty good about having those whole life policies right now, glad that I've got some diversification there and access to money at a relatively low interest rate, considering the difficult lending market. Thoughts?
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Your rainy-day fund can be any number of months
Six months or eight, there's nothing magical about the number. A financial rule of thumb is simply a starting point.
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