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.
Short-term CDs, online banks boost interest, still preserve access
You can have an emergency fund that earns reasonable interest, too.
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Today's triple downturn hasn't overturned the basics of investing
Here's a question I get all the time: Have the investing mantras of the past three decades been overturned by a combined credit crunch, recession and bear market?
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Suggestions on deciding where to put that retirement nest egg
How much should a person in his mid-50s who is planning normal retirement have in equities, fixed-income and cash?
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Dealing with fixed-income and equity portfolios
Q My wife and I are in our mid-50s and planning for retirement at 66, our full Social Security retirement age. I see recommendations on the percentage of my portfolio that should be in fixed income (for example 55 percent if I'm 55 years old). However, I've been fortunate to have accumulated a couple of pensions during my career, and it looks as if we'll have about $55,000 a year coming in between Social Security and our pensions. How should I account for the pension (and Social Security) income? It seems to me that this should be considered a fixed-income investment, evaluated at its net present value, alongside my equity portfolio.
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What's the catch on e-savings accounts?
A reader asks: In reference to last week's column on interest rates on savings: What do you think about the e-savings accounts that are currently offering 4.5 percent?
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Judge banks by service and cost, not size
Q The most interesting question to me is what advantages does a megabank have over a local bank that could not be easily overcome by a cooperative?
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Consider this case of risk vs. safety for your nest egg
Q I am 56 years old. I got out of housing before the market fell. I sold my house. I stayed out of the stock market over the last seven years, so I didn't make or lose money. I was content with small but safe money market accounts. But I don't know what to do now. I have in excess of $250,000 that I could invest.
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Having a financial plan allows you to take your dreams seriously
The good news is that the downward momentum of the Great Recession seems to be subsiding. The financial panic that seized the global capital markets has eased. CEOs are no longer acting as if depression looms. That said, the consensus forecast is for the economy to emerge slowly out of the downturn. The recovery won't feel much like one, with the unemployment rate climbing toward double digits. This sure looks like one of those times when conventional wisdom is right.
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For safety, it's hard to beat U.S. government inflation-protected securities
Q My husband and I are in our early 40s. We are debt-free. We've lived our lives with the plan of paying off our mortgage as soon as possible. The importance of this idea was stressed to us with the advice of my father, who paid off his mortgage in less than 10 years.
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