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Getting Personal
Getting Personal
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About the author
Christopher Farrell is economics editor of Marketplace Money, a nationally syndicated one-hour weekly personal finance show produced by American Public Media.
There is so much emphasis on "credit reports", yet alot of payments are not included, such as rent. Unless your landlord is a "corporation" who "pays" to report, all that information is not being gathered and so, one's report can be quite imbalanced. Why doesn't everyone recognize that credit reports are also all about "making money" and not about fair and even reporting?
Felt that the advice to retired couple to draw on their 401 & let social security grow was not the best option. SS & life are never gauranteed and they may be dead before wife can draw SS. Besides, if you take SS,use $500 a month, invest the rest with interest, you can pay back the amount you have taken, and then take SS at the higher rate. Only negative is that you have to save it or make interest to pay it back and you can only adjust your income tax statement for the prior two years so may pay a little more tax. Also, if you compute the SS you would earn for 5 yrs from 62 to 67, at $1200 p/m you earn $72,000. At $1700 higher SS, it would take 3.5 years to recup 72,000 w/o interest. At $1200 (age 62) for 8.5 yrs, you would make 122,400..... Big diff in earnings. I would rather have the bird in hand and not in the bush..... Love your show. Getting ready to retire myself and am drawing my SS ASAP (as widow)and in ten years will draw on my own SS & get a $400 raise and will have not even touched my IRA's.
The Social Security advice to the active retired couple already receiving pension benefits was good but missed an option that's more popular now due to larger numbers of dual earner households.
(If the facts don't support this or you in fact touched on it, please accept my apology in advance.)
When older spouse receives retirement benefits and younger spouse reaches age of early retirement, younger spouse may elect retirement benefits on older spouse's account without freezing growth of benefits on own account at full retirement age.
Although several problems keep this from being the universal choice for dual earner households, it's often a good option to consider.
The advice to Chris, the professional triathelete, missed a very important point. Expenses are only deductible to the extent of the income earned as a triathelete. If the expenses exceed the income, the tax code calls it a hobby which is not deductible.
I am a single parent in my 30's receiving SS benefits after the sudden death of my spouse. I have over $175,000 from a term life insurance policy that is collecting about 1% interest. I would like to invest it but where do I begin? Its like my nest egg and security blanket so I want to be very careful.
