From Near Foreclosure to Millionaire: How This Trucker Did It
Welcome to Kiplinger’s My First $1 Million series, in which we hear from people who have made $1 million. They’re sharing how they did it and what they’re doing with it. This time, we hear from a married 60-year-old transportation truck…
How Playing Dead Can Maximize Your Investment Returns (Seriously)
There’s a well-known study that Fidelity produced years ago that reviewed thousands of brokerage accounts and looked at the returns in each. The anecdotal conclusion: The best-performing accounts belonged to deceased account holders. Right behind…
Would You Rather Retire in Naples, FL or Palm Springs, CA?
Let’s play a little “would you rather,” retirement edition. Would you rather retire somewhere warm or somewhere warm? Somewhere you can get a tee time, or somewhere you can also get a tee time? Somewhere popular among retirees or… you…
Ready to Retire? Ask Your Spouse These 3 Questions First
You may be ready to call it quits and start your next chapter in retirement, but is your partner ready? They may not be as eager as you to throw in the towel on their career — or, if they are already retired, they might not be ready for all that…
Visa and Mastercard Agree to $167.5 Million ATM Fee Settlement: Do You Qualify?
Using an independent ATM can cost you a few dollars in fees. But if you paid a surcharge to withdraw cash from a nonbank ATM, you could be eligible for money from a $167.5 million Visa and Mastercard settlement. The class-action lawsuit alleged that Visa…
What to Do If You Get a Check From an Inheritance
Imagine this: You receive a check with the proceeds of an inheritance. Whether you were expecting it or not, the question now is: What do you do with it? And here’s where you might run into some problems. If the amount is larger than $10,000, most…
How Advisers Can Turn Value Into Client Referrals
I recently wrote about how today’s clients expect something different from their advisers. They’re looking for advice that helps them make better decisions, simplify complexity and regain time. Investment management still matters, but…
Fixed Annuity Payouts Are Spiking: Is it Time to Lock In?
For savers, the sharp spike in interest rates has a silver lining: higher annuity payouts and larger risk-free guaranteed income streams. When interest rates rise, annuity yields typically follow; insurers earn more on bonds they buy with customer…
Ask the Tax Editor: Tax Questions for Paid Return Preparers
Each week in our Ask the Tax Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week, she’s looking at four tax questions from readers who are paid tax return preparers. (Get a free…
Human Capital: The Invisible Risk in Your Investment Portfolio
If you thought of your client’s career as an investment, what would it be? Would it be safe, like a bond? Or risky, like a stock? Conventional wisdom says a person’s career is more like a bond. The rationale is simple: Most people receive a…
