From time to time, readers of this column send me questions on topics of concern that relate to spouses. A particularly prickly topic is how Social Security retirement benefits work when a spouse dies... more
Have you hidden financial information from your spouse (financial infidelity)? Are you overcompensating when sending money to your adult children (financial enabling)?... more
Do you have bonds in your investment portfolio but have not found a good way for tracking their performance? The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority offers an online solution to your problem -- wi... more
If you are a seasoned do-it-yourself investor who lived through the dot-com bubble, the financial crisis and the coronavirus market, think back to 2000.... more
There are about a billion reasons for close to a million people to pay special attention to this tax column, even though Tax Day, April 15, has come and gone.... more
Since it's April (Financial Literacy Month), we need to talk about raising "public awareness about the importance of financial literacy." I'm borrowing that phrase from the Jump$tart Coalition for Per... more
The IRS estimates that 146 million individual tax returns would be filed for tax year 2023 (tinyurl.com/4acck2ja), and as of March 15, more than 71.5 million individual income tax returns had been fil... more
Have you seen TV or direct mail ads for reverse mortgages? I'm going to guess that you have, especially recently, since the volume of mail ads has increased dramatically over the last few years.... more
I recently received a call from a reader with an interesting dilemma. "Meryl's" husband was about to retire. The couple had used a few traditional stockbrokers whom they enjoyed working with over the ... more
Do you suffer fear of missing out, or FOMO? Are you preoccupied with the thought that you should have purchased a stock before a massive gain? Stocks like Super Micro Computer and Carvana (both up abo... more
What investor doesn't like to test his or her knowledge? Here's a chance to do that with an online test put together by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.... more
The 2023 tax filing season is now in full swing. The IRS recently released a few tips to make the filing season easier for the 146 million individuals who are expected to file returns(tinyurl.com/4acc... more