Financial Schools Reviews

After working all out for 28 years in a small business, I have put away $2.6 million in stocks, bonds and some cash. (I am a reasonably smart investor.) I’m 58 and want to be done at 60. I’m not tired of my business, just tired of working. How much do you think I could draw out and not get myself into trouble? I’m in great health, so I could last 30 more years. Our house is paid off, and my wife gets about $40,000 a year from a nice pension. Any ideas?

Answer: Financial planners typically recommend an initial withdrawal rate of 3% to 4% of your portfolio. With $2.6 million, your first year’s withdrawal would be $78,000 to $104,000. The ide

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It’s been a bad week for around a million of Britain’s mortgage holders. Despite Britain’s Bank of England rate being held at 0.5%, some of the biggest lenders have raised their standard variable rates (SVRs) by between 0.25 and 1.5 percentage points.

The one that will have the widest impact, hitting around 850,000 customers, is the Halifax raise of 0.49 percentage points. According to consumer association Which?, the combined increases will add around £300m to the nation’s mortgage bills.

And this is no flash-in-the-pan. As Ben Thompson, MD of Legal & General’s Mortgage Club, tells Thisismoney.co.uk, “it is almost certain that we have now seen the cheapest mortgage rates in a lifetime and that rates bottomed some time ago”.

So wha

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With so much talk about the record Mega Millions jackpot, I thought I’d throw in my two cents:

First cent: You’re not going to win. The odds are ridiculous.

Second cent: If you should win this or any other windfall, even a much smaller one, you’ve got some work ahead of you.

If you’ve never had money, you may not realize how much effort it takes to manage it wisely–and not lose it. You don’t want to wind up like the folks featured in SmartMoney’s “Why lottery winners go bankrupt“–lottery winners who went bust, or even to jail.

So here’s my MSN column “You won the lottery. Now what?” When you don

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Overpaying your mortgage is generally a good idea. In fact, it’s possibly one of the best investments you can make.

And now could be a particularly good time to do it. Given the low rates available on cash savings, we think that paying extra to your mortgage is a very under-rated long-term savings plan, particularly if you are feeling wary of investing.

And with mortgage rates set to go higher – several mortgage providers have hiked their standard variable rates (SVRs) in recent weeks, and more are likely to follow – it’s becoming even more attractive.

Mortgage rates typically move in tandem with the Bank of England’s base rate. So wi

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Nearly 70 percent of older Americans endorse the concept of individual health savings accounts to help cover medical expenses in their later years, a new survey finds.

The accounts would involve setting aside 1 percent of income to handle expenses not covered by Medicare, the federal insurance program for people aged 65 or older.

The survey also found that a majority of those interviewed expressed support for being able to buy into Medicare before they turn 65.

It Won’t Be Easy Without Health Insurance
Many older Americans are facing a bleak picture as they enter retirement. N

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