‘Having money’ isn’t so easy, Scott Burns says
Hold those guillotines! I’d like to say a few words to provoke your sympathy for the well-off, particularly those who “have money” and don’t work for a living. Legend has it that such people have it...
View ArticleBurns: ‘Having money’ isn’t so easy
Hold those guillotines! I’d like to say a few words to provoke your sympathy for the well-off, particularly those who “have money” and don’t work for a living. Legend has it that such people have it...
View ArticleCan Couch Potato investors make substitutions?
I’m wondering about a twist on the Couch Potato philosophy. I’m 60 and have been retired for 10 years. My wife is 64, and we retired together. I have followed your Couch Potato investing strategy for...
View ArticleA year of rest for the Life of Riley Index
It’s time for my annual Life of Riley report, in which I estimate how much money you need to be at the threshold of upper-crust living — call it the lower upper crust — without the indignity of work....
View ArticleLiquor stores showing interest in Plano after voters approve initiative
Opponents of the Plano liquor initiative had warned that their city would be inundated with up to 150 liquor stores if voters allowed the businesses to operate within the city limits. Now that the...
View ArticleAfter years of complaints, Plano is scrapping unpopular intersection design...
Two years ago, the intersection of Legacy Drive and Preston Road was a point of pride for Plano’s transportation engineers. The city had implemented an experimental design at the intersection in hopes...
View ArticleNew Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere hopes to preserve city’s strengths
PLANO — Harry LaRosiliere doesn’t have the typical background of a Plano politician. He was born in Haiti and grew up in Harlem, where he remembers walking out of his building one morning as about 30...
View ArticlePlano groups line up to push candidates
Debates and public forums have been tame affairs this election season in Plano, with candidates for municipal and school board posts mostly avoiding negative attacks. But mudslinging has occurred. It...
View ArticleDeerfield welcomes summer with festival
After a week of bad weather and tornados touching down too close to home, it was wonderful to finally enjoy a warm Saturday afternoon in Plano. I traveled out on May 18 to the northwest Plano...
View ArticlePlano parents devoted to raising awareness of daughter's rare syndrome
PLANO — Leigh and Rick Isakson sat stunned as they stared at the sonogram of their unborn baby girl. They saw a gaping black hole in her head. A chunk of her brain was missing. The fetus might die...
View ArticleEven experienced firefighters put lives on the line when entering burning...
They put their lives on the line every time they fight a fire. But no matter how experienced they are, there’s an inherent risk when going into a burning building. “No. 1, you probably can’t see your...
View ArticleNorth Dallas girl, 12, among Plano Komen race's top fundraisers
PLANO — Tracy Kaye had joined Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure events in others’ honor before, but on Saturday she walked for herself. And since the North Dallas mother of three found out in late March...
View ArticleEditor's Note: Cirque athletes bring acrobatics to life
I still remember the thrill of seeing my first Cirque du Soleil performance. The stage was set with imaginative props, the music was heart-racing, kettle corn and cotton candy scents waftedthroughout...
View ArticleAfter years of complaints, Plano is scrapping unpopular intersection design
Two years ago, the intersection of Legacy Drive and Preston Road was a point of pride for Plano’s transportation engineers. The city had implemented an experimental design at the intersection in hopes...
View ArticleLaRosiliere hopes to preserve Plano’s strengths
PLANO — Harry LaRosiliere doesn’t have the typical background of a Plano politician. He was born in Haiti and grew up in Harlem, where he remembers walking out of his building one morning as about 30...
View ArticleCharting one year of Plano coverage
Four seasons have come and gone, and I have finally rounded the bend to my first year anniversary as the Plano, Murphy, Wylieneighborsgoeditor. It’s hard to believe that merely a year ago, I was just...
View ArticlePlano, Murphy, Wylie Editor's Note: Deerfield welcomes summer with festival
After a week of bad weather and tornados touching down too close to home, it was wonderful to finally enjoy a warm Saturday afternoon in Plano. I traveled out on May 18 to the northwest Plano...
View ArticleFar North Dallas community stays connected to stay safe
The irony isn’t lost on Lt. Richard Dwyer. The residents of the Bent Trail, Briar Ridge and Moss Creek neighborhood no longer have a Volunteers in Patrol group. “It’s kind of one of those deals where...
View ArticleEditor's Note: Deerfield neighborhood in Plano welcomes summer with festival
After a week of bad weather and tornados touching down too close to home, it was wonderful to finally enjoy a warm Saturday afternoon in Plano. I traveled out on May 18 to the northwest Plano...
View ArticleScott Burns: Variable annuity watch for 2012
The big claim for variable annuities has always been that they allow people to invest and watch their money grow, tax-deferred, until they need it. The basic idea is that you can avoid paying a high...
View ArticleIf investments provide little of your total income, you can take more risk
My husband and I have pensions totaling $64,000 annually. We also have his Social Security of $18,000 a year. Next summer, I’ll start receiving Social Security of $24,000 a year. With my Social...
View ArticleTV is dead, long live TV
The blogosphere erupted when Google announced Chromecast last month. The new $35 device for putting the Internet on our television sets brought new predictions of doom for cable TV. Some of the early...
View ArticleFor Couch Potato investors, 2012 was a good year for Margaritas
A little elbow bending with your investments paid off in 2012. The return on my Margarita portfolio, a mixture of one part domestic stocks, one part international stocks and one part...
View ArticleAll that glitters … may be silver
Gold and silver aren’t lining any clouds these days. They’re under it, big time. Both precious metals dropped sharply last week, extending a nasty slump. Silver has lost nearly 50 percent of its value...
View ArticleCompetition has eliminated brokerage commissions for many exchange-traded funds
You frequently mention that it is important to diversify, avoid “fat-clogged” distribution systems and invest in low-cost index funds. You also frequently mention funds such as the Vanguard Balanced...
View ArticleAsset classes: It’s all a matter of definition
You mention six to 10 asset classes that will cover most people’s needs. What are they? Matching asset classes to specific mutual funds or exchange-traded funds and their tickers is often more...
View ArticleThe best place for safe money may be CD-like annuities
I read your column about the risk of owning bond funds when interest rates begin to rise. Could you do a follow-up article about where to put our “safe” money? My wife and I are in our late 50s, so we...
View ArticleUniversal retirement tool: Build a Couch Potato Margarita portfolio
Free-market competition has delivered to working savers what five decades of legislative effort failed to provide — virtually universal access to low-cost investing. How low? Try this. The Federal...
View ArticleSocial Security benefits can be reduced two ways if you retire early
Would you explain how Social Security works when a person is drawing benefits and still working? L.S. Between age 62, the earliest age you can claim Social Security benefits, and your full retirement...
View ArticleToday the big risk is in bonds
Few investment research reports become turning-point documents. But I have kept one for nearly 30 years because it was so powerful. It still says a lot to us today, but in reverse. The report, “The...
View ArticleThe upside of certainty
Being certain of anything isn’t easy. But the quest for certainty has a gigantic upside if we can just open our eyes to it. One of those upsides is a better retirement income than expected. I learned...
View ArticleThe search for the highest investment yield continues
My wife and I have a $300,000 CD that matures this summer. We also have $150,000 in a bank money market savings account. Both are earning very low interest rates. The CD is earning 0.8 percent, and the...
View ArticleAs an annuity, Social Security’s a lousy deal
Very few people buy life annuities. There’s something about giving an insurance company our hard-earned cash in exchange for a lifetime of monthly payments that gives us the willies. There are lots of...
View ArticleYou can move one tax-deferred account to another without tax consequences
I am 67. My wife is 66. We are both retired and receive about $65,000 a year in Social Security and pension payments. She has a 401(k) with her former employer worth about $216,000. Its return has been...
View ArticleWhen it comes to bonds and interest rates, the market is a great equalizer
I have two questions about bond investments. First, with individual bonds, would I be better off keeping the bonds to maturity when rates go up and receiving the full value at maturity? Or should I...
View ArticleBroad exchange-traded index funds make tax-efficient investments
Last night I came to the realization that I’m not allowed to contribute to my Roth IRA if I have no earned income, which I don’t. All I have is my teacher retirement income. This is a kink in my plan....
View ArticleQuestion No. 1 for life insurance: Is it necessary?
I am a 74-year-old man with a $40,000 life insurance policy. I have been paying on it for 21 years, and it has been building surrender value as well. My current annual report reveals “guaranteed...
View ArticleLow interest rates endanger life insurance policy
In 1995, when my husband was 60, we took out a $100,000 insurance policy on him before he took early retirement. We did this so he could take the higher single-life pension rather than the lower...
View ArticleSurprise! Retirement may be doable
AUSTIN — Getting the right answer to the wrong question isn’t helpful. So I’ve come to visit with Marlena Lee, a young Ph.D. at the headquarters of Dimensional Fund Advisors. I want to find out how she...
View ArticleInvestors can’t hide from the fiscal cliff
I’ve gotten so disenchanted with the stock market that I withdrew most of my money and sat on the sidelines. Is that a good idea in our fiscal cliff climate or not? M.G., Austin The problem the fiscal...
View ArticleHow we lose in the mutual fund casino
Las Vegas is profitable because most gamblers know little or nothing about the games they’re playing and the odds against winning. Basically, players go to be entertained by the unexamined possibility...
View ArticleThe Prius still holds up at 10
It’s hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since I bought a funny-looking car, the 2003 Prius. It was the first model, a tiny sedan, and it looks nothing like the now-iconic 2004 Prius, which was...
View ArticleHow to start as a small investor
In a recent column, you suggested that a reader should take his $400,000 and put it in a low-cost index fund such as Vanguard Balanced Index shares. I have no idea what that means, but I hope you might...
View ArticleTaxation of Social Security benefits is a time bomb
Would you explain what happens when one reaches the age of 701/2? I participated in 401(k) investments when I was employed, but no one prepared me for what would happen when I reached 701/2. I was led...
View ArticleThe ever-increasing value of parsimony
We’re in a bull market for parsimony. Parsimony, which is a polite way to talk about penny-pinching, has never been a more valuable habit. Even with investment yields up from their recent lows, I think...
View ArticleIf you’re in your 20s or 30s, you should learn about IRAs
If you are in your 20s or 30s, I have a tip for you: Learn about IRAs. They are the retirement vehicles for your future. Few people have figured this out. Individual retirement accounts get little...
View ArticleReaders speak: more taxpayers, completely different taxes
If our elected representatives listened to the people who vote for them, we’d have a radically different tax system. That’s the message from nearly 600 reader responses to a recent column. Missed that...
View ArticleThe restoration of middle-class wealth
Things change. One of the big changes is in housing affordability, a figure that is currently so positive that it’s likely to drive home prices upward for the rest of 2013. That price change would do a...
View ArticleScott Burns: Surprise! Retirement may be doable
AUSTIN — Getting the right answer to the wrong question isn’t helpful. So I’ve come to visit with Marlena Lee, a young Ph.D. at the headquarters of Dimensional Fund Advisors. I want to find out how she...
View ArticleWhy the Medicare trustees report is an involuntary work of fiction
The latest Trustees Reports for Social Security and Medicare contained some much reported tranquilizing news. There’s only one problem: One of those reports is an involuntary work of fiction. That’s...
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