Don Cloud, president and founder of Cloud Financial, began his career in financial services industry in the 1990s with a mission to educate and inspire individuals to play an active role in their personal finances. Don discussed what to do if you’re facing an unexpected early retirement; how he manages clients that don't act in their own best interests; and the power of diversification…and he has an awesome accent too!

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Can we make dreams come true? That's what Jeannie wants to know! She wants to spend the first few years of retirement in Paris before returning to the US. Can we help make her dream a reality?

The housing market may be recovering, but not enough to help Jeff, who needs advice about selling a house that is underwater. Alex has a question about whether or not to sell a rental property and Chet wants to know about required distributions.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer in the World. Here's how to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Sure it's summer, but that doesn't mean you can't spend a little of your time at the beach or the mountains contemplating your retirement, right? In fact, your time off might encourage you to think a little more seriously about how you might spend those non-working years. In addition to dreaming, you'll have to think ahead and get your portfolio in shape for the transition.

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Paul is 70 and asked about his portfolio as well as his Required Minimum Distribution, Angela from Phoenix is preparing her investments for retirement and Sybil has been advised to combine several of her TSA accounts - should she? Scott MI is just 45, but he is "retiring" from a union job--what should he do with his pension?

Our younger listeners are also thinking ahead to retirement. Jack and his wife are in great shape and want to know what to know how to continue to maximize their cash flow; Amey wants to concentrate on accumulation for the next five years; and Christine from Perth, Australia has about $5-$7K each month that she and her husband are saving for a new home in CA. Should they direct the money into a money market account or should they pay down an existing mortgage?

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer in the World. Here's how to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Our guest MP Dunleavey recently wrote a great article in the New York Times called “Mars, Venus and the Handling of Money,” which discussed the way that men and women relate to money.

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While it’s not exactly breaking news that the sexes tend to address money issues from different perspectives, what is new is that the financial service industry is waking up and trying to address the plain fact that men and women have distinctive financial needs. MP tells us what we need to know and helps bridge the gap between how men and women can best use tap the services offered by the big companies.

Man, woman...we love all of our callers! Doris is looking for a place to invest her $100,000 inheritance -- should she use an immediate annuity? Susan is not happy with the performance of her investment advisor and wonders whether she should move her relationship elsewhere and Tim is about to start his own business…what does he need to know? (Answer: A LOT!)

A shout-out  to Ben, who passed along a suggestion for a great website www.splitwise.com that helps roommates who are trying to allocate expenses.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

One of our favorite guests, nationally-recognized credit expert John Ulzheimer joins the show to help us manage our all-important credit reports and scores and to guard against identity theft.

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John started by issuing a wake-up call: Every retailer's system is vulnerable, so we should assume that our information is out there. He then explained what you should do if you are the victim of identity theft or you think that your information has been compromised, highlighted by a great explanation of the difference between a credit freeze and credit monitoring. If you want to read more of  John's great work, check out his web site or follow him on Twitter.

Thanks to Diana, we were able to talk about less expensive options for investment management (try MarketRiders or Rebalance-IRA.com) and Evan brought up how to select the best funds within his 401K.

Dean works in law enforcement and wants to know whether he can afford to retire, while Don is not sure if he is required to take an RMD, because he is sill working.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

There is no doubt that the multi-year bull market in bonds has drawn to a close. But as interest rates begin to rise, what's a bond investor to do? We discuss how to manage your bond investments amid a rising interest rate environment.

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In addition to bonds, there other good sources of income for those in or near retirement. Rick will be relying on his pension and rental income and Rose may want to consider a reverse mortgage.

Although this has been a horrible winter, spring -- and the upcoming wedding season -- is just around the corner. We help Joe and Rachel prepare for their financial union and also guide Bob through his daughter's big day.

Bruce and Tim asked about Roth IRAs, which may provide great advantages beyond retirement.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

We were so fortunate to have retirement expert Mark Miller join the program to explain Social Security basics (which are always confusing!) and to provide an update about what the Affordable Care Act does for retirees who are pre-Medicare age.

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Mark is the editor and publisher of RetirementRevised.com, but as if that were not enough, he is also a journalist and author who writes for Reuters, Morningstar and anywhere else that a retirement guru is needed -- that means a lot of places!

While he was with us, Mark was able to clarify a couple of Twitter questions that came up after last week's show and provided advice to Gloria, Nancy and Neal.

In addition to Mark's great segments (spoiler alert: they are the first two segments of the second hour), we talked to Mary, who just rolled over all of her retirement money to Vanguard and Kathy, who is ready to put $5,000 to work.

Charles was thinking about refinancing his mortgage, but wondered whether he should skip the fees and just accelerate his pay down of the existing note.

Should Veronica use her new 401K, even though the investment options are lousy? We help her figure it out and then move on to long term care with Hannah and REITS with Mike.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

In between the Olympics and your binging on "House of Cards," check out this week's show! We move from college saving to retirement review what the new "MyRA" is all about.

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On this week's show, we help Gil and Evan manage their 529 plans and Jennifer to address the dreaded FAFSA form.

We also tackle Social Security questions with Dale and Joan and help Sheryl determine whether or not she needs a commission-based financial advisor.

And of course, 'tis the season...for taxes...we field  an interesting question from Ronnie about claiming her mother as a dependent.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

Take a break from the Olympics and check out this week's show, where we tackle a bunch of retirement questions and discuss how to boost credit scores.

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I want to admit something: I have deep, pension envy. You will hear it when I talk to Michelle and Mike, both of whom have terrific pensions that make retirement planning pretty darned sweet.

Kim and Kathy have similar concerns about how to boost their credit scores, now that they are in better financial shape. Meanwhile Frank and Mary need strategies to pay down debt.

On the investing front, Tom is ready to enter the world of riskier plays, while Andy is on the other end of the spectrum: he is considering his bond position with CDs.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

Evidently, there's a football game in New Jersey this weekend. Before you partake in the festivities, check out this week's show, where we are talking about how to select a financial advisor.

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Who better than Janet Stanzak, the president of the board of directors for the Financial Planning Association (FPA), to help guide us in the mission of identifying a financial advisor? Janet joined us to discuss the concept of "full and fair disclosure," which may be more important than comparing fee structures of various advice-givers.  While compensation is important, it is not the only thing people need to consider, according to Janet. She also went through some of the 35 questions to ask tool the FPA recommends people ask prospective financial advisers. If you are looking for an advisor, you can use the FPA Planner Search tool.

We fielded questions from Amanda and Leigh about inherited IRAs; Dennis and Mike, who wanted to know whether they had accumulated enough to consider retirement; and Carol and Tom, who both had questions about rolling over retirement accounts.

Lisa and Dan had education funding questions, which reminded me about FinAid.org, a fabulous college funding resource that super-smart Mark Kantrowitz founded.

By the way, here are those Super Bowl factoids that I sprinkled throughout the show:

• Players on the Super Bowl-winning team will make $92,000 each; losers $46,000
• Cost of a 30 second spot:  $4.5 million
• Economic impact on NY-NJ area: $194 million (versus the $500-$600 million that the NFL and politicians  have claimed)
• Who bets? Nearly 1/3 of U.S. adults are likely to wager on the big game, 92 percent of those surveyed said they've actually lost money gambling on the Super Bowl in the past
• The Super Bowl is the second highest day of food consumption in the US after Thanksgiving. (USDA)
• The average fan will consume 1200 calories and 50 grams of fat from snacks, NOT including the meal itself (Calorie Control Council and Snack Food Association)
• Chicken wings: Fans will chow down on 1.23 billion wings or more than 100 million pounds of wings
• Dominos estimates that it will deliver 11 million pieces of pizza to hungry viewers
• Antacids sales are expected to increase 20 percent on the day after Super Bowl

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Let me know if you think we should provide Mark with a little space to vent his various grievances with you...we're considering calling it "Mark's Musings". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney