On the show this week we dive into the FinTech world, discussing next-generation online brokers with Hardeep Walia, founder and CEO of Motif.

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If you're a regular listener of Jill on Money, then you know we're fans of the FinTech world.  Whether it's Betterment or Rebalance IRA, we're all for the combination of finance and technology.  Now you can add Motif to that list.

Led by founder and CEO Hardeep Walia, Motif is a next-generation online broker whose mission is to simplify complex investment products and make them universally accessible.  The company's flagship product allows individual investors to act intuitively on their insights by turning them into a "motif" of stocks...basically purchasing a basket of stocks based on a theme.  Motif also offers a variety of retirement and non-retirement products, including:

• Traditional IRAs
• Roth IRAs
• SEP IRAs
• Trust Accounts
• Guardian Accounts

Before launching Motif, Hardeep spent more than six years at Microsoft, where he was General Manager of the company's enterprise services business.  He also serves on FINRA's Technology Advisory Committee.

Now here's the deal...Mark and I were promised some Motif gear...a hat, a hoodie, a vest, anything...unless the package was stolen, it still hasn't arrived.  As of now, we're big fans, but if something doesn't arrive soon, that could change :)  Just saying...

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator 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

We talk about President-elect Donald Trump and what it means to you and your money plus some financial planning advice with guest Paul Auslander.

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Whew, what a week.  Trump beat Clinton.  Stocks tanked.  Trump spoke in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.  Stocks rallied.  And continued to rally throughout the week.  Which led to me being inundated with questions from readers/listeners/viewers, the most common one being, "what should I do with my retirement account?"  Yes, I have the answer...but come on now, it's not gonna be that easy...you'll have to listen to the show for the answer!

Now, as we near the end of 2016, it's a good time to take a crash course in financial planning.  Who better to teach it than Paul Auslander, Director of Financial Planning at ProVise Management Group.

For nearly 30 years Paul has been designing and implementing strategies for his clients with one goal in mind...to help them worry less about their financial futures.  While trying to help our listeners worry less, Paul touched on a variety of topics, including:

• The implementation of the fiduciary standard for retirement accounts
• Commission based products
• Fee only planners
• Likelihood of the Fed raising rates
• Low return environment for 2017

A little bit of something for everyone!

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator 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

The fiduciary duty entails asking an important question: Does your financial advisor put you first? That's what our guest Mary A. Malgoire, CFP helped explain. Mary is the founder of The Family Firm Inc, a fee-only financial advisory firm in Bethesda, Maryland and believes in the client-first, fee-only model, because there are “too many conflicts that exist.” As the past President and Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), she is fee-only true and blue!

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Mary joined the board of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard in January 2015 and has been instrumental in developing the Campaign for Investors website. The Institute is a not-for-profit organization that formed to advance objective and competent financial advice, by educating investors about their rights and promoting best practices among financial advisors. In short, the Institute seeks to change the financial services industry and improve investor outcomes. The web site has lots of resources for investors including: How to find out if your current advisor is a fiduciary, how to calculate your investing costs and to know your rights as an investor.  The six duties of a Fiduciary are: Serve the client’s best interest; Act in utmost good faith; Act prudently -- with the care, skill and judgment of a professional; Avoid conflicts of interest; Disclose all material facts and Control investment expenses

 Callers/Listener E-Mails/References:

Here's the article I referenced: Financial Threats you CAN Control

We fielded retirement account questions from Henry, Dev, Shirley; debt issues from Matt and Jean (check out the NYT and ProPubica NJ Loan Program article that outlines some of the ridiculous rules around education debt); and investment strategy questions from Pete and Beatrice.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator 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

Despite stock market indexes reaching all-time highs, American businesses are falling to new lows. The reason is that the golden age of US innovation and capitalism has given way to what our guest Rana Foroohar calls "financialization.” Rana is the Time business and economics columnist and author of "Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business." The book divides the American business world into "Makers," those companies that serve the real economy by providing capital and investing in long-term growth and "Takers," those who use financial engineering to juice short-term profits and as a result, enrich their shareholders and themselves.

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How did we go from the simple explanation of banking that Jimmy Stewart provided in "It's A Wonderful Life" ("The money's not here [in the bank]. Your money is in Joe's house that's right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house and Mrs. Macklin's house and a hundred others") to a world where only about 15 percent of all the money in our system actually ends up in the real economy?  Rana notes that the 40-year process has culminated in the financial sector holding "a disproportionate amount of power in sheer economic terms. It represents about 7 percent of our economy but takes around 25 percent of our economy of all corporate profits, while creating only 4 percent of all jobs."

And if you have an MBA or are thinking of getting one, you might be interested in knowing that "an increasing number of business educators at top schools are concerned that MBA programs are churning out number crunchers without a conscience." Before you get too depressed, listen to the whole interview, because Rana notes "Despite all our problems, America is still the prettiest house on the ugly block that is the global economy." There are also some interesting policy shifts that could occur that would remedy the trend.

Callers/Listener E-Mails:

If you are interested in starting your own business, check out my conversation with Barbara, who is trying to decide whether or not to start a private practice. We discuss the Social Security Windfall Elimination for Scott, the use of fixed annuity for Deanna and robo advisors for Andrew.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator 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

Making money in a low return world is tough. Last week, the yield on 10-year US government bonds touched an all-time low and stocks have been stuck in neutral for two years. Given the current environment, return caller Ryan asked whether one asset allocation fits all portfolios? In other words, should you put those investments which are likely to appreciate the most in a Roth IRA, where you will never have to pay taxes on the gains? It may take some some work, but the idea has merit.

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Heather Long, CNNMoney's senior markets and economy writer, joins the show to weigh in how you can make money in the current low return era. Heather notes that most forecasters now expect below average returns for the major asset classes over the next five years. She helps us decide what to do about it. Heather also discussed politics, diving into the question: Who’s better for your money: Trump or Clinton?

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator 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

Mark Miller, the editor and publisher of RetirementRevised and nationally recognized expert on trends in retirement and aging, returns to the show to offer his unique perspective. Mark offers a holistic view of retirement security, including healthcare and Medicare, Social Security, retirement investing, midlife careers and housing.  He also writes frequently about retirement-related public policy issues, including Social Security, Medicare and workplace retirement plans.

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We started the conversation discussing Mark's next book, “Jolt: From Trauma to Transformation,” which examines what makes some of us able to bounce back from trauma and others not so much.

Mark weighed in on the Department of Labor's Fiduciary rule and completely dismissed the industry's push back against the changes. (Check out his post: Is the fiduciary rule fight really about the little guy?) With trillions of dollars in assets set to leave big firms, it's no wonder they fought so hard against putting clients' interests first. We finished up with tips on Social Security and Mark's take on the possibility of Social Security expansion.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator 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

The Federal Reserve shocked economists and investors by maintaining its $85 billion bond-buying program. Listeners were more interested in kick-starting their retirement savings and putting their cash to work.

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Elizabeth from RI and Nick from NY are in their 20’s, living home and saving lots of money. They both needed help with figuring out how to start investing for retirement.

Judy from CO, Alma from AZ and Mel from MN all have a great problem: where to invest cash? Both Susan and Bonnie had allocation questions, which JM from New York City, asked about the Windfall Elimination Penalty provision.

As Mayor Rahm Emanuel once said, “You never want a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” While Emanuel was talking about politics, we can apply his statement to investor behavior leading up to and during the financial crisis. With five years of distance from the eye of the storm, here is my list of the top 5 lessons every investor can take away:

1. Keep cool: There are two emotions that influence our financial lives: fear and greed. At market tops, greed kicks in and we tend to assume too much risk. Conversely, when the bottom falls out, fear takes over and makes us want to sell everything and hide under the bed. If you had sold all of your stocks during the first week of the crisis in September 2008, you would have been shielded from further losses (stocks bottomed out in March 2009). But how would you have known when to get back in? It is highly doubtful that most investors would have had the guts to buy when it seemed like stock indexes were hurtling towards zero.

2. Maintain a diversified portfolio…and don’t forget to rebalance. One of the best ways to prevent emotional swings is to create and adhere to a diversified portfolio that spreads out your risk across different asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, cash and commodities. In September 2008, a client shrieked to me that “everything is going down!” But that was not exactly the case: the 10 percent allocation in cash was just fine, as was the 30 percent holding in government bonds. That did not mean that the stock and commodities positions were doing well, but overall, the client was in far better shape because she owned more than risk assets.

3. Maintain a healthy emergency reserve fund. Bad luck can occur at any time. One great lesson of the crisis is that those who had ample emergency reserve funds (6 to 12 months of expenses for those who were employed and 12 to 24 months for those who were retired) had many more choices than those who did not. While a large cash cushion seems like a waste to some (“it’s not earning anything!”), it allowed many people to refrain from selling assets at the wrong time and/or from invading retirement accounts. Side note: the home equity lines of credit on which many relied for emergency reserves vanished during the crisis.

4. Put down 20 percent for a mortgage (and try to stick to plain vanilla home loans (15 or 30 year fixed rate mortgages), unless you really understand what you are doing!) Flashback to 2004 – 2007 and you will likely recall that you or someone you knew was buying a home or refinancing with some cockamamie loan that had “features” that allowed borrowers to put down about 3 cents worth of equity. There’s a good reason that old rules of thumb work. Yes Virginia, house prices can go down. And despite the recovery, please shun the advice from so-called experts like Suze Orman, who are once again saying that 10 percent down is just fine.

5. Understand what is in your target date fund: Pre-crisis, many investors had started to use target date funds, in which the fund manager “targets” your future date of retirement and adjusts the allocation as you near the time that you will need to access the money. Unfortunately, many of these funds were far riskier than investors understood. Whether it’s a target date fund or an age-based investment for your kid’s college fund, be sure to check out the risk level before you put a dollar to work.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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

Over the course of one week five years ago, the U.S. financial system was brought to its knees. Throughout the show, I tell you where we stand five years after this momentous week, when it comes to jobs, income, housing, stocks and much more!

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To recap the action over that horrible 7-day period in September 2008:

• 4 investment banks vanished (Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Bank of America swallowed the ailing and near-failing Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were forced to become bank holding companies in order to access the government’s discount window)
• The government bailed out global insurance giant AIG
• There was panic in the money market fund industry after the Reserve Primary Money Fund “broke the buck,” dropping below the standard $1 per share valuation
• The Treasury Department introduced the first version of TARP, which was intended to grant the government the authority to purchase $700 billion of mortgage-related assets for two years.

Meanwhile, listeners were equally as interested in NOT repeating past financial mistakes. Margaret from MA started us off with a question about where to invest the proceeds of a CD that is coming due. Kevin followed up with a retirement planning question: how to create a stream of income from a $500K nest egg?

Joe from IN needs to access funds for his daughter’s education: which should he tap first?

Reeves from MO and John from KY are both in their 20’s and starting their first retirement accounts. We discuss their options and the advantages/disadvantages of 401 (k)s and Roth IRAs.

William from WI wrote in about a good problem: a large estate. If you are fortunate to have an estate larger than $5.25 million (for individuals) there are a number of options for addressing your potential estate tax.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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

A tepid August jobs report had little impact on "Jill on Money" fans, who were more interested in financial issues that hit closer to home.

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Joe from NY started the show, with a question about early retirement. Have he and his wife accumulated the assets ($2 million at retirement) necessary to call it quits at age 50?

Ron from NJ wants to know my opinion of the Social Security strategy called “File and Suspend” (sometimes referred to as “Claim Now, Claim More Later”)

File and suspend is a feature of the system can be useful for married couples, especially where one spouse has earned significantly more than the other spouse during their careers. In these cases, the lower earning spouse is usually better off claiming half of the spouse’s benefit because it is higher than the individual benefit.

File and suspend allows the primary wage earner to apply for benefits, then suspend collecting, while allowing the other spouse to start collecting spousal benefits immediately and then continuing to collect. Here’s the best part: the primary wage-earning spouse can wait to claim benefits until age 70, which increases the future individual Social Security benefit by eight percent each year between ages 66 and 70.

On the subject of Social Security and retirement income, Ang wants to make sure to factor in taxes when determining the proper amount to withdraw.

Robert from Buffalo is weighing whether or not to refinance an adjustable rate mortgage, while Scott from MO is trying to determine whether or not to pay off his outstanding mortgage.

Daud asked about the ratings of long-term care insurance providers. Finding any company willing to write LTC is difficult enough, but finding a highly rated one is even tougher. Check out the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance for more information.

A few investment questions this week. One of particular note was from JG, who needs a plan to rotate a portion of his retirement funds into stocks. Meanwhile, John is worried about the future value of dollar-denominated assets.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. 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

Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, "Jill on Money" fans were working to prepare for what could be a volatile September. According to the Stock Trader's Almanac, September has been the worst month for stock performance over the past 50 years!

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Alex kicked off the show with a question about how to invest in bonds, while Jane followed up with concerns that perhaps her choice in a financial advisor might have been...well, ill-advised.

Rebecca and Jackie are looking for the best ways to pya down debt, while Linda is contemplating withdrawing money from her retirement account without generating tax liability.

Richard and Kane are receiving disability income, while Bill is trying to come back from a foreclosure

Stan and RJ are each weighing the purchase of an annuity to create a stream of retirement income, but in each of their cases, there are more affordable options.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world...One question: what do Mark do to the intern to make her disappear on us? 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

Just back from a quick trip to Brazil and happy to get right back into the groove with questions from the smartest fans around!

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Kathy from MD started asked a question about re-titling an old stock certificate. We dealt with that quickly, before moving into the thornier topic of how to convince an aging parent to draft a will.

Cheryl from NC, Anne from PA and Barb from OR each asked a question about their respective advisors. If Cheryl’s case, she needs to go back to the advisor/broker to better understand the terms of the new asset management fund. Anne needs to tell her advisor that they want to maintain a separate account with stocks that he will not manage and that the risk of her managed account may need to be adjusted to compensate for that fact. For Barb, it’s time to dump her bank-based advisor and find a fee-only (use NAPFA.org) or a fee-based advisor.

Ron from IL checked in with a question about IRS Rule 72T, which allows access to 401(k) funds before age 59 ½, without the early withdrawal penalty.

Jack from CA and is busy trying to pay down $180K in student loans, while Carl is preparing to assume new debt for college and wants to know appropriate parameters that he should use before starting the process.

Kathryn wrote in to warn against a refinancing scam that is aimed at veterans (ugh!) If any listeners encounter these types of horrible hoaxes, please let me know so we can help spread the word!

We fielded a bunch of Social Security questions from Mark, Janis, Max, Ben, Christopher, Ray, Larry and Lowell. As a reminder, the procedure to calculate benefits involves three steps.

1. A worker’s previous earnings are restated in terms of today’s wages to reflect wage growth.

2. Earnings for the highest 35 years are averaged and divided by 12 to arrive at Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME).

3. The Social Security benefit formula is applied to AIME to produce the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), the benefit payable at the Full Retirement Age (FRA).

If you have less than 35 years of earnings, you may want to work enough additional years so you have a full 35 years of earnings. Otherwise, the Social Security Administration will average in zeros for any years less than 35.

The maximum SS benefit depends on the age you retire. If you retire at your full retirement age in 2013, your maximum benefit would be $2,533.  If you retire at age 62 in 2013, your maximum benefit would be $1,923. If you retire at age 70 in 2013, your maximum benefit would be $3,350.

Tony asked how many months out of the year are required for state residence and Alan from Buffalo needed help with debt pay down options.

Dave in St Paul, MN asked about a bond fund versus a stable value fund and whether to use retirement assets to build a house.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina the intern. 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

When you hear "pundits" shrieking that the markets are going to crash or that the sky's the limit, best to run the other way! These folks prey on our emotions and are usually most interested in selling their books/newsletters/trading schemes.

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Frank from IL is collecting SS benefits and wants to understand the limitations on earning money while he is collecting. There are specific rules and limits, so make sure to double check here. The question allowed me to reveal an interesting SS strategy that you may want to consider.

David from TX is a father of 3 and wants to know which education savings vehicle makes the most sense for him and which is better: a Roth IRA or a 401 (k). Steve also wrote in about a traditional vs. Roth.

Dave from AK just had a baby 9 months ago and has concerns about identity theft, which was a good way to jump into a general run down of how we all need to be more vigilant about protecting our identities.

Craig has gotten into some tough financial times and wants to know how to kick-start a plan of action.

Billy in Louisville is in his mid 40’s and he and his wife work for small businesses, neither of which offer benefits. He and his wife will be inheriting 200K and he wants to know what to do with this lump sum. After paying down debt and setting aside an emergency reserve fund, we discussed about how to start investing, slowly…

Candace in NY is wondering whether or not to use $40K to pay down a mortgage or use it to build another bathroom. I vote for the bathroom, HANDS DOWN!

Wanda from KY is looking into an insurance policy that includes a long-term care benefit. She is not sold on the product and is wondering whether she is a candidate for LTCi. Later in the program, I talked about purchasing LTCi through an employer.

Raymond asked about market prognosticators and whether he should listen to their advice. Here’s something to remember when you hear about those who predict the tops and bottoms of various markets. These folks prey on our emotions and should be avoided at all costs!

Michael is retired with Social Security and a pension. His wife will be retiring later this year and has a number of pension options from which to choose.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina the intern, who finally returned from vacation. 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

The dog days of August? Not for “Jill on Money” listeners!

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Mark from KY asked about rolling over his wife’s old 401 (k), which has skyrocketed to $560K over the past 10 years. They don’t want to blow this nest egg and probably need the guidance of a fee-only advisor from NAPFA.org. We also got into a great conversation about what lump sum is necessary to generate sufficient retirement income.

Paul from NY has $60K in student loans outstanding, at a low interest rate of 2 percent. With a 3-week old son, should they aggressively pay down debt or start to save for other priorities?

Sheila from KY called to ask about the potential changes to retirement rules, especially in light of debt and deficit talk heating up again (get ready for a new debt ceiling battle in September!) David from MO is still working and weighing whether to take Social Security now, versus waiting until his age 70 ½, when he could maximize his benefit. This lead to a lengthier conversation about how the Social Security system could change in the future.

Jeff in MO is 27 and e-mailed about what he should do, now that he has finally gotten out of debt, while an anonymous e-mailer asked about a hybrid, indexed annuity. As many long-time listeners know, I am not a huge plan about these complicated products. Richard from KY is also getting back on his feet, and is now juggling retirement and college savings – which should come first?

We got a bunch of great retirement questions: Jim has $250K in his 401 (k) and his wife has $150K in her retirement plan. They are concerned about the impact of the changing bond market. Bob has $1 million portfolio and wants to know what changes he should be making to his portfolio, 4 years prior to retirement.

Kevin from TX has 10 properties, all of which are cash flow positive and some of which are paid off. He is trying to determine how the properties can be used to fund his retirement needs.

Scott from Boston asked about whether his employer could shift his bonus into a retirement plan contributions.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina the intern, who finally returned from vacation. 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

Sometimes fans come from out of the blue…we are grateful that a radio legend discovered Jill on Money!

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Meanwhile, back on the show, our regulars kept us busy. Mike from NY needs advice on how to break up with his current advisor; Kristen from TX asked about hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts; and Wanda from KY and Kathryn from MN are each weighing under what conditions to consider long term care insurance.

We love hearing from our young listeners too! Justin from MA is strategizing about student loan pay downs; Joe from VA has an 18-year-old son, who needs guidance about which kind of accounts to open; and Rainey’s 29-year-old granddaughter is considering a low-minimum investment vehicle for her Roth IRA.

We fielded a variety of investment questions from John, Ed, Mim and Raymond covered a lot of ground in terms of general research and protecting against emotions.

Mark asked about rolling over an old retirement plan and Pat inquired about dollar cost averaging.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world, who was alone while Christina the intern was on vacation. 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

Congress finally acted to fix the student loan fiasco, by linking the interest rate to the 10-year Treasury yield. Just because you can borrow money for college, doesn't necessarily mean that you should...

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We fielded a bunch of questions about college loans and the best ways to save for education, starting with Aaron from MN, who is getting an early start with a three-month old! Also weighing in was Dwight from KY, who found a kindred spirit in being anti-debt and David from TX and Brittany from Boston, both of whom are juggling college and retirement savings.

Early retirement seems like such a 1990’s concept, but it seems to have emerged during this show. Victor was helping his dad figure out whether he can call it quits at 60, while Vicki, Diane and Helen are trying to manage their money more effectively, either with the help of an advisor or on their own.

Joe from Hawaii asked about whether he had too much in emergency reserves. My answer is even if you make a lot of money, maintaining 6 to 12 months of expenses in a safe place can protect you against a variety of unforeseen circumstances.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world, who was alone while Christina the intern was on vacation. 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

Despite the heat wave, listeners are keeping cool when it comes to their money. Interesting questions about when to claim Social Security prove once again, that the answer depends on your unique circumstances.

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Steve from MN is in his early 60s and is concerned about preserving his $3 million nest egg. Is he better off in an actively managed fund or a passive index? Similarly, Bill from Maine needed help allocating his assets.

Helen, David and Ed are all trying to balance the risk of reaching for yield and the need to have access to money, while Henry (a 404 fan) has trimmed his risk by using a bond fund and target date fund in his 401 (k) – should he do something else?

When to claim Social Security is a vexing question, because there is no clear-cut response. At least I could reassure “K” that the system will still exist when she reaches 62. Although I don’t usually advocate claiming SS at age 62, in Nancy’s case, it makes sense. However, for Linda, waiting until age 70 may be a better a bet.

Not everyone needs long term care insurance-really! Listen to my conversation with Nikki from WI to find out who should consider coverage and who can skip it.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina, who is vying for "Intern of the Year". 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

The question "When can I retire?" pops up frequently. Unfortunately, there's more to the answer than a few calculations. The decision is a big one and varies based on your life circumstances.

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Richard from MN is considering retirement after being laid off. He and his wife are both working part-time, but with a nest egg of $850K, can he continue as is, or should he seek full-time employment?

Dan from CT is in his late 50’s and has a similar question, though his wife will be entitled to a pension, which makes the decision a bit easier.

Mike from IL and his wife have accumulated a $2.3 million nest egg and are looking to downsize for the next three years. Should they buy or rent?

Susan from Texas is a 55 year-old widow, who wants to make a change in her life. With savings and investments of $1.3 million, can she afford to quit her job as a teacher and do something else?

Michael is already retired, but his wife is weighing a lump sum pay out versus a stream of income – which is better for them?

Mark is 66 years old and is thinking about partial or full retirement based on the following facts that I will offer. He will have a pension, Social Security and $500K saved. He has the option of reducing his hours, which may be a perfect way to slide into retirement.

A few insurance questions popped up this week. Joe from OH needed help figuring out which kind and how much life insurance to purchase, while Jacob and Rita are concerned about long-term care. Lynn wrote in asking about purchasing whole life insurance for her 8 month-old daughter – JUST SAY NO!

The youth listenership of the show weighed in with questions about credit scores. Marvin and his wife want to buy a house, but he has a very low credit score and Jeromy is trying to keep a broken lease off his credit record.

Wes is 28 years old and trying to bounce back from some earlier financial mistakes. He is diligently paying down his car loan. His next step should be to establish an emergency reserve fund and then to begin contributing to his employers retirement plan.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina, who is vying for "Intern of the Year". 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 parades, fireworks and barbeques, check out this week's show, where we help callers declare Financial Independence Day!

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Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina, who is vying for "Intern of the Year". 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

It’s half time! The Dow posted its strongest first half of the year since 1999 and the S&P 500 logged its best first half performance since 1998. It was perfect timing (but not market timing, of course!) for Mitch Tuchman from Rebalance IRA and MarketRiders to join us for a visit. Tuchman’s two websites offer a great deal for those investors who need guidance, but don’t want to pay through the nose for it!

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After Mitch's segments, we fielded a bunch of allocation/retirement questions from Tom from IL, Donna from MN, Howard from KY and Mark from NY. Tim from NY has ample assets and wants to make sure that he has the proper allocation, so that he can leave money to his 17 year-old grandson.

Steve from MN wanted advice about Vanguard funds, while Aurora is trying to select among various index funds.

Alexia from Buffalo is weighing the purchase of a single-family home versus a two-family home, which would provide income.

Finally, Nhu is about to enter college and wanted advice on credit vs. debit cards and general advice about how to handle money, as she enters a new phase of her life.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina, who is vying for "Intern of the Year". 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

The Federal Reserve spoke and the bond market was not amused. Chairman Bernanke said that if the central bank’s projections were correct and the economy continues to improve, the Fed could begin to taper its bond purchases at the end of this year; and the program could conclude in mid-2014. Bond yields spiked to 2.5 percent and bond prices, which move in the opposite direction, sank.

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The rise in 10-year Treasury bond yields from 1.6 percent in the beginning of May to a 15-month high of 2.5 percent in mid-June might not seem like a big deal – just 0.90, right? But it’s important to realize that it’s a 56 percent move in just 7 weeks!

Since a one percent increase in yields could cause a bond fund to decline by 5 to 10 percent, depending on the type of bonds you own, the questions about bonds are starting to pour in. Summing up most of those e-mails was Brian, who knows he has to rebalance, but is fearful of the bond market.

The retirement planners were out in force: Patricia from MO is trying to plan for an adequate, steady income if her husband predeceases her; Gary in NY is wondering whether to take 20 percent of his $1 million retirement savings and put it into a guaranteed annuity; Mike from CA wants to know if his nest egg is sufficient to supplement his pension; and Doug from MD is contemplating retirement, after a big change in his life.

We fielded home purchase and mortgage questions from Daniel in Arkansas and Stephanie in Texas; soothed Margaret and Jan, who are both worried about the stability of Social Security (fear not!); and chided Jason for wanting to use off the shelf software to save money on estate planning - bad idea!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina, who is vying for "Intern of the Year". 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