Now that the holiday season is in full swing, charities are making their final year-end pitches to raise money. Charity Navigator, a non-profit organization that helps donors give intelligently, predicts that individual donors will give at least $100 billion to charities this holiday season. While the sentiment of giving is wonderful, it is important to be careful about how you give.

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We fielded some interesting portfolio questions this week. Chris from CT is co-managing (with his brother) his mother's $5 million portfolio and wants to be smart about choosing an advisor to help him out.

Mike wanted to know whether converting his $600K IRA makes sense and Maryanne wanted to know whether it makes sense to pay down her mortgage with her savings. Are municipal bonds safe? That's the question on Greg's mind, while Gary is trying to figure out a safe withdrawal rate and Betty wants to know how to invest $100K.

Brian and Aaron both had debt consolidation issues, while Dan wants to know whether or not to roll over an old retirement plan.

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

Gobble, gobble! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying a relaxing weekend!

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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

Dow 16,000, S&P 1800...are these new levels signs of more gains ahead or a giant bear trap? Luckily, our listeners know that round numbers are nice, but they have little to do with real financial matters.

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Nolan started the show with a question we often field: is it better to contribute to retirement or pay down debt? The answer depends on a number of variables, including the interest on the debt. In this case, it's tough to make the case for paying down cheap student loans.

At age 57, Bill is wondering whether or not he still needs life insurance. I suggested that he consult one of my favorite financial calculators, from the folks at lifehappens.

Michael purchased a variable life insurance policy 15 years ago and wants to know what to do with it now.

Does Eunice need long term care? She is a 69 year-old widow in good health, but wants to preserve her nest egg for her kids and grandkids.

We fielded Social Security questions from Ralph, Mark and Blanche. As a reminder, the Social Security web site is a treasure trove of valuable information.

Finally, Bill wondered whether he should use cash to purchase rental property.

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

This was my first show back since my father (aka "Big Al" or "Albie") passed away. Dad loved the show-he thought it was so cool that you  shared your financial concerns and questions with me, and that I was able to help you out in any way that I could. If you missed the Father's Day show with Big Al, check it out here. And this is my syndicated Tribune column that I wrote for Father's Day.

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We started the show with a great call from Jo in Atlanta, who wanted a solution to her rebalancing needs. Beth from NY recently lost her father and asked about how to invest proceeds of insurance for her mom.

Ed weighed in with a question about Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) and Karl is wondering whether or not to grab an early retirement offer from the USPS.

Two listeners are at opposite places: Patrick wants to know how to jump into the stock market and Andrew is worried about how to get out!

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

Sometimes circumstances may force kids back to the nest, but in other cases, it's a wonderful tradition that can help the younger generation save money early in their lives.

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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

Financial infidelity can be just as damaging and hurtful as any other type of infidelity. In this week's show, we provide advice about spouses hiding assets and salesmen hiding the truth!

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A few examples of bad behavior came to light during the show. The most egregious example was that of June, whose husband of 44 years has gone behind her back and moved retirement assets. What is her recourse and what should she do? Helen's case was not nearly as bad, but it appears that her husband has engaged a broker to manage their accounts without consulting her.

Then there's Jerry, who is a small business owner. A wolf in sheep's clothing (aka an insurance salesman) is pitching him a "7702 Retirement Plan" which is just a sneaky marketing gimmick to sell an expensive insurance policy.

With financial infidelity abounding, it's no wonder that Stanley is keeping all of his family's assets at T. Rowe Price, but is it OK to do business with only one company? The ability of the industry to grab at your dollars also means that if you are like Bill and have a decent paying I-bond, keep it! Same goes for Pam, who has just inherited $500K -- rather than invest it and assume risk and cost,  she should use some of the money to pay off her outstanding mortgage.

Finally, Susan wants to minimize the tax hit from her Required Minimum Distributions of her retirement accounts.

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

Listeners have amassed sizable cash reserves-now what to do with all of that moo-lah? Is it time to pay down the mortgage, invest or do maintain the position?

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Walt, Lynn Steve and Ang are all sitting on a pile of cash. In each case, the advice is slightly different, proving once again that every situation is unique.

Mark has had a variable annuity for five years and has been offered the opportunity to purchase a rider that would protect his downside risk-is it worth it? Meanwhile, Nell's advisor is suggesting a change in how he will charge her for his services. She wonders if the new fee is worth it?

Katie asked about combining retirement accounts and Elmar and his wife want to know what steps they should take to  go from two incomes to one.

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

Congress finally got its act together and agreed on a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. Sure, we may have to go through this all over again in January and February, but in the mean time, it's back to our regularly scheduled programming!

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Our young listeners are so great, because in answering their questions, I can review some of the basic premises we should all be applying throughout our lives. Leah got us started with questions about rolling over an old retirement plan and whether or not to combine assets with her soon-to-be husband. Aaron's wife wants to buy a house, but is that the best idea at this point in their lives? Steve needed advice about where to invest $5K and Tim and his wife have whole life insurance and want to know whether to exchange it for term -- YES! 29 year old Jaydan wrote such a nice e-mail, that I wanted to give him a shout-out on the show and in the show notes as well.

On the retirement front, Cheryl asked about the nasty provision of Social Security that reduces benefits for federal employees (Windfall EliminationProvision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). While there is legislation pending to undo these punitive rules, given the state of affairs in DC, I wouldn't hold my breath for action.

Ena has a wonderful problem: she has saved $1.35 million and needs a strategy to create income from the portfolio in retirement. Now is a good time to interview fee-only advisors. Howard asked about index vs. managed funds (INDEX RULES!), Andy is weighing a lump sum versus an annuity for his wife's retirement account, and Robert asked about the file and suspend strategy for Social Security.

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