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Preparing for 'Taxmageddon'
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Retire Here, Not There: Tennessee
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The 5 Biggest Muni Defaults Ever
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Cut Travel Costs With Free Gas
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Grad School: Higher Degrees of Debt
the new retirement
Glenn Ruffenach
How to Take Control of Your 401(k); Ruffenach: Chances are good the funds in your 401(k) yield only about 2 percent.
SmartMoney.comThis may surprise you, but there's a good chance you can take direct control of your nest egg at work, choosing investments beyond the two dozen or so mutual funds that most employers offer in their savings plans. Doing so can be risky, but ...
Talking to Mom About Alzheimer's and Her Money; Ruffenach on Alzheimer's impact: lost money, damaged credit, even foreclosure.
SmartMoney.comIncreasingly, my friends and I -- most of us in our mid- to late 50s -- are starting to see the same thing: elderly parents who are grappling with memory loss and finding it difficult to manage their finances. And most of us, I'm learning, ...
MLPs Offer Income, but They're Not Without Risks; Ruffenach: Master Limited Partnerships inspire many income seekers to drool. But foolproof, they're not.
SmartMoney.comI can't help but wonder if the insatiable appetite for income in later life is starting to cloud people's judgment. Case in point: master limited partnerships.
Strategies to Max Out Social Security Benefits; Ruffenach: Find out which Social Security claiming strategy will pay the most over a lifetime.
SmartMoney.comMuch of my mail these days seems to start with the same warm greeting: "What planet are you from?" That's invariably the case when I suggest that readers consider ways to maximize Social Security benefits instead of grabbing ...
Is the 4% Rule Still Viable? Ruffenach: A fresh look at the so-called 4% retirement-withdrawal rule.
SmartMoney.comSo ... you've put the finishing touches on your retirement plan, and you're set to withdraw 4% from savings each year, because that's what financial planners (and columnists) have long advised.
Some Long-Term-Care Insurance Is Better Than None; Ruffenach: Why shooting for the moon with long-term-care insurance might shoot you in the foot.
SmartMoney.comThe best is the enemy of the good. Or so said Voltaire, the French philosopher. I could be wrong, but...I think he was talking about long-term-care insurance -- and how to fix what is probably the biggest hole in your plans for retirement.
How to Get Your Retirement Back on Track; Ruffenach: 2012 should give you several chances to patch up plans for the future. Here's what to look for.
SmartMoney.comIf you weren't crazy about what 2011 did for your retirement finances, don't fret: The new year will offer some opportunities to get back on track.
How to Minimize Retirement's Hidden Costs; Some expenses never make it into our retirement calculations. How to plan for curveballs .
SmartMoney.comWhen I was a freshman in college, I took boxing classes. (It's a long story.) One fight, in particular, stands out in my memory: A right hook I never saw coming left me flat on my back. (It's fair to say I was no Mike Tyson in the ...
The Case for Downsizing Your Home; A lot of boomers want to wait til the housing market improves before downsizing, but the savings of a smaller home make long-term sense.
SmartMoney.comDo you love your home? I hope so. That said, chances are good you need to consider leaving it. Believe me, I don't enjoy writing that. But two critical failings in many retirement plans -- one you're all too familiar with, and one ...
Do-It-Yourself Annuities: A Blueprint; Income for life sounds pretty good, but traditional annuities lock up cash and can shortchange your heirs. How to craft one yourself.
SmartMoney.comFinancial advisers (and columnists) like to tell investors to build things. Build a portfolio. Build a bond ladder. Build an estate plan. One suggestion you're likely to hear more often is to build your own annuity. It's not ...
The New Rules of Estate Planning; Best moves for getting your estate in order, after the Tax Relief Act of 2010.
SmartMoney.comYou have to hand it to Congress: It's doing its best to turn one of the more wearying parts of retirement planning -- getting your estate in order -- into something of a party. The challenge for you and me is to stay clearheaded.
Retirement: It's Not All a Crapshoot; Fretting about Medicare and Social Security? Here are some aspects of your retirement you can control.
SmartMoney.comWant to hear some good news about retirement? You have more control over your future than you think. So much about retirement planning today is marked by doubt: We don't know whether our savings will see us through old age. We ...
Is Your Adviser Still Right for Your Retirement? The financial pro who gets you to your golden years may not be the right one to get you through them. Here's how to tell.
SmartMoney.comLet's say you get a call from your financial planner, who, concerned that markets are significantly overvalued, has decided to park 20 percent of your portfolio in cash. Your first reaction might be, "Sure, that sounds ...
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How to Invest for Retirement
Investing for retirement is more complicated than opening an IRA or maxing out your 401(k)
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How to Catch Up on Retirement Savings
Cut spending to make catch-up contributions and more.
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How to Cash Out in Retirement
A look at four strategies that could help make a retiree's savings last a lifetime
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10 Things
![[sm061210things]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PF-AC562_sm0612_C_20120514113337.jpg)
10 Things Hollywood Won't Tell You
Now playing: sequels, 3-D reruns and long ads.
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![[sm0612wedding4]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PF-AC579_sm0612_C_20120515172853.jpg)
The Stealth Wedding: Saying 'I do' in a Public Space
A new wedding trend trades "walking down the aisle" for a walk on the wild side.
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The Reignited Tech Sector
Technology stocks have rebounded and are once again the darling of the market. Can the resurgence last?
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Why a 'Balanced' Portfolio May Not Work
Arends: That 60/40 portfolio of stocks and bonds your adviser is pushing might not work.