KYW's Salil Gutt
Salil Gutt, who blends a perfect mixture of expertise and common sense on KYW's "Family Finance" reports, is a certified financial planner and the principal of Gutt & Company.
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'Guaranteed' Investments May Not Be
The melt down in the stock market has spurred a ton of financial products with the word "guaranteed" in them. Don't be so sure.
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Disappearing Benefits Forcing Employees to Be Self-Reliant
One thing is clear. No matter where you work, you cannot rely on your employer to fund pension and health care benefits for the rest of your life.
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Health Insurance If You Lose Your Job
There are laws that prevent healthy employers from cutting health insurance coverage but the unemployed may still have to pay steep premiums.
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It Does Not Pay to Roth Your IRA
Some financial advisors and articles in the financial press have been talking about converting IRAs to Roth IRAs. I don't recommend it.
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Cash For Life Settlements Drying Up
Seniors are seeing a source of cash drying up. The credit crunch has all but stopped the life settlements industry.
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New Year Resolutions for Your Finances
With money issues of pressing concern for most families this would be a good time to make some New Year resolutions.
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Getting Out of Debt - Part 2
New data reveals that U.S households are cutting debt. Here's how you get onto this debt reduction bandwagon.
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Getting Out of Debt - Part 1
All debts must be repaid and true financial freedom only comes when you are not beholden to anyone.
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Investing for Inflation Down the Road
With growing national debt, some bond market pros are positioning investments as though inflation is inevitable.
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Avoid Being a Victim of Financial Fraud
A respected financial advisor may have perpetrated the largest fraud in history. Here are two red flags that all investors need to be aware of.
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Women Fear Retirement More Than Men Do
Women fear retirement more than men do, and with good reason.
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What Happens When Long Term Care Insurer is in Trouble?
A number of long term care insurance companies are expected to bite the dust. What happens then for policy holders?
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Choices For 401(k) Plans When You Are Leaving Your Job
What should you do with the money in 401k or similar employer sponsored retirement plans when changing jobs?
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Helping Your Children Get a Good Credit Report
Having a good credit report and a high credit score is critical. Here are two ways to help your children.
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Planning for New Estate Tax Rules
President Obama' s key piece of legislation will be a dramatic rewrite of the tax rules.
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Medical Bills One Should Not Pay
Millions of health care consumers are affected by something called balance billing. It's illegal.
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Margin of Safety for Retirees
Stock market storms show up every few years so it is important that retirees establish a margin of safety in their portfolios.
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Is Your Annuity Safe?
AIG is one of the nation's leading sellers of annuities and holders are worried about the safety of their products.
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Is Buy and Hold Dead As An Investment Strategy?
One of the central tenets of investing is being seriously questioned. Is it time to bury the concept of buy and hold investing?
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What To Do When This Storm Blows Over
As the stock market tumbled, Investors who threw in the towel likely had an asset allocation that was seriously flawed.
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A Bad and Dangerous Idea From Credit Card Cos.
The country gorged on debt and is now paying the price. Credit card companies are offering a dangerous solution involving 401k's.
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Should You Rent Out Your Home?
Here are some things to consider before you press this button.
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Deciding on Trustee in Estate Planning
There is one very important consideration for would be trust creators as protection for their beneficiaries - deciding on the choice of trustee.
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Trusts Used to Protect Children from Earlier Marriages
Ninety-nine percent of Americans tend to use trusts as a means of protecting the inheritance of children from earlier marriages.
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Special Service Ensures FDIC Insurance at All Times
With bank failures continuing to mount, investors are scrambling for safe haven.
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Handling Finances On the Death of a Family Member
Often, when a loved one dies, family members are caught up in the emotion of the moment and some of the financial issues are incorrectly handled.
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One Stop Shopping for Bank CDs
There is a unique service for bank CDs that is getting a lot of traction - it's called Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service, CDARS for short.
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Don't Invest in What You Don't Understand
I am always amazed that people will plunk down huge sums of money on an investment pitch over the phone from a stock broker without doing any homework.
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Investors Prone to the Ostrich Effect
In his column in the Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig talked about the "ostrich effect." This is no time to stick your head in the sand.
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Renting Retirement Housing Makes Sense
The conventional wisdom is to buy real estate but there is a case to be made for renting rather than buying retirement real estate.
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When to Buy Long Term Care Insurance
Broadly speaking, a long term care policy pays benefits in the event of sickness or dementia. Here's how that works.
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Seniors May Be Short-Changed on Life Insurance Policies
Many seniors, unable to understand the annual statements on life insurance policies, will be dramatically shortchanged by the insurance company.
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The New Rules for Charitable Giving
There have been significant changes in the rules and regulations surrounding charitable gifting. Here's an update.
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Retirement Plan Monies Can Be Rolled Over to Roth IRA
The smartest thing employees leaving a company can do is rollover their money from a 401k or similar plan to qualified retirement plan.
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The Finances of Health Care in Retirement
Health care has become a vital component of retirement finances so planning for this reality is important. Here are a couple of things to consider.
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How to Settle An Estate
Settling an estate is not rocket science. Here's a quick primer that could save you some unnecessary professional fees.
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A Way to Analyze Mutual Fund Costs
It is in down markets that investors start paying extra attention to fees and expenses in their mutual funds. Here's a website that can help.
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Part Time Work Will Affect Social Security Benefits
Retirees considering part time work should know the extra earnings may affect their social security benefits.
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A Problem with Exchange Traded Funds
There are some 800 different types of exchange traded funds but some are better bets than others.
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Using Annuities to Battle Inflation
Develop a retirement income approach that marries the predictability of a monthly check along with increases to offset inflation.
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The Lure of a Pension Check
During bear markets retirees appreciate the value of a pension check compared to the volatility that comes when you are managing your own money.
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Transition to Retirement Can Test a Marriage
Many couples are discovering that the transition to retirement is one of the toughest tests for a marriage.
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Baby Boomers Will Redefine Retirement
With life expectancies increasing, it is possible you could spend as much time in your next phase, or 'retirement', as you did working.
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Hiring a Home Health Care Aide
When in need of home health care services and choosing between an independent aide or an agency, this is what you need to know.
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A New World of Banking for Consumers
Bankers who had liberally sprinkled loan money around are clamping down much to the dismay of their customers, but that's not necessarily bad news.
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Important to Focus on Expenses in Retirement
Most of us tend to focus on our investments at the time of retirement but expenses are equally important.
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A Common Problem with Medigap Policies
Medigap policies are responsible for paying the expenses that Medicare does not cover but some insurance companies try to get away with charging seniors the difference.
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Opting Out of Medicare Premiums
Increasing numbers of Americans are choosing to retire overseas. A big issue is what happens to their social security retirement benefits and Medicare.
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Be Selective with Emerging Markets
The outlook for emerging markets continues to be good but with some caveats. Here are some suggestions.
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Beware of 401k Plan Predators
An article in Business Week reported on retirement ruined by 401k plan predators. Beware.
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IRS Tightens Financial Reporting for Charities
There are about 1.2 million charities in the United States. Most of us want to be sure our charitable dollars are put to good use.
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The Too Good To Be True Variable Annuity
Critics contend bailouts by the Federal Reserve allow financial companies to take on a lot more risk than is appropriate. Variable annuities may put this theory to the test.
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Addressing a Shortage of Financial Advisors
The numbers of consumers needing financial advice has grown but the number of professionals giving advice has declined.
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Consolidate and Simplify Retirement Accounts
Over the course of a career we accumulate different types of retirement accounts. Here's how to simplify.
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Is Your Home Sufficiently Insured?
Now would be a good time to check if your home is sufficiently insured and if you are overpaying for this coverage.
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Disabed Are Eligible for Medicare
In addition to covering seniors aged 65 and older, few know that Medicare also covers disabled individuals. Here's a primer on those rules.
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Debtor's Rights
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices act governs how debt collectors must treat consumers. This is what you need to know.
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Hiring Home Health Care Aides
There is a shortage of home health care workers, and this problem is going to get more acute with an aging population.
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