Squared Away Blog

Money matters can get complicated for couples who may not see eye to eye. In a recent interview with Squared Away, Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, author of the new book, “How to Give Financial Advice to Couples,” shared her tips and insights for couples trying to meet in the middle. Q: In a relationship, is money about more than just money? Kingsbury: Money is often a reflection of our feelings about security, respect, love, power – it really symbolizes these things, whether we’re aware of it or not. So how a couple talks about money and manages their money is a reflection of how they relate to each other in other areas as well. Q: Explain “money beliefs”? Kingsbury: A money…

Too many financial products are far too complex. The pre-loaded cards that people give as gifts during the holidays are a multi-billion-dollar example. When buying these cards, it’s very hard to know what you’re getting and giving. The big things to watch out for are expiration dates and fees. This isn’t easy. The federal CARD Act of 2009 covers cards issued by retailers for purchases in their stores and cards issued by banks for use in many places. The law bars these gift cards from expiring for five years after their purchase. They must also maintain their full value for a year. But after the first year, the CARD Act permits one fee per month, and a $5 monthly f…

How are your retirement plans going? If you’re a conservative Generation Y investor, are you in the mainstream? Baby boomers, how many in your generation are planning to retire at the same age you do? Compare yourself with your peers in this cool interactive quiz developed by the Boston mutual fund company, Fidelity Investments. Click here to check it out. As you answer each question, you can compare yourself with your peer group’s answer to that same question, based on a prior survey for Fidelity by the polling company, Gfk. Your peer group is determined by your income and your generation – baby boomer, Generation X and Generation Y. Fidelity also provides useful information and tips with each question. ……

The natural reaction to losing a job is to get a new one.  But when older people become unemployed, some view it as a dilemma: look for work or just retire? The presence of a financial safety net significantly increases the likelihood that an older, unemployed person will retire.  And that decision often comes quickly after they lose their job, concluded a new study by Matt Rutledge, an economist for the Center for Retirement Research, which supports this blog. “The brevity of [their] jobless spells suggests that older individuals have little tolerance for a job search” and will “make a quick exit” if they have financial resources backing them up, Rutledge wrote in a recent summary of his research. His…

Boston trust attorney Michael Puzo has seen it time and again: people procrastinate about writing a will or putting their estate in order. “It forces them to face their mortality, and they don’t want to,” he said. Even those with modest assets – a house, a 401k, and maybe a life insurance policy – should carefully make an estate plan.  But are the nuts and bolts of wills and estate planning widely understood? This question loomed as Puzo translated these legal complexities in a way anyone could grasp during his presentation to employees of Boston College, where Squared Away is based.  For readers who may not know where to start, here are 10 fundamentals gleaned from his talk: A good…

Thank you readers for continuing to support our blog, which was recognized this week by Jean Chatzky of AARP. We’ll return next Tuesday with more coverage of financial behavior…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is kicking into gear to help consumers safely navigate the increasingly complex world of financial products. The federal agency in recent weeks has released information for homebuyers and for seniors seeking financial advisers. It also accepts complaints about a growing list of financial products. Homebuyers Seeking Help: Individuals can search CFPB’s website for experienced home-buying counselors, by state. These counselors are approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. To find a counselor, click here. Seniors Seeking Financial Advisers: To help protect older Americans from poor financial advice, CFPB has created a handy guide to help them find a trustworthy adviser. The guidance includes the right questions to ask and the importance of…

The equity in older Americans’ homes has risen smartly over the past year, fueled by the housing market rebound. But whether retirees will tap these gains to pay their bills remains in doubt. Equity values for homeowners who are 62 or older was $3.34 trillion in the second quarter of this year – nearly 10 percent above its $3.05 trillion value a year earlier – according to new data released by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), a trade organization. Rising house prices are restoring equity even in places like Florida devastated by the housing market bust. Seniors’ home equity has surged 14 percent there over the past year, to $241 billion in the second quarter of 2013, thoug…

As he logged on to his online 401(k) retirement account, Jordan Tirone, a 25-year-old insurance underwriter, explained the mental accounting behind his 5 percent contribution. He pays $300 a month to live with his mother so he can pay off student loans. Nevertheless, a regular paycheck from his Hartford, Conn., employer is finally giving him some financial stability. “I’m feeling like I’m gaining some traction,” he said. Spontaneously, he clicks his mouse and increases his contribution to 6 percent of his salary. Although it can be difficult to focus on a retirement that is still 40 years away, many young adults like Tirone try very hard to save. But are they doing enough? A lot of evidence suggests they’re not,…

When my new partner and I bought a condominium last month to accommodate our combined stuff, I remembered that borrowing so much money can be an emotional, even terrifying, ordeal. It’s difficult to think clearly. But attention should be paid to closing costs, which add to the cost of buying a house. So I decided to apply my skills as a veteran newspaper reporter and grilled my lender, attorney and real estate agent about these costs. Despite my diligence, I was only modestly successful at reining them in. But I stepped on a few land mines that might help other homebuyers: The HUD-1 matters: Federal law requires prospective mortgage lenders to provide loan applicants with a “good faith estimate” of…

Individuals earning nearly $46,000 a year and families of four earning $94,000 may be eligible for federal tax credits under the new health care law. Tax credits are the mechanism by which the federal government caps how much people pay for health insurance premiums, which are set by the private market. The premium caps are based on how much someone earns, relative to the federal government’s definition of poverty. Here’s an example of how premiums are calculated for, say, young, single workers who earn between $17,236 and $22,980 per year, which is between one-and-one-half and two times the poverty level. The premiums, which range from 4 percent to 6.3 percent of their income, start at about $57 a month for…

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation just released an excellent interactive slide show explaining how the Affordable Care Act addresses the various health insurance and financial challenges facing 47 million uninsured Americans. Kaiser divided the uninsured into 10 groups – 28 million part-time workers, 8 million adults in their early 20s, and 3.5 million self-employed people, among others – with details about the specific provisions pertaining to each. There’s a lot of detail here, so focus on the profiles that interest you most. Advance through the slides by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the screen. To return to the home page, click the “house.” ……