Worth Watching: A New TV Series on the Upside of Downsizing

When you think about downsizing your home and relocating, there’s a word that probably comes to mind: yecch. The process can be time-consuming, agonizing, frustrating and just plain sad. But, as the new public television series The Legacy List shows (c… Continue reading

The Best Places to Retire Abroad in 2020

Thinking of retiring abroad in 2020? Have you seen these headlines in recent months? “Death Toll in Chile Protests Since October Rises to 27,” “Nicaragua Has a Simple Message for Protesters: Don’t,” “Thousands Flee to Shore as Australia Fires Turn Skie… Continue reading

The Longevity Economy: Gigantic and Getting Bigger

As a new decade and year are about to begin, professional forecasters are, of course, going through the exercise of guesstimating the future course of the markets and U.S. economy. From what I’ve seen, they’re generally expecting the record-breaking U…. Continue reading

Holiday Season Scams: How Not to Get Taken

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — unless you get scammed. “In this season of generosity, people let down their guards and tend not to be as skeptical as they would be the rest of the year,” says Christopher Elliott,  founder of the consumer-ad… Continue reading

Radical Notion: Time to Stop Giving Holiday Gifts?

Last year, Paula Dofat started a new holiday tradition with her four sons, who range in age from 20 to 25. Instead of undergoing the stress of getting them gifts, which she says will likely just “go out of style, depreciate or just get thrown in the ba… Continue reading

Expect a Little Better Service From Social Security Soon

If you’ve ever experienced a long wait to get help from the Social Security Administration, the agency has some good news for you: the pace is about to pick up a bit. Repeated cuts to the agency’s administrative budget over the past decade by Congress … Continue reading

Expect a Little Better Service From Social Security Soon

If you’ve ever experienced a long wait to get help from the Social Security Administration, the agency has some good news for you: the pace is about to pick up a bit. Repeated cuts to the agency’s administrative budget over the past decade by Congress … Continue reading

Tax-Smart Charitable Giving for #GivingTuesday

For the past several years, I’ve made an annual credit-card donation to a particular charity. This year, I waited until #GivingTuesday — that’s today, Dec. 3, when charities encourage people to donate online. I held off because I knew that on #GivingTu… Continue reading

Medicare Scams to Watch Out For

“Hello, this is Medicare calling. Your coverage is about to be cancelled.” This type of fraudulent call and others like it happen every day. According to AARP, Medicare fraud losses hit $60 billion in 2017 and continue to rise. And Medicare scammers se… Continue reading

Finally: A Push to Help Americans Save for Emergencies

For six years running, the Federal Reserve has found that roughly 40% of U.S. households would have difficulty coping with a $400 unexpected expense. A financial emergency would hit people 50 and older especially hard; AARP recently found that 51% of A… Continue reading