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Student loan provider offers online savings

08.03.10

Students can now pay their college loans and save with Sallie Mae.

Question: I'm 49 and my wife is 50. We agree on most things, except how much of our investment portfolio we should keep in cash. She is completely risk-averse and focuses only on the "spanking" we took in the market last year. I feel that by letting so much money sit in CDs earning 1% to 2% we're missing out on better opportunities. Currently, we've got about $500,000 in cash as part of an otherwise well diversified portfolio. Can you help me convince her to take half that money and buy into some dividend-paying blue chips? --Garry, Atlanta, Georgia A few entrepreneurs are exploring a novel solution to the problem of finding affordable health care for themselves and their staff: Swap for it. In a stay-put real estate market, some of the best gifts are home-improvement tools.



Question: Last year I put my money with an adviser for an annual fee of 1% of assets and told him my only criteria for evaluating him will be whether he beats the market. I have refrained from telling him where to invest, when to invest, etc. as I view that as his job. He "got into the rally late" last year and underperformed the broad indexes by 10% to 12%, although we did have a decent fourth quarter. This year he's off to a horrid start, however, and we are already 3% worse than the broad indices. I try not to be a knee-jerk investor and know that every adviser has his ups and downs, but I'm wondering....Is it time to pull the plug? --Mike, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania When Kimerby and Tony Simmons were married last month at a vineyard in the foothills outside Atlanta, they participated in the African-American tradition of jumping over a broom - an act symbolizing their entrance into a new phase of life together. There's no such thing as a perfect portfolio. Value-conscious investors like me are acutely aware of this fact. Sometimes you come across a good stock trading at a great price but there's simply no room in your portfolio at the time. In other cases you feel like a kid with his nose stuck to the windowpane of a Ferrari dealership: You spot a wonderful business you'd love to own, but you can't justify paying the price being asked.

There are those rare moments in business when a technology goes from being cutting edge to being an indispensable part of everyday life.

If you're considering converting to a Roth IRA, you might want to do it before the end of the year. Question: I'm 55 years old and have my entire retirement savings plan at work invested in a total stock market index fund. I'm worried, though, that my account is too heavily skewed toward equities given my age. Any suggestions for how I might take a more balanced approach? --Ray K., Oakland, California

Last year it looked as if the era of the celebrity fund manager was finally, definitively over. The best and brightest had not only failed to avoid the financial meltdown but did worse than the market as a whole. Now some are staging a comeback. Nearly half of U.S. workers who left their job last year cashed out their 401(k) accounts, according to a study released Wednesday, despite ongoing efforts to dissuade Americans from doing so. You've probably heard that the restriction barring those earning more than $100,000 from converting a traditional IRA to a Roth will soon be history. This means that as of January, anyone with an IRA can create tax-free income in retirement.



There's a name for what ails you, and it's called "luxury guilt." Even if you can afford to travel, you reason, isn't it wrong to indulge when times are so tough? Well, if you haven't been swayed by the open-your-wallet, shorten-the-recession argument, how about this one: You may be missing a rare chance to visit some of the finest hotels on the planet at prices you aren't likely to see over the next decade. The deals now are better than in the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis, 9/11, or SARS, says Jan Freitag, vice president of Smith Travel Research, making travel to just about any place in the world from 30% to 50% more affordable than last year. One note: If you don't find these rates on the hotel website, call to book. As yet another bank faces collapse, consumers are worried about their cash. Question: My husband and I have been happily married for 28 years. Careful spending and sound planning over time has provided us with a very comfortable financial future. Although we're compatible in many ways, our outlook differs when it comes to enjoying our money. I'm more of a saver and I hate to shop. I'm already retired, and when my husband retires in a year we'll begin drawing on our retirement savings. Can you suggest some tips on how we can communicate effectively about spending our money? How do we assure that we'll both have the independence to decide how we want to spend "our share" without judgment? --Margaret M.

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