Even after 40 years of specializing in all things financial, I constantly learn new things, often from readers. My most recent teacher was Eugenia (Gene) Thornton, the Recorder of Deeds in Kent County, Delaware. She emailed me in response to an interview on identity...
Last week’s column concluded that, while long-term care insurance is unaffordable for most Americans, everyone needs a long-term health care plan. Knowing how long you may live is one of the first variables to consider in putting together such a plan. A number of...
If you want to stop a conversation cold, just ask a group of friends, “Do you ever worry that you might outlive your retirement income?” The response is likely to be nervous laughter. It doesn’t occur to most people to seriously consider this possibility. The greatest...
Whenever I surf television cable news channels, I can’t help but notice the plethora of ads for financial planning. Some of them sound compelling, even to me. I often find myself thinking, “Dang, that’s exactly what we do.” Then I notice the...
Home title theft. This is a “threat” I only learned about from frantic radio commercials warning that your home can be stolen from you. They claim thieves can deed your property to themselves and then mortgage or even sell it without your knowledge. In...
Typically, we view insurance not as an investment, but as tool to protect assets or replace income. However, investing in one type of insurance, called reinsurance, is becoming increasingly popular. It even might be considered an asset class all of its own....
