Monday February 8, 2010 - Playing Cupid on the Cheap: The KISS Principle
Valentine’s Day is this Sunday the 14th! Just thought I would remind you in case you’ve been in a cave for the last 6 weeks.
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Friday February 5, 2010 - The Tough Money Conversations: Talking With Your Elder
Even the experts have problems when it comes to their parents!
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Thursday February 4, 2010 - The Tough Money Conversations: Your Adult Kids & You
Talking with your adult kids about your money or lack of it is not an easy conversation to have.
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Wednesday February 3, 2010 - The Tough Money Conversations: Pre-Nup Chat
Britney Spears, who I think is about as sharp as a marble, got better advice than Sir Paul McCartney, who I think of as a savvy businessman. She had a pre-nuptial agreement. He did not!
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Tuesday February 2, 2010 - The Tough Money Conversations: Kids & Money
Dealing with the Terrible Twos is a piece of cake compared to dealing with your college freshman telling you she has maxed out on her credit card or your son asking you to co-sign a loan for a motorcycle.
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Monday February 1, 2010 - Tough Money Conversations: You Don't Have the Money!
All families discuss money. Sometimes it’s the screaming and yelling kind of discussion or if you plan them better the quieter but still awkward discussion.
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Thursday January 28, 2010 - Paying for College: Hidden Costs
From my experience (I sent two kids to college) I have learned that tuition, room and board, the lab fees and medical insurance are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Wednesday January 27, 2010 - Paying for College: Who Should Pay for College?
Who should pay for college? That’s a fair question?
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Tuesday January 26, 2010 - Paying for College: Financial Aid
Over $140 billion is available in aid this year. That money will come from the Federal government, the states colleges and private organizations. Financial aid comes in several forms. Grants and scholarships that don’t need repaid, jobs so the kiddo can earn money and a variety of low cost loans.
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Monday January 25, 2010 - Paying for College: Where to Get Help
I have been thinking about college planning this week!
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Friday January 29, 2010 - Paying for College: 529 Plans
So when should you start saving for college? When kid is in diapers!
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Friday January 22, 2010 - New Year's Resolutions: Get Fit
Did you wake up on New Year’s Day and realize that you will never belong to one of those polar bear clubs where they go swimming in January.
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Thursday January 21, 2010 - New Year's Resolutions: Save More Money
Depending what study you read Saving More was often the number 1 resolution for the New Year.
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Wednesday January 20, 2010 - New Year's Resolutions: Manage Debt
Many consumers don’t know exactly how much debt they actually have.
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Tuesday January 19, 2010 - Vote! New Year's Resolutions: Lose Weight
We are being bombarded by commercials for dieting programs, dieting supplements, gym membership and exercise equipment and TV programs about dieting.
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Monday January 18, 2010 - New Year's Resolutions: How to Start
We are several weeks into the New Year and the diet and political ads are driving me to the cookie jar! About half of Americans (46%) were thinking about making resolutions in December. And by now many have already abandoned their New Year resolutions.
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Friday January 15, 2010 - Key Retirement Birthdays: Age 70½
Congress and the IRS decided that you could not leave your pre-tax retirement savings growing forever tax-deferred, so they chose 70½ for you to begin your mandatory withdrawals. Now I don’t why Congress in its infinite wisdom chose age 70½.
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Thursday January 14, 2010 - Key Retirement Birthdays: Age 65: Social Security
Current thinking has 65 as the normal retirement age and that’s because at one time a worker could collect full Social Security benefits at age 65. No more.
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Wednesday January 13, 2010 - Key Retirement Birthdays: Not Quite 60
The number I am looking for is actually 59½!
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Tuesday January 12, 2010 - Key Retirement Birthdays: So You've Reached 55
Reaching 55 I would think is more traumatic then the big 50, it has something to do with those double digits.
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Monday January 11, 2010 - Key Retirement Birthdays: The Importance of Age 50
There are many birthdays that are key to successful retirement planning.
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Friday January 8, 2010 - Saving More for Retirement: No Plans at Work
Only 60% of employers offered retirement plans in 2008. And of those that did offer retirement plans only 52% of workers participated. Those are sad numbers!
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Thursday January 7, 2010 - Saving More for Retirement: Are You?
According to a survey by EBRI, the Employee Benefit Research Institute, about 20% of workers between the ages of 40 to 59 have less than $10,000 in retirement savings.
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Wednesday January 6, 2010 - Saving More for Retirement: Over the Hill Bonus
Congress realized a couple of years back that most workers will not have enough retirement savings set aside for their golden years. And our government does not want to be responsible for taking care of us in our old age if we are poor.
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Tuesday January 5, 2010 - Saving More for Retirement: Retirement Plan Limits
If your New Year’s resolution was to save more for retirement the ideal place to start is with your retirement plan at work.
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Monday January 4, 2010 - Saving More for Retirement: A Good Day to Start
This is a good day to start on those New Year’s resolutions. You are back to a regular routine after the holidays. And saving more was the top New Year’s Resolution according to Putnam Investments, followed by losing weight and exercising more.
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Friday January 1, 2010 - Last Week of the Year: Happy New Year
Well it took me months to write 2009 easily. I wonder how long it will take me to get into the habit of writing 2010.
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Thursday December 31, 2009 - Last Week of the Year: Back to Work
Many of you have today and tomorrow off and a long weekend to celebrate the New Year.
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Wednesday December 30, 2009 - Last Week of the Year: State of the Economy
Where did this year go? I have been asking myself that question all week. Time seems to slip through my fingers like sand; a year ago I sat in this very spot and talked about the economy.
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Tuesday December 29, 2009 - Last Week of the Year: Making Your Life Simple
Experts say we spend 40 hours a year looking for the important stuff we put away in a safe place. We just can’t remember which safe place we put it in!
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Monday December 28, 2009 - Last Week of the Year: Tax Planning
There are 4 more days left in the old year. Still plenty of time to do a little tax planning.
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Saturday December 26, 2009 - Christmas Week: Half Price Sales
Lots of stuff is on sale at half price right now. Those are words I just love to hear, “Half Price.” Cards, ribbon, wrapping paper, decorations, candy may now be discounted as much as 70%.
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Friday December 25, 2009 - Christmas Week: Christmas
Merry Christmas! It is so hard to think about giving financial advice on Christmas. Maybe I could get the Grinch to sub for me today.
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Thursday December 24, 2009 - Christmas week: Christmas Eve
Well its here! The big guy’s midnight ride. Oh to be 7 years old again.
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Wednesday December 23, 2009 - Christmas Week: The 12 days of Christmas
In the Christmas poem the 12 days of Christmas, some guy is sending his true love gifts between Christmas and the Epiphany January 6th. According to the PNC Christmas Price Index it would cost $21,465 to do this season. Just $385 more than last year. Most of the cost involved is the cost of dancing, leaping, piping and drumming.
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Tuesday December 22, 2009 - Christmas Week: Philanthropy: Do Good by Giving
This time of year everyone wants your money. You are getting pleas from many charities in the mail and maybe even a few phone calls. Annual gifts to charities are close to $250 million and usually half of those dollars are collected between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.
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Monday December 21, 2009 - Christmas Week: Last Minute Gift Ideas
Panic has begun to set in. There always seems to be so much to do the days before Christmas and the pressure is on.
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Friday December 18, 2009 - Week Before Christmas: Procrastinators Get Best Deals
Such a deal you can get if you wait! That’s what my mother used to tell me. And she may be right about Christmas shopping.
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Thursday December 17, 2009 - Week Before Christmas: Regifting
Regifting is a fancy term for something that people have been doing for eons. Passing on as new, a gift someone else gave you.
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Wednesday December 16, 2009 - Week Before Christmas: Christmas Dinner
If you are budgeting for this holiday don’t forget the money you spend on Holiday food.
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Tuesday December 15, 2009 - Week Before Christmas: Protecting Your Numbers
This is a frantic time of year; the pressure to create the perfect holiday wears us down. Physically and emotionally. But worse because we are tired and so busy we let our guard down when it comes to protecting ourselves, our property and our numbers.
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Monday December 14, 2009 - Week before Christmas: Where to Find the Cash
There are 10 shopping days left and you are thinking that Christmas just won’t happen. There is no extra money and you are feeling the pressure.
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Friday December 11, 2009 - Questions from Listeners: A Good Financial Planner
“Where can I find a good financial planner? Are you available?”
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Thursday December 10, 2009 - Questions from Listeners: How Can I Save More Each
Saving more is really important: For every ten years that you delay starting you have to save three times as much to end up with the same end dollar amount.
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Wednesday December 9, 2009 - Questions from Listeners: Roth IRA or Traditional
“Should I invest in a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA? I believe my tax bracket will be lower in retirement.”
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - Questions from Listeners: Tipping? How Much? And Who
Tipping intimidates me. I never know if it’s enough and at times even if a tip is expected.
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Monday December 7, 2009 - Questions from Listeners: How Much Should We Spend on
How much should you spend on Christmas? I really don’t know. It depends on so many things. Your current income, debt level, and the desire to gift.
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Friday December 4, 2009 - Year End Tax Planning: Increase your Deductions for 20
If you plan to itemize on your tax return you should be looking at ways to increase your deductions.
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Thursday December 3, 2009 - Year End Tax Planning: What's on Your Tax Return?
The standard deduction for couples filing jointly is $11,400 and for singles it is one half that at $5,700 for this year.
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Wednesday December 2, 2009 - Year End Tax Planning: Dividends & Capital Gains
Dividends are a way a corporation shares its profits with its shareholders. They are still taxed at 15%. And for those taxpayers in the 15% tax bracket or lower their dividend income will not be taxed this year.
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Tuesday December 1, 2009 - Year End Tax Planning: For the Self-Employed
There are some good tax breaks available for the self-employed individual.
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Monday November 30, 2009 - Year End Tax Planning: Flexible Spending Accounts
I know the holidays are on your radar screen right now, but there is still time to do some tax planning for 2009.
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Thursday November 26, 2009 - Family & Money: Gifting
Happy Thanksgiving! The turkey and stuffing part of our dinner is over but the desserts are waiting for me to finish up here at WBZ. USA Today had in interesting snapshot on people’s favorite part of thanksgiving; Family 40%, Leftovers 33%, Turkey, 15%, football 11% shopping 2%. I was pleasantly surprised with the results.
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Wednesday November 25, 2009 - Family & Money: Which Kid?
Shakespeare’s King Lear is about a father, King Lear, dividing his castles and worldly goods among his 3 daughters in hopes of living with one of them. This turned out very badly for everyone involved.
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Tuesday November 24, 2009 - Family & Money: Our Elders
I am going to address dealing with elderly parents, but focus on mom because for most adult children, it is our mother whom we must help in her declining years, for she has outlived dad.
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Friday November 27, 2009 - Family & Money: Our Kids Need to Know about Money
What a day to be out! This is the busiest shopping day of the year and I for one am staying far away from the malls. Far, far away! But even without me, millions of dollars will trade hands today.
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Monday November 23, 2009 - Family & Money: Where's the Important Stuff?
Thanksgiving is the holiday where families try to get together and its National Family week as well. So it seemed an opportune time to talk about families and money, which is not an easy subject to bring up. Many families would rather talk about football.
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Friday November 20, 2009 - Holiday Gifting: Money Gifts
I am not a big fan of just writing a check or giving cash as a gift. But it certainly is quick, easy and never returned.
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Thursday November 19, 2009 - Holiday Gifting: A Gift of Time
Money may be very tight for many families this holiday season. With the economy in such a slump there may not be much in the budget for Christmas gifts.
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Wednesday November 18, 2009 - Holiday Gifting: Ways to Save
There are ways to save on gift giving. Start by trimming your list down to a reasonable number of recipients. If you have a large family and you usually buy a gift for everyone in the family that can really put a dent in the budget. And it creates mayhem on the holidays.
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Dee Lee is a Certified Financial Planner who received a diploma in Financial Planning from Boston University and her MBA from Simmons College. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association and served on their national Board of Directors. 
