Scott Burns
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Investment returns: It's always relativeJun 11, 2008 11:00 pm - Q: My wife and I are nearing retirement, maximum two years away. In his recent letter to stockholders, Warren Buffett said that investment returns from 1901 to 1999 aver...
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Kids and retirement planningJun 09, 2008 11:00 pm - How does the cost of raising a family affect your retirement planning? The answer is good news, in a backhanded kind of way. When we have children we voluntarily reduce...
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Your life determines minimum distributionsJun 04, 2008 11:00 pm - Q: When I started taking required minimum distributions from my IRAs, I used a withdrawal formula based on dividing the value of my IRA by 27.4. I understood that this v...
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Another reason oil prices soaringJun 02, 2008 11:00 pm - Lots of explanations are offered for the soaring prices of oil and commodities. You can choose from: (a) the terrorism premium, (b) speculators, (c) peak oil theory, (d)...
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Here are some tools for evaluating your 401(k) planMay 21, 2008 11:00 pm - Q. How can I prove that my company 401(k) plan is a loser? The company I work for has our plan with Putnam. I believe there is no combination of funds in the 401(k) that...
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How to survive on $15,000 a yearMay 19, 2008 11:00 pm - "Please write an article telling people with less than $15,000 a year of retirement income how they are supposed to survive." -- R.S., by e-mail Millions of people face ...
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Immediate annuities can be a useful toolMay 14, 2008 11:00 pm - Q. I wonder if single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) are for me. I am 75. My wife is 73. We have no debt, $850,000 in IRAs (mostly in the American Fund family) and ...
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The value of America can be measured in barrels of oilMay 12, 2008 11:00 pm - Most of us view the world through dollar glasses. It's perfectly reasonable. Dollars, after all, are the currency we use in daily life. And the lens, until recently, was...
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You can retire early, but it may require a 'reset'May 07, 2008 11:00 pm - Q. Am I too young to retire and survive? I am 55 years old, and before company reorganization and the elimination of my position, I had a plan. I was cutting back on spe...
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The latest IRS report reveals the truth about income taxesMay 05, 2008 11:00 pm - Taxes are unpleasant and unfair. We all know this. And our friends in government work hard to keep it that way. The only thing about taxes that all Americans can agree o...