CFP®

The biggest challenge most retirees are facing lately is how to draw down their retirement nest eggs without letting them run out. Here is a common sense approach that will protect your portfolio even during the worst of market environments. Stick to your budget. Once you determine what your monthly expense needs are for 2010, stick to it.

Medicare Part B is the supplemental program to Part A. Where Medicare Part A covers most of your emergency medical care, Part B is designed to handle more of your day-to-day medical needs. Part B is an elective program that requires a monthly premium, so it's important to understand if Medicare Part B is right for you.

Retiring from a career can seem like a daunting task. Retirement planning with the help of a professional is always advisable. However, if you want to start getting your finances in order on your own, here are 8 steps to prepare for retirement. Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/david franklin Know what your income will be: Determine first how much income will be coming in.

If you're like many Americans, you're living paycheck to paycheck with almost no money in savings and a lot of credit card debt. To get on track financially, follow these 7 simple steps for getting out of debt, saving for your future, and living the life you've always imagined: Make a new budget every month. It's time to get serious.

A surprise early retirement is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. The challenging economy has forced many companies to lay off workers. One strategy for cutting back on expenses is to offer early retirement to senior staff members. Being thrown into retirement when you are unprepared can create undue stress and anxiety.

Restricted stock — given to or sold to an employee as an equity stake in a company — cannot be traded within a certain time frame. If the employee can't sell the investment, the restricted stock would seem to be unprotected from dramatic downturns in stock prices or from the company itself going out of business.

Historically low mortgage interest rates that we've seen for the past few years have enabled many homeowners to refinance and save hundreds of dollars on their monthly mortgage payments. A mortgage refinance means using a new loan with a lower rate to pay off a higher rate existing loan. If a refinance of your mortgage seems like the right decision for you, it is important to know the steps of the process.

Investing a portion of your income while in your 20s can reap tremendous benefits when you are older, if you plan properly. Here are five things you can do to maximize your investments in your 20s. Save as much as possible — Although you may not earn as much as you’d like in your 20s, time — more than large sums of money — is your greatest ally.

Although fluctuations in economics markets are extremely difficult to predict, good times always follow the bad. How can you take advantage of personal investing opportunities when economic recovery arrives? Follow these five steps to make the most of an economic turnaround when you invest. Don’t wait for confirmation of economic recovery before you invest: Historically, markets have recovered long before the economy.