My wife and I are in our 50s with $300,000 in a 401(k) and $700,000 in a pension. I can’t work much longer and am ‘embarrassed’ we didn’t prepare better. Will we be able to ‘live a simple life’ in retirement?

I’m 53 years old, a registered nurse and planning to retire at 58. I am married, my wife is two years older than I am and she plans to retire at 62. We have a good marriage and friendship. We have thr...

‘Where should I live and what am I going to do?’ Retirement advice we’re not getting from financial advisers

Retirement is one of the Top 10 most stressful life events, according to the psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe. As someone who recently began unretirement (or semiretirement), I concur. But...

American Airlines stock surges toward biggest gain in more than a year after carrier raises revenue outlook

Shares of airline operators enjoyed a broad rally Tuesday, after a number of major carriers raised their revenue guidance, and as a further pullback in crude oil prices helped soothe concerns over ris...

Dealers are desperate to get their hands on your leased car—how you might make that pay off

That car you leased three years ago probably has become a cash cow. But deciding what to do with that equity — and what to drive next — has become confusing. Before the car market was turned upside do...

This is the minimum amount of money you should have in savings, pros say

How much money should you have saved? Getty Images/iStockphoto You probably know the emergency fund ‘rule’ — save anywhere from 3-9 months of expenses to cover a potential unexpected expense. And whil...

Mortgage rates rise as Russia’s war in Ukraine stokes volatility. Experts say the short-term uncertainty over rates could continue

After two consecutive weeks of declines, mortgage rates have moved higher once again. Where they will go in the short term, though, largely depends on what happens overseas. Mortgage rates could fall ...

Planning to retire? Don’t get hit with a surprise tax bill for this common mistake

How much of your salary is withheld from your paycheck affects what you receive, or owe, at tax time – with the wrong number selected, you could be in for quite a surprise.  Retirement Tip of the Week...

‘What do we do with all that talent?’ Older workers and the new economy

Did you catch the half-time show at the Super Bowl highlighting hip-hop artists Dr. Dre, Mary J Blige, and Snoop Dogg? The performance garnered high praise among critics and the audience (including me...

My mother-in-law left her $1 million life-insurance policy to my brother-in-law, but her will says she wants him to share it with my husband. What can we do?

Dear Quentin, My husband and I took care of my mother-in-law for eight years. Around five years ago we gave up the house we were renting to save her home because she could not afford it, and because s...

Mortgage rates drop amid increased market uncertainty as Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine escalates

Home buyers will have the chance to lock in low interest rates just ahead of the most popular season to purchase a house. The average rate for the 30-year fixed-rate was 3.76%, down 13 basis points fr...

Mortgage rates fall amid geopolitical uncertainty. How the Russia-Ukraine crisis could impact home buyers — and interest rates

Home buyers are seeing temporary relief from rising interest rates as markets react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But in the longer term, inflation remains a serious concern. The 30-year fixed-rate...

Ponzi scheme behind patriotic vodka, once featured on ‘Fox & Friends,’ scammed investors out of $900,000 to pay IRS and Amex bills, prosecutors say

A Connecticut businessman has pleaded guilty to operating an unpatriotic Ponzi scheme that pocketed $900,000 from investors looking to buy a pro-veteran vodka company. Brian Hughes, 57, of Madison, Co...

Opinion: How to invest like a millionaire and build wealth for retirement

Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with multiple self-made millionaires. Though they come from varied backgrounds, these investors have a few key habits in common—ones that...

‘He promised to pay them off’: My daughter lived with a man for 9 years. He took out credit cards in her name. Will she be held liable?

Dear Quentin, I have a problem. My daughter lived with a guy for nine years. During that time, I found out that he took out two credit cards in her name without her permission. Identity theft, right? ...

IBM executives call older workers ‘dinobabies,’ discrimination lawsuit alleges

Executives at IBM IBM, -0.16% referred to the company’s older workers as “dinobabies” in internal email correspondence, according to a new age-discrimination lawsuit. These emails were submitted as ev...

Retirees, pay attention – inflation is on the rise

Americans are spending more money because of high inflation — this can be a big problem for older individuals living on a fixed budget.  Inflation is at a 40-year-high, at around 7.5% in January, acco...

‘We live 5 minutes from our in-laws who have a larger home’: Is it a good idea to swap houses? Will I end up with a surprise tax bill?

I am a California resident. My husband and I own a 1,800-square-foot home that we bought in 2019 for $1.5 million. We have between 40% and 50% equity in the property due to a large down payment. We li...

Opinion: These 5 tech stocks — including small caps you probably don’t know — can lead the sector’s comeback

Amid all the big swings in the S&P 500 and other benchmarks, it’s natural for many investors to be worried. But as the adage attributed to Warren Buffett goes, sometimes it pays the most to be gre...

10 tech value stocks that at least 75% of analysts rate as a ‘buy’ right now

So far, 2022 is a year of value stocks. But some tech stocks fit that definition. Below is a high-conviction list of technology stocks among the S&P 500 SPX, +0.05% that have low valuations to ear...

Weekend reads: Inflation fear and opportunities for investors

U.S. consumer price inflation rose to a 40-year high of 7.5% in January. That pace is running way ahead of wage growth, and the official figures can mask even more pain, depending on a family’s circum...

‘I don’t know if it’s worth dealing with tenants’: Should I convert my home into a rental, or sell it?

I have enough money to put down on a second home — I need a slightly bigger place and another bedroom. I currently live in Portland, Ore., but I am planning to move outside of Portland. However, I’m c...

Apple, Not Amazon, Should Buy Peloton. One Analyst Explains Why.

Text size (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) It’s been reported that Amazon.com and Nike are weighing bids for Peloton Interactive . One analyst said he’s be surprised if Apple also wasn’t in t...

These end-of-life planning forms will save your family a lot of heartache, the trouble with Alaska’s oil fund and more retirement news

From MarketWatch: Opinion: Big money trouble with Alaska’s $80 billion oil fund: A major political row has broken out at Alaska’s Permanent Fund, the state’s giant $82 billion oil fund, where the firi...

6 Stocks to Play the New U.S. Economic Reopening

UPS was a Covid beneficiary—until it wasn’t. Now, it again looks like a reopening play. Mario Tama/Getty Images Text size Covid cases are falling and the economy is about to reopen—again. Playing it, ...

Opinion: Amid a global chip shortage, Intel is making less money — how did that happen?

Intel INTC, -2.48% was the world’s largest chipmaker until 2021, when it was dethroned by Samsung. Though Samsung’s main business is memory chips, which is a different segment of the market to Intel’s...

‘No, no, no, no, no!’ My wife and I are close to retirement, but we want to buy a house. Should I empty my 401(k) for the down payment?

Dear MarketWatch, My wife and I have been renting for many years, and we think it’s time to buy our first house. We live in Westchester County, N.Y., and we are looking for a home in the $450,000 to $...

‘We do not want him to receive anything from our estate’: How do we ensure our son-in-law does not get his hands on our money?

Dear Quentin, My wife and I are in our 70’s and have one daughter as the sole beneficiary to our estate. We live in Ohio. She is separated from her husband, and it doesn’t appear that they will be get...

Opinion: These 2 numbers sum up why the housing market won’t get back to normal for a long time

Last week I got a letter in the mail. Like you, I’m surprised this still exists as a practice but desperate times call for desperate measures: Courtesy Ben Carlson Now I would like to think our house ...

Why the Winners and Losers of Meta’s Earnings Will Become Clearer Today

Facebook ‘s parent company is definitely one of the most unfriended on Wall Street right now. Meta Platforms (ticker: FB), which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is seeing its stock go into fre...

The ‘best job in America’ pays $145,000, has 14,000 job openings — and offers a generous work-life balance

A six-figure salary and the option to work from home? It sounds too good to be true. Job openings are rising, while workers continue to quit. The number of vacant jobs hit 10.9 million in December, up...