Jill on Money: Super Bowl of money shows

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There was a trifecta of exciting news this week: our 100th show; Super Bowl weekend and our new intern Christina showed up for her second show. Oh, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 14,000 for the first time since July 2007.

Meanwhile, our listeners were focused on how to use the recent market rise to reconsider asset allocation decisions. Liz from MN started the show with a question about real estate investment trusts, or "REITs". Should she stick with what she has our get out?

Jerri from KY is approaching retirement and needed a game plan for reducing risk in her portfolio, while Carl from MA is self-employed and thinks he is carrying too much cash. But considering his situation (starting a family soon and considering a home purchase), maybe that cash is exactly what he needs.

Jay from Hawaii is struggling with a similar situation, because he's not sure whether his income will change in the future. If he were to start investing some of his cash, he may want to commit to dollar cost averaging.

We fielded a bunch of questions about share classes. Ben from MA owns a Pioneer Y share, which does not have a load or a commission, but is more expensive than a comparable index fund. Lou from MD owns PIMCO funds that also do not carry commissions, but he has a more general question: is his money manager worth the 1 percent annual fee?

Paula, Sam, John, Augustus and Howard all weighed in with insurance and annuity questions. For the record, I am not an insurance hater and think insurance products have a place in many people's lives. That said, insurance products are often oversold, so be cautious when approached by a salesman.

Finally, questions from Marianne and Cathy allowed me to clarify my opinion on target date funds and fund families that I talk about on the show.

Here are web sites and resources mentioned in this week's show:

-- Jill's Blog

-- How to Choose a Financial Advisor: 10 Questions

-- NAPFA: National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (fee-only advisors)

-- Best CD Rates

-- E, EE and I Savings Bonds

-- The ABCs of Annuities: 6 Questions to Ask

-- The Pros and Cons of Annuities

-- Immediate Annuity Calculator

-- Annuity salespeople don't like me

-- Social Security: Manage your account online

-- Social Security estimator

-- When to take Social Security?

-- Social Security: File and Suspend

-- Social Security: Double-Dipping

-- Medigap insurance

-- Retirement Calculator

-- Retirement Plan Required Distribution Calculator

-- Long-term Care - US government web site

-- Long term care conundrum

-- Life Expectancy Calculator

-- Life Insurance calculator

-- Financial documents: What to shred, what to keep

-- Estate Planning: the Documents You Need

-- NYT Rent vs. Buy Calculator

-- Re-Fi Calculator

-- Another Re-Fi Calculator

-- Reverse mortgage info via HUD

-- Reverse Mortgages: Don't let the Fonz sell you

-- 529 plan info

-- College Loans: What you need to know

-- Student Loan Consolidation

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE

Send an email: [e-mail]

Tweet me: @jillonmoney

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[JUndrtakr]

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