This can be quite an exciting time of year for families, as it's coming up on the holiday shopping season. People will be spending and charging hundreds if not thousands of dollars, so it's important to keep close tabs on your level of credit card debt.

From charging holiday gifts to spending money on travel, parties, and decorations, many Americans are already asking themselves if they're going to be in over their heads financially. Now as the holidays creep closer, anyone who is worried about their financial fitness should focus on making sure new debt doesn't pile on top of old.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling has launched a series of videos, giving access to free information called "Financial Fast Facts." These brief videos can be utilized with minimal effort to ensure the right financial steps are taken before the big holiday rush arrives.

Simply visit NFCC's website and instantly watch "How to Know if You're in Financial Trouble," which includes a list of  financial warning signs and a quick quiz to help you assess your own situation.

Now really is the best time to take stock of potential threats in your fiscal behavior. Remember, smart financial practices should not be put on hold simply because holiday season arrives; in fact, a more conscious effort undoubtedly needs to be made before the spending ever begins.

For additional ideas, check out my own list of money saving, holiday spirit-embracing gift exchange ideas.

Certain retirement planning events are triggered at specific ages, such as when you can begin drawing on social security, or when you are required to take IRA distributions.

Other retirement planning events are not age-triggered... but perhaps they should be.

After all, think how much better off you would be if you had been required to start saving 10% of your income when you turned 30?

Well, rather than get lost in the "if only I had..." best to spend your time and energy dealing with the question "What now?"

You know time flies by. A few small steps in the "What now?" direction and ten years from now you won't have to say "if only I had...".

Check out Retirement Planning By Age for some specific ideas.

Contrary to what is seems mainstream America thinks (and when it comes to investing, it seems rarely is the consensus view correct), right now (November 20, 2009) deflation is of much more concern than inflation, and this may be the case for the next year or two.

Stop and think about what causes inflation. No, it's not federal deficits. Inflation is caused when demand exceeds supply. When people have the money to buy more goods and services than the economy can produce then prices rise.

Now, think about where our economy is at right now. Unemployment is high and rising. Consumer spending is subdued. People are focused on paying down debt and saving money. This is not the right scenario for inflation to be a problem.

I'm not saying inflation isn't coming, but right now, it's not an issue. As a matter of fact if you bought TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) recently, prices were bid up enough that the yield was almost zero.

So, all of that being said, what would I do? I think you can guess the answer.

Right now, I would not be buying inflation indexed bonds. Perhaps four to nine months down the road the answer will be different.

Instead, if I was looking for safety, I'd be browsing through and evaluating my list of safe investments. If I was looking for income, I'd be browsing through and evaluating my list of high yield investments. And if I wanted something in between safety and high yield, I'd be looking at ultra short term or short term corporate bond funds.

And don't forget, if you're not sure what to do, cash is a great place to be.

This afternoon I attended a presentation by author and financial expert John Mauldin. As his website says, "John Mauldin is a multiple NYT Best Selling author and recognized financial expert. He has been heard on CNBC, Bloomberg and many radio shows across the country."

His presentation was interesting and thought-provoking; essentially John peered into his crystal ball and told us what he sees. His basic position: economically we're in a position where, in the near term, what lies ahead are only a lot of bad choices to choose from. Essentially we've painted ourselves into a corner, and the way out is going to be rough.

I was intrigued by John's presentation, and he mentioned he has a free weekly newsletter to subscribe to with over 1 million readers, so of course I subscribed and read the most recent issue.

Although I like John's thought process and analysis, I don't agree with everything he said. In particular, one thing in his newsletter I found quite disturbing. John has a great track record of forecasting upcoming recessions. He had this to say about his past forecasts, and about what he sees coming:

"When I called the last two recessions about a year before they happened, it was not all that hard. We had inverted yield curves, falling leading indicators, and a lot of other data that pretty much pointed to a recession. Believing that we had a housing bubble and a looming credit crisis also helped my conviction in calling the last recession. I think we are in for a double-dip recession in 2011, yet I readily admit there will be little if any statistical evidence in advance this time. This is more of an instinct call."

It concerns me that someone with an excellent record of interpreting statistical data would now decide to disregard the statistics and rely on instinct.

So, I am curious to know what you readers think.

All of that being said, I think John's newsletter is one I shall probably read regularly. You can subscribe yourself at Frontline Thoughts by simply putting in an email address.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I attended a conference in Chicago where I found myself in a room full of academics all devoting themselves to the topic of retirement income. It has taken me awhile to read through their studies, and pare the information down into an article that, hopefully, will make some sense to all of you out there in search of lifetime income.

The basic concept involves making a shift from focusing on asset growth, to focusing on maximizing lifetime income. Once you shift your thinking from asset management to income management it changes the way you go about things. Learn more in Maximizing Lifetime Income.

Every week I post a "What Would I Do" topic. Keep in mind, it is not necessarily what you should do. Instead, it is written to give you insight into how to think about various financial decisions, understand the variables involved, and then, from an educated perspective, you can make the right decision for you.

This week, the question is, "What would I do, buy the new Corvette or save the money?" I know this is a strange topic, but earlier this week a client called up with this exact question. They have been retired for one year and they want a new Corvette, which they can acquire by trading in their old Corvette plus about $30k of cash. They wanted to know what I thought. I think they should buy the Corvette.

Why?

• We looked at their total annual withdrawals and divide that into their current portfolio value. They are currently withdrawing about 3% of their portfolio value a year; a very reasonable distribution rate, which leaves room for them to withdraw more now and then for extras.
• They are in their early to mid-sixties and have had a few health issues. I think they should spend their time and money on activities (like the Corvette Club) that they enjoy now, while they can.
• They have a good health insurance plan and long term care insurance, so they would have little need to tap financial assets later on to meet health care related expenses.

What Would Have Caused Me To Tell Them Not To?

I'll tell you one thing I've learned; when a client wants to buy something, it usually doesn't matter what I say. Crazy, huh? Now if they want to invest in something stupid, I can usually talk them out of it, but if it's a car, a trip, a remodel, or some other item they've got their heart set on, more often than not, I am not going to be successful in changing their mind. At that point it's more a matter of me trying to figure out how they can do it.

Despite that, I would have tried to change their mind if:

• They were younger, which would mean their money would need to last for a potentially longer life expectancy.
• They were already spending more each year than we had planned for them to spend.
• They did not have long term care insurance or adequate health insurance coverage.

If you are like so many Americans, your income this year is lower than it was two years ago.

If this is the case, and you are currently paying Medicare Part B premiums, or are almost 65 and will be paying these premiums soon, keep in mind that Social Security uses the income reported two years ago on your IRS income tax return to determine your premium.

Even if your earned income is about the same, the sale of a piece of property or stock could have caused your total income on your tax return to be much higher than would normally be the case. This happened to a client of mine who sold a piece of property a few years back.

During that 2007 year, on their tax return they reported over $1 million of income. This is not normal for them, but their Medicare Part B premium in 2009 was based on their 2007 return. By contesting the premium, we may be able to get it reduced to a level that is more reasonable based on their current level of income.

If your income two years ago is higher than it is today, your Medicare Part B premium could be much higher ($50 - $300 per month higher) than your current level of income would warrant.

If you think you fit in this category, first check the Medicare Part B premium schedule and then look at your last few year's tax returns to see if your total income would have caused you to fall into a higher premium category.

(For married filing jointly if your modified adjusted gross income is less than $170k (85K for singles), and was less than that for the last several years, than you will already be paying the lowest Medicare Part B premium.)

Next, to request a reduced Medicare Part B premium, fill out one of Social Security's Life Changing Event forms to explain why your income is lower now than it was on your tax return a few years prior, and thus why you qualify for a lower premium.

You may be wondering if it is worth your time to fill out the form... depending on how much lower your income is now, it could save you anywhere from $600 - $3,600 per year

Over the weekend one half of one of my dearest client couples passed away. He was 67. They have been retired for about two years and have enjoyed every minute of it. Immigrants, they worked hard, saved consistently, and were able to pay off their house and retire with a respectable amount of money in retirement accounts which, combined with pension and social security income, provided them with a comfortable lifestyle.

The good news; we had developed what we call a survivor income schedule so we knew either half would be left in a solid financial situation.

It only takes a few minutes to create your own survivor income schedule. Simply do the following:

1. List all your sources of joint income in a single column.
2. To the right, make two additional columns with each of your names at the top.
3. Under each name list the amount of income that would remain if that person were the sole survivor.

For example, as a survivor you will receive the larger of your own social security benefit or your spouse's. So if your social security is the smaller amount, under your own name you would list your spouse's social security amount as the survivor income amount.

To see an example, check out the Sample Survivor Income Worksheet.

What would I do? Buy investment property or invest in the stock and bond market?

80% of the time I would invest in the stock and bond markets.

Why?

• From time to time you'll hear people say that "owning real estate takes deep pockets". It does. Numerous things can go wrong with a property, and each time it will cost you money. Until you have a significant amount of liquid assets, I would choose to continue to invest in the stock and bond markets over buying investment property.
• From a diversity standpoint, you take on a large degree of risk when you purchase a single piece of investment property.
• It takes time to find renters and maintain a property. I'd rather use my time doing other things.

What About The Other 20%

• If I were in the real estate or property management industry I would consider buying investment property because I would have a greater degree of knowledge about how to do it.
• If I had sufficient liquid savings that I could make a down payment, have cash reserves just for that property, and maintain my normal emergency fund, then I would consider buying investment property.
• If I were in one of the highest tax brackets, I would consider buying investment property sooner than if I were in a lower tax bracket, as most investment properties generate a tax loss (due to depreciation) that can be used to offset other forms of income.

The nice thing about owning a rental property: essentially you are purchasing an asset with someone else's money. If you are in a high tax bracket, have sufficient liquid assets, and the time and energy to find the right property, than I think rental real estate can be a great addition to an investment portfolio. I just don't think those three criteria apply to most people.

It seems many upcoming retirees come in to our office and tell us, "Well, I've only got five years."

"Really?" I ask, "Are you terminally ill?"

They look at me funny and say, "No, no, that's when I want to retire."

It always puzzles me that people confuse their investment time-horizon with the amount of time they have until they retire. After all, I hope they plan on living for quite some time after retirement, which means their investment time-horizon could easily be thirty plus years... not five.

They way you invest for a thirty year time-horizon is substantially different than the way you invest for a five year time-horizon. If you need to use all your money in the next five years, put it all in safe investments.

If you need your assets and your income to keep pace with inflation over a potentially long time-horizon, you'll need to look beyond safe investments; instead thinking about placing your funds in short, medium and long term buckets, each designed to provide you with income for a certain decade of your upcoming life. I describe such a philosophy in Strategies For Creating Retirement Income From A Portfolio. You could also layer a small allocation (less than 15% of your total portfolio) to high yield investments as part of a long-term strategy.

Remember, one of the simplest ways to pick the right investments is to match your investments with your true investment time-horizon. Short term investments for short term needs; long-term investments for long-term needs.