Hello JeanneL,
Picking up from my reply to your other post,
First, I want to direct you to some other forums that may help you. I'm not so certain that any of the AARP forums have sufficient traffic (posting) with relevant skills and experience necessary to help you with your situation.
The AARP community does have a couple sub-forums that may help. See the forum for "Money". There are two sub-forums, "Budget and Savings" (well, you may not need help on these topics but more goes on there than just those); and, come to think of it, be aware of the second sub-forum on "Scams and Fraud". Widows/widowers are fodder for people looking to con them... and these con-people may be wearing nice suits/business dresses and working in a bank office, brokerage, etc.
So please be circumspect about committing to anything (financially) too soon. My mother (RIP) took a year after my dad died (dad was 62, mom was 60) to simply enjoy the moment, grieve, consider the possibilities, planned later action. She was encouraged/advised by her friends not to make any rash, sudden commitments, such as moving away, etc. So she just kept her cool and let her emotions happen until she was fully clear-headed.
Another forum that I find very useful is www.bogleheads.com. There are many very wise, smart, experienced people there (and there are some not so swift as well) that can provide information and advice on all money/financial issues. I'm sure that if you were to post your same question over there that you would receive many replies with well developed insights on how to proceed. I see this all the time there.
I'm also going to direct you to what used to be one of the Microsoft MSN.com forums, when that site had forums. Many of the financial forums moved to https://ymam.proboards.com/ . They are more friendly and more casual than at Bogleheads (though Bogleheads do not bite, really, they will be very helpful). This forum also has a number of sub-forums that might give you some insights into your situation.
Personally, I would advise you to read, read, read, and then study and learn, before committing to any investments or advisers. I realize this may be a lot of work, but maybe you know so much already! Know that at most brokerage houses the people you will talk to are essentially salespeople, they have no particular special knowledge on personal finance or investing. But they are happy to take your money and let their firm handle it, all for what I consider to be excessive fees. There are also "fee-only" financial consultants and they can be quite helpful, you pay them for their expertise, they have no vested interest in you buying securities from them. Again, Bogleheads forum can help you with this. There are association sites where you can find a local fee-only adviser.
Pleaseeeeeee, don't give your money to someone with a vested interest in selling you something. In fact, you need to ask them "will you have a fiduciary relationship with me?". Fiduciary is someone who must treat your money without regard for their own benefit. Most bankers/investment companies will not be able to answer (honestly) that they are a fiduciary.
Well, I will stop now. I could go on for a long time but that's enough for now.
I know that there are a some very wise widows on this forum. I hope some of them drop in to your discussion.
Good luck!
@JeanneL362584 wrote:
My husband passed away at 65 & was receiving disability. I am 60 & currently working per diem (no guaranteed hours). I am looking to have someone go over my monthly bills, see what my usual check amount is for & see what is advised for when I should take survivor benefits. Also when I could comfortably retire or if I can at all. What I should be doing with CDs that mature in this time of very low interest rates. Our joint investments are all no risk & I am not willing to take risk with my money. My understanding of financial planners is that they ultimately want you to invest in stock & they will be charge a fee & it will be an ongoing relationship. My husband had all this down pat, never wanted annuities. He had a vision & I want to continue that but I'm not sure who I could sit down with to help me. The family friend he said I could always go to does not want to help me with this unfortunately. Do I need a financial planner or something else? My banker wants to sell me annuities & I don't feel they would be looking out for my best interests.
