ANCHOR: ARE YOU SO WORRIED ABOUT YOUR RETIREMENT ACCOUNT THAT YOU CAN HARDLY BRING YOURSELF TO OPEN YOUR STATEMENT EACH MONTH?

ANCHOR: YOU’RE NOT ALONE. WE’RE ALL WORRIED ABOUT OUR MONEY THESE DAYS. WGN’S MONEY SAVING EXPERT ILYCE GLINK HAS SOME BOOKS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO MANAGE YOUR RETIREMENT, TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT MONEY AND EVEN SELL YOUR HOME.

GOOD MORNING.

ILYCE: MORE THAN 43 MILLION AMERICANS HAVE MORE THAN $2 TRILLION IN RETIREMENT SAVINGS. MOST OF US – INCLUDING ME – HAVE TAKEN A HUGE HIT DUE TO THE BEARISH STOCK MARKET OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS. ED SLOTT IS A CPA, AUTHOR OF A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER CALLED ED SLOTT’S I-R-A ADVISOR AND NOW THE AUTHOR OF A NEW BOOK CALLED

BOOK 1: “THE RETIREMENT SAVINGS TIME BOMB…AND HOW TO DIFFUSE IT”

ILYCE: THE RETIREMENT SAVINGS TIMB BOMB…AND HOW TO DIFFUSE IT. THIS IS AN EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND PRIMER ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS.

ED SLOTT RECOMMENDS

“TIMING WITHDRAWALS”

ILYCE: ED SLOTT HAS CREATED A 5-STEP PROGRAM THAT CAN HELP YOU BUILD UP YOUR RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS AND THEN REDUCE THE TAXES YOU’LL EVENTUALLY OWE ON THAT CASH AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. TWO OF HIS FIVE STEPS INCLUDE TIMING YOUR WITHDRAWALS SO THAT YOU STRETCH YOUR RETIREMENT DOLLARS AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, AND BUYING INSURANCE TO COVER ANY ESTATE TAXES YOU MAY OWE ON WHAT’S LEFT.

ILYCE: THE BEST PART ABOUT THIS BOOK IS ED SLOTT’S WRY SENSE OF HUMOR. IT MAKES FOR AN EASY, ENTERTAINING READ…. DO YOUR KIDS THINK MONEY GROWS ON TREES? DO YOU LIVE IN FEAR OF THE DAY WHEN THEY GET THEIR OWN CREDIT CARDS?

BOOK 2: IT PAYS TO TALK: HOW TO HAVE ESSENTIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR FAMILY ABOUT MONEY AND INVESTING

ILYCE: YOU MIGHT WANT TO PICK UP A COPY OF A NEW BOOK BY THE MAN WHO MADE INVESTING ACCESSIBLE TO THE MASSES: CHARLES SCHWAB AND HIS DAUGHTER CARRIE SCHWAB POMERANTZ TEAMED UP TO WRITE A HANDS-ON BOOK THAT SHOWS YOU HOW TO START TALKING TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL REALITIES OF LIFE.

ILYCE: I RECENTLY SAT DOWN WITH CARRIE AND LEARNED THAT SHE AND HER DAD REALLY STARTED TALKING INTIMATELY ABOUT MONEY WHEN THEY STARTED WRITING THIS BOOK:

“WE DIDN’T HAVE THOSE CANDID, PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT OUR HOPES, DREAMS, PLANNING AND GOALS. AND, GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF THIS BOOK HAS REALLY HELPED US OPEN UP WITH ONE ANOTHER ABOUT THOSE TOPICS.”

ILYCE: IF IT CAN GET CARRIE AND HER DAD CHARLES TALKING ABOUT MONEY, IT’LL PROBABLY HELP YOU, TOO. FINALLY, I HAVE A NEW BOOK OUT THIS WEEK FOR ALL OF YOU OUT THERE TRYING TO SELL YOUR HOME:

BOOK 3: 50 SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO SELL YOUR HOME FASTER AND FOR MORE MONEY IN ANY MARKET

ILYCE: MY NEW BOOK IS CALLED 50 SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO SELL YOUR HOME FASTER AND FOR MORE MONEY IN ANY MARKET.

ILYCE’S NEW BOOK FOR SELLER

” 5 RULES EVERY SELLER MUST LIVE BY”, “MISTAKES EVERY SELLER MAKES”, “HOW TO MAX YOUR PROFIT”

ILYCE: IN THE BOOK I’VE GOT 5 RULES EVERY SELLER MUST LIVE BY, INCLUDING A FEW FINE POINTS ABOUT HOW GETTING GREEDY CAN KILL YOUR DEAL, 10 MISTAKES EVERY HOME SELLER MAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM, AND THEN I TAKE YOU ROOM BY ROOM THROUGH YOUR HOUSE SHOWING YOU HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PROFIT.

ILYCE: AND FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING FOR A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS, MY MONEY-SAVING TIP THIS WEEK IS

TIP – LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS

ILYCE: LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS. THE PROBLEM IS, WE’RE ALL SO STRESSED OUT THAT WE FEEL WE DESERVE ALL THE CONVENIENCE WE CAN AFFORD – AND THEN SOME.

ILYCE: LOOK FOR PLACES YOU CAN CUT BACK. FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF RELYING ON TAKE-OUT, SPEND SOME TIME OVER THE WEEKEND PREPARING A FEW MEALS YOU CAN FREEZE FOR LATER IN THE WEEK. INSTEAD OF LAYING OUT $30 TO $40 FOR TAKE-OUT, YOU’LL THE DOLLARS GROWING IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. LARRY AND ROSEANNE, EATING IN CAN SAVE YOU A CHUNK OF CHANGE EVERY TIME.

ANCHOR: READ MORE ABOUT ILYCE’S BOOK CHOICES — AND HER NEWEST BOOK – ON OUR WEBSITE, AT WGNTV.COM OR THINKGLINK.COM