COVERITLIVE.COM

11:43

Please submit your questions to Sun personal finance writer Eileen Ambrose. Live chat starts at noon. Main topic: How to find a trustworthy financial adviser? Please feel free to submit questions on other topics as well.

11:59

Good afternoon. Welcome to the chat with Sun personal finance writer Eileen Ambrose. She will be answering questions about finding a trustworthy financial adviser in the aftermath of the Bernard Madoff scandal. She is also happy to answer questions on other topics. 30 minutes. Let's begin.

12:09

Sorry, we're having some technical difficulties here.

12:09

Let's start now with a question from Carolyn.

12:10

Carolyn wrote in with this question: I will be losing my job come this October and will be receiving a substantial severance package.I would like to know how I should save and invest this money so that it will hold me over until I find other employment.

12:11

Eileen: You didn’t mention the size of the severance, or how long you expect to be out of work. My initial thoughts are that you have been given a sizable heads up on your job loss, which means you have time to cut down on your spending, and determine what are fixed expenses- mortgage or rent, food, utilities. Then you can figure out how long your money can last. Since this is money you will be drawing down on immediately, you don’t want it in the stock market. It should be in safe, liquid accounts. You can put in a money market fund or FDIC-insured money market account at the bank. Consider putting it in certificates of deposit that have different maturities. You also didn’t mention if your severance package came with health insurance. If not, you might be eligible for a subsidy that will pay as much as 65 percent of your COBRA premiums for nine months. The full subsidy is available to those with adjusted gross income under $125,000 if single or $250,000 if married and filing a joint tax return. The subsidy starts to phase out thereafter and disappears once income exceeds $145,000 for singles and $290,000 for joint filers.

12:13

A question from Maryann: The only method I've known for finding a good financial adviser is through personal recommendations. How do you go about finding one if you don't have those connections?

12:17

From Eileen: You can try contacting the Financial Planner Association, which has a referral service for certified financial planners. You can check their Web site. Also, there's a group called NAPFA, which is an association for fee-only planners. You might also try the Garrett Network, which also gives referrals to planners in your area based on your zip code. The Garrent planners charge by the hour.

12:18

Liz has a question about investment amounts:
You've mentioned in your column that it's important not to invest all of your money with one adviser. But how much is too much?

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