Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial advice, gathered from around the web:
When to get out of stocks
"There's no universal prescription" for how much of your retirement savings should be invested in stocks, said Jane Hodges at The Wall Street Journal. But with the now seven-year-old bull market looking increasingly volatile, it might make sense for some investors to radically reduce their exposure. "Much depends on a portfolio's size, an investor's age, and how soon he or she wishes to retire." High-net-worth investors, for instance, "have the luxury" of using a cash-preservation approach early on, and might avoid risky equities altogether. Investors "who have saved carefully or who are able to live frugally" might also only require low returns, so bonds might be a smarter investment. Some advisers also recommend that clients who are within 5 to 10 years of retirement shift more money to cash, in order to reduce their exposure to overvalued stocks.
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Timing your rewards cards
When it comes to figuring out when to sign up for rewards credit cards, it can pay to wait, said Kristin Wong at Lifehacker. Most card issuers offer their best sign-up bonuses at certain times of the year. Personal finance site NerdWallet.com analyzed limited-time offers from a variety of popular cards, and found that consumers miss out on more than 15,000 travel points, worth an average of $177, "by applying for their rewards card at the wrong time." For travel and airline cards, November is the best month to sign up; for hotel cards, it's August. "Three of the most popular issuers for rewards — Chase, Citi, and American Express — offer the most deals in late summer and fall."
Docs to toss in spring cleaning
Plenty of us hold on to paper copies of bills and mortgage statements for years, "for fear we might need them one day," said Michelle Singletary at The Washington Post. But don't be afraid to let go of documents during your annual spring cleaning. Once you get your W-2 at tax time, there's no need to keep pay stubs from the previous year. Unless you need utility bills for tax deductions, toss them too at year's end. As long as you've received your year-end bank statements, "you can shred the monthly ones. And please do shred them." Keep medical documents "for at least a year in case there is a dispute about payment." As for tax returns, keep the past seven years, just to be safe; certain mistakes can still trigger an audit at that point. When in doubt, "scan it."
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