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Dear healthwellness82@gmail.com, There’s a saying that later in life you’ll regret what you didn’t do more than what you did... but top personal finance expert Jane Bryant Quinn, author of Making the Most of Your Money Now, says that rule doesn’t apply to investing. Quinn explains why rental properties, bonds and a few other highly touted types of investments often go bad -- and tells how to determine whether your particular opportunity might be the rare exception. There’s a health problem that practically everyone experiences at some point but that no one likes to talk about -- hemorrhoids. Benjamin Krevsky, MD, MPH, director of gastrointestinal endoscopy at Temple University in Philadelphia, tells about a new therapy that’s highly effective, takes just five minutes and requires little or no recovery time. All the best,  Jessica Kent Editor BottomLineSecrets.com Why Buying Bonds Is Bad Jane Bryant Quinn For four decades, Jane Bryant Quinn has guided millions of investors, consumers, savers and borrowers with useful financial advice by way of magazine and newspaper columns, best-selling books and Emmy Award-winning television appearances. Over that period, she has been struck as much by what people tend to do wrong as by what they do right -- and by how costly those mistakes can be. Bottom Line/Personal asked Quinn for advice to help readers maneuver the perils of today’s shaky economy and turbulent markets. Be wary of the following common blunders, she advises... TAX-DEFERRED VARIABLE ANNUITIES Many investors are drawn to anything that promises guaranteed income and lower tax bills -- an attraction that is likely to increase as talk of future tax hikes intensifies. Unfortunately, the tax savings offered by variable annuities are not as substantial as brokers often make them out to be. Money in an annuity compounds tax-deferred, but there is no tax deduction for the money you put in. Investment profits (including capital gains) are taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn -- and annuities impose high fees. Investors often pay commissions of 5% to 8% and annual fees of 2% or more. If the annuity comes with guaranteed income or withdrawal benefits, fees can run to 3.5% or more. You might have to hold an annuity for at least 18 years just to make up for taxes and other costs. Big commissions, not tax savings, are the main reason brokers push clients into annuities. Possible exceptions: An annuity might be a reasonable option for people who don’t expect to need this money for at least 30 years and who have already fully funded their 401(k)s and IRAs. After all, annuities did protect many investors during market crashes over the past decade. If you are retired, you might instead consider immediate-payout annuities -- which offer fixed-rate payments over a specified period of time. To see how much income you can buy for every dollar invested, go to www.ImmediateAnnuities.com. Because interest rates are very low now, you may want to "ladder" (spread out) your purchases of immediate-payout annuities over several years so that you can take advantage of higher rates to come. REVERSE MORTGAGES Reverse mortgages are tempting to people whose retirement savings and home values have had recent losses -- but don’t take out a reverse mortgage if you’re in your 60s. A reverse mortgage loan is a way to borrow against the value of one’s home without selling the home in this slow market. These loans now are being aggressively marketed to home owners as young as 62 -- but they are a very bad idea for anyone younger than 70, and even then, they should be used only as a last resort. Lenders offer extremely unappealing reverse mortgage loan terms to those still in their 60s. These loans are not to be repaid until the home owner dies or moves out. That might take decades if the borrower is in his 60s, so lenders adjust their offers to make up for the delayed payback. Reverse mortgage contracts are so complex that it often is difficult to spot the steep fees and interest rates. BONDS Don’t be dazzled by the supposed "safety" of bonds. The extreme volatility of the stock and real estate markets in recent years no doubt has some investors thinking about shifting a sizable portion of their savings to bonds and bond funds. But that would be a mistake now. Bond yields are low these days, and bonds carry a crucial risk that today’s investors tend to overlook -- inflation risk. We haven’t had to worry much about inflation lately, but given this nation’s massive deficits, high inflation is possible. That would be terrible news for bond portfolios for two reasons -- the low yields on the bonds that you own don’t allow you to keep up with inflation... and inflation drives up interest rates paid on bonds, so if you want to sell an old bond or liquidate bond-fund shares, you could lose money because buyers can obtain new bonds with higher yields. RENTAL PROPERTIES Don’t buy a second home as a rental property. Even though residential real estate looks cheap when compared with real estate values of a few years back and prices finally seem to be stabilizing in many regions, those who purchase a second home as a rental property this year still are most likely to lose money. Rental rates have fallen sharply in most regions, and high-quality tenants have become harder to find -- apartment vacancies reached a 30-year high in late 2009. Even in a best-case scenario in this market, your rents are unlikely to cover all of the costs of owning and maintaining the property. At worst, you might not find a tenant at all, or your tenant might lose his/her job and stop paying rent. If so, your investment will stop producing income entirely. Buying rental property still could pay off if real estate values rebound quickly and strongly -- but don’t count on that. The real estate boom of recent decades was an aberration driven by unusually low interest rates and loose lending standards. Historically, long-term property appreciation of 3% to 6% is more likely. You could do a lot better than that in stocks without the aggravation and expenses of being a landlord. Possible exception: One-bedroom single-family homes can be profitable rental properties. Few home buyers will consider one bedrooms, so the properties can be cheap to buy, yet one-bedrooms are appealing to many renters. If you eventually can convert the one-bedroom’s garage, basement or screened porch into a second bedroom, you might be able to sell at a nice profit, too. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn, who has been a columnist for The Washington Post, Newsweek and Bloomberg.com. She cohosted the series Beyond Wall Street on PBS. She is author of Making the Most of Your Money Now (Simon & Schuster), which was named the best personal finance book by Consumers Union and has been updated for the new decade. www.JaneBryantQuinn.com   Are You or Your Loved Ones Taking Any of These Highly Prescribed Medicines? Infrared Light Shrinks Hemorrhoids Benjamin Krevsky, MD, MPH Temple University Hospital If standard treatments -- warm baths, stool softeners, increased fiber intake and over-the-counter or prescription hemorrhoid creams and suppositories -- do not work, an infrared coagulator can shrink hemorrhoids. The treatment works 75% of the time, takes just five minutes, requires no anesthesia and has little recovery time. For more information: Contact the manufacturer -- Redfield Corporation, 201-845-3990, www.redfieldcorp.com. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Benjamin Krevsky, MD, MPH, director of gastrointestinal endoscopy, Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia. New INSTANT Cure for Extra High Cholesterol -- Cholesterol Drops 100 Points or More Important: Help your friends get much more out of life -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free weekly e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Boardroom Inc. 281 Tresser Boulevard Stamford, CT 06901-3229 ATTN: Web Team You received this e-mail because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Disclaimer: Bottom Line Secrets publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields. 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