Mailbag: How to decide if you need an annuity and when to close those high-interest credit cards

In this double-feature Mailbag, Jean talks to Kathryn and Audrey. Kathryn is a little over a decade from retirement and recently started a new job. In her new role, she'll be eligible to receive a pension when she retires. She's wondering if, in addition, an annuity makes sense for her.  Our next call is from Audrey who’s working on rebuilding her credit after not being employed for a little while. She’s wondering if now is the right time to close the credit cards she opened up that have monthly fees.  Chapters: 1:00 Mailbag Question 1: Do I need an annuity? 5:00 Investing and Planning for Retirement  9:00 Planning for Future Expenses  14:00 Mailbag Question 2: Is now the right time to close credit cards with monthly fees? 19:00 Building up an Emergency Fund 21:00 Goals for Financial Independence  Have a personal-finance question for us or want to jump on a call with Jean so you can get all of your follow-up questions answered? Write in at [email protected]. For the latest episode drops and financial news-you-can-use, subscribe to our newsletter at Hermoney.com/subscribe! Interested in learning more about investing alongside hundreds of other women? Join us every other Monday night on Zoom and learn more at investingfixx.com. Thank you to Gainbridge® for supporting the HerMoney podcast. Gainbridge® created ParityFlex™, a multi-year guaranteed annuity, to offer women security and flexibility at a time when they need it the most—retirement. Learn more about ParityFlex™ here. The HerMoney with Jean Chatzky podcast is sponsored by Edelman Financial Engines. The podcast team and its host are neither employees nor clients of EFE, however, the show does receive fixed compensation and is a paid endorser and therefore has an incentive to endorse EFE and its planners. To learn more about the sponsorship, please visit PlanEFE.com/HerMoney. Use promo code HERMONEY at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at https://incogni.com/hermoney. Grab the exclusive NordVPN deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/hermoney and get extra subscription time. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Thanks to NordVPN for sponsoring our show.  Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast, and to learn more about Airwave, head to www.airwavemedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices