By Scott Burns

Q. What's a good alternative to certificates of deposit in the $75,000 to $100,000 range, assuming there is one? —J.O., by email

A. If you are looking for something with similar (but not identical) risk you've basically got two choices. First, you can shop harder for the best CD offers. Some institutions will offer higher than average yields when they need new money to fund a particular investment. You can do that shopping on websites like www.bankrate.com

The second option is to do similar shopping for CD-like annuity products. While these don't carry FDIC insurance, they have the guarantee of the issuing company and state insurance programs usually cover them. You can search for these on www.directannuities.com. If you visit www.mrannuity.com you will find a chart comparing the average yields of 5-year CD-like insurance annuities and the average 5-year bank CD. It has been a close race in many time periods, with the two switching positions, but 5-year CD-like insurance annuities currently beat the average bank CD.

Higher yield investments carry significantly greater risks, so if you are thinking you may need to use the money in a few years, things like preferred stocks, REITs, and high quality dividend stocks would not be candidates. Those who can invest with a long horizon, however, should consider accepting some risk with some of their CD money and using dividend stocks to augment their income. The easiest relatively low risk way to do this is to buy shares of an exchange traded fund that specializes in quality dividend stocks. The SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (ticker: SDY), for instance, has a current yield of 3.38 percent and an expense ratio of 0.35 percent. It invests in an index of the 60 highest dividend yield stocks in the S&P 1500 index that have increased their dividends every year for at least 25 years.

Q. I need your help on making a decision on Social Security.  I turned 65 in August.  Should I take my check now, or wait till next year at 66 to receive full benefits.  It would be about $100 a month difference.  I am still working. —C.M., by email

A. If you are still working it would be a good idea to wait the additional year. If you were to try to produce that $100 a month difference from an investment portfolio you would need about $30,000 in new investment cash. That’s a very high Social Security benefit, so you are giving up a much smaller amount of money for one year in order to secure a much higher lifetime income than you will receive— and you won’t have to give a moment’s thought to investment decisions. Also, you won’t have to pay income taxes on the benefit that you take while still working.

Q. My income consists of seven fixed annuities and other retirement income. It amounts to about $15,000 per month.   I have been receiving these annuities since my husband's death six years ago.  We both received them for eight years prior to his death.  These annuities are for life, so I will have this generous income until my demise.  I have Medicare and Tricare, so basically I have no medical expenses.  

I also have around $600,000 in liquid funds, CDs and Money Market funds. I am 78 years old and would like to spend some of this money.   I have always been very frugal while helping my family, but I would like to spend some on myself.    How much should I keep in liquid funds, considering my income?  I have no debts. —M.J., by email

A. From what you say, the issue here isn’t how the money is invested; it is finding the personal freedom to spend it on yourself. Many people have plenty of trouble doing this, even when money is abundant. I suggest that you earmark some amount of money that you want to provide for your heirs upon your death, then divide the remaining money (which could be all of it) into 7 equal amounts with the intention of spending each amount over the next 7 years.

While there is a better than 50 percent chance that you will still be alive then, odds are you may have enough infirmities that you will suffer remorse if you haven’t spent the money. And what if you haven’t spent the money in any particular year? Give it a way— use it or lose it, but lose it wisely and kindly.