Money Makeover: Kathy Naylor

Who: Kathy Naylor, 62

Income: $69,000 a year

Goals: Determine whether she can buy her childhood home. Make sure retirement and savings accounts are properly invested.

Assets: $190,000 condo; $20,000 in retirement accounts; $20,000 in savings and checking accounts.

Debts: $8,000 home-equity line; $7,900 car loan.

Recommendations: Buying the childhood home is too much of a financial stretch. Sell the condo and continue to save, to create the option of buying a less costly property. Use income from pension and sale of condo to pay off debts, then invest in a money market account or short-term bond fund so the money can be accessed. Meanwhile, reorder finances, rolling over funds saved in annuities into an Individual Retirement Account that is invested in a low-cost mutual fund. Those funds should be allocated with 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds. Maintain $20,000 in checking and savings accounts for emergencies.

About the planner: Lara Lamb is a certified financial planner with Lamb Financial Planning in Encino.