Money Makeover details

Who: Milton “Milt” and Jean Burdick

Income: $51,000

Assets: $312,000 in savings. Mobile home worth at least $5,000.

Debts: None

Recommendations: Sell mobile home to avoid steep rental increases on lot space. Buy a house for up to $180,000, putting 20% down. Set aside $300 a month for home repairs. Increase annual vacation budget to $4,500 and take more vacations. Consider taking invested assets out of annuities, where they are now held, to avoid fees. Put 60% of savings into a mix of bond funds and put the rest in this mixture of equities: 8% in a large-cap value fund, 5% in a large-cap growth fund, 6% in a small-cap growth fund, 7% in an international stock fund, 7% in an emerging-markets fund and 7% in a commodities index fund.

About the planner: Alfred McIntosh is a fee-only certified financial planner. His company is McIntosh Capital Advisors in Los Angeles.