(FORTUNE Magazine) – I recently won a significant amount of money on a TV game show. I was wondering how this sum would be taxed: as ordinary income, as a capital gain, or possibly as gambling winnings? EVAN BENNER Santa Monica, Calif.

Okay, all you Regis Philbin fans, listen up. Game-show winnings are considered prizes and therefore are taxed at ordinary income rates, not at lower capital gains rates. Gambling winnings, too, are taxed as ordinary income, but at least here you get to write off any gambling losses as miscellaneous itemized deductions. With a prize you haven't wagered anything, so there are no losses to deduct.

Ah, but there may be expenses. Bruce Wertheim, a CPA with KPMG, says that you could try subtracting any out-of-pocket costs you incurred to participate in the game show (airfare, hotel charges) from your winnings, and report the net as taxable income. For example, if you won $1 million on Who Wants to Buy a Frigidaire and it cost you $2,000 to travel to the studio in Cleveland, you'd attach a supporting schedule to your tax return showing $1 million less $2,000, and report $998,000 of taxable income on line 21 of the return--the line for "other income." Wertheim cautions that this is an "aggressive" approach, but one that could save you a tidy sum if the IRS doesn't squawk.

The bigger issue, of course, is what you do with the money after you pay the taxes. If I were you, I'd review my six rules for investing a windfall (see the fortune.com archive, July 24, 2000). The more potentially life changing the amount of money you've won, the more careful you need to be. Sometimes it's easier to become a millionaire than it is to stay one.

We have a question about the Putnam Growth and Income fund, which we own. We notice most of the growth and income funds have not done much lately. Would you suggest that this money be moved into something else in the Putnam family? We do have some money in Putnam Vista, which is doing much better, and also in Putnam New Opportunities. MONROE AND PAT GRASSI Verona Beach, N.Y.

My answer depends on why you bought Putnam Growth and Income in the first place. It is a good anchor fund for a portfolio, a steady-Eddie large-cap value fund that has performed about average for large-cap value funds over time. This year it's up 5.3% through mid-November. That's better than 65% of its peers, according to fund tracker Morningstar, not to mention the major market indexes, all of which are down for the year. Sure, it's not the best-performing large-cap value fund out there, but on the other hand, it provides a little more yield than most--1.7% for the 12 months ended Oct. 31, vs. an average 0.7% for the large-cap value group. And it has relatively low expenses--0.79%, vs. an average 1.25% for its peers. All in all, concludes Morningstar senior analyst Bill Rocco, "it's a good, solid, conservative fund, particularly for people who need some income." So if you're a retiree or a near retiree looking for yield from a portion of your equity holdings, this fund is for you. If you are 25 with a steady income and are searching for growth at all costs, get out.

Vista and New Opportunities are completely different kinds of funds. They are fairly aggressive growth funds that have delivered outsized returns in recent years, largely as a result of their big bets on tech stocks. Now that tech stocks are in a slump, many tech-heavy funds are suffering. While Vista, a mid-cap growth fund, is up 6.53% year to date, vs. an average 2.37% for all mid-cap growth funds, the bigger-cap New Opportunities fund is down 10.83%. The average large-cap growth fund is down 6.09%.

Which just goes to show why, assuming you bought Putnam Growth and Income for the right reasons, you might want to stay the course with your current mix of funds. Funds with different investing styles are expected to perform differently. By diversifying your holdings, you reduce the risk of having all your money in the worst-performing baskets.

Since I currently work in the financial services field, I may have an interest in becoming a financial planner. Are there any particular credentials required to become a planner? ANONYMOUS

You have lots of company. In today's fast-changing financial services arena, insurance agents are selling mutual funds, bankers are selling insurance, and just about everyone, it seems, is becoming a financial planner. The trend shows no sign of abating, especially now that financial planning has been rated the best job in America by the Jobs Rated Almanac 2001. The book cites such factors as workplace autonomy, good pay, and low stress.

The Almanac might have added "easy entry," because, as unbelievable as it may seem, there are no credentials required to become a planner. The government doesn't regulate financial planners per se. As a result, anyone can print up business cards calling himself a financial planner and start dispensing advice on how to build a nest egg for retirement or save for a child's college education. So for all you advice seekers out there, beware.

However, if you want to give specific investment advice ("Buy XZY stock") or help set a financial plan in motion (for example, by selling investment products), you'll need to be licensed by the appropriate authorities. Investment advisors must register with either the SEC or state securities agencies, depending on how much money they manage; stockbrokers must be registered with the NASD and licensed by the states in which they do business; and insurance agents must be licensed by their state insurance departments.

True financial planners distinguish themselves by their breadth of knowledge and objectivity. Whereas stockbrokers, insurance salespeople, and the like focus on particular aspects of a client's financial life and are sometimes out just to push products, planners look broadly at a client's entire financial situation. They make recommendations based on what's best for the client, not what will earn the planners the biggest commissions. (Some shun commissions entirely, working on a fee-only basis.)

To further distinguish yourself, you might consider becoming a certified financial planner. CFPs must take two years' worth of financial-planning courses and pass a ten-hour, two-day exam covering more than 100 financial topics. Of the 350,000 or so people who call themselves financial planners, just 36,000 are CFPs, says Dede Pahl, head of the CFP Board of Standards, which administers the test. For my money, you could do worse than become a member of that exclusive club.

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