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Archive for May, 2010

Peaks and Valleys

Posted in Education, tagged , , , , on May 28, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Inherently, money has no value at all. It is a dull, lifeless, man-made creation designed to ease the facilitation of commerce. It exists as pieces of paper, coins, or numbers on a spreadsheet or statement. The real value of money lies in what it allows you to experience. In our society, money provides a mechanism [...]

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How to Go the Distance

Posted in Education, Savings, tagged , , , , on May 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Financial life wisdom of marathons I like to run. What I really mean is I like how running makes me feel. Sore muscles aside, I run to feel a sense of accomplishment, freedom, power and control that energizes my entire life. When I run, I think more clearly and cope more easily with whatever life [...]

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Can You Handle the Four Fat Financial Fears?

Posted in Education, Investments, tagged , , , on May 26, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Part 1 of 4 Working with people over the last three decades I have answered and asked thousands of questions about what they do and don’t want in their financial lives. Of course every single person has a slightly different set of priorities and expectations. Yet, they all have their own way of trying to [...]

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What I Learned From the Tax Season

Posted in Education, Employment, Home Ownership, Medical & Health Issues, Taxes, tagged , , , , , on May 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Part 3 of 3 In my last blog, I discussed an item that is surprising many taxpayers – taking a withdrawal from their IRA. As we learned, taxpayers under age 59½ usually have to pay taxes on a distribution from an IRA and pay a 10% penalty. But there are times when you don’t have [...]

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Financial Considerations for an Inheritance

Posted in Estate Planning, tagged , , , , , on May 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Receiving an inheritance can be one of the most emotionally charged situations concerning money. It is a memory of our loved ones, a symbol of their feelings for us, as well as their wish to enhance our financial security. In today’s volatile market and low interest rate environment, many people are conflicted about what to [...]

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The Economics of Fear

Posted in Investments, tagged , , on May 21, 2010 | 1 Comment »

An experiential learning of mammoth proportions occurred last Thursday in the financial markets. The absolute 10-minute freefall of the prices of stocks and bonds, without any pre-notification froze the hearts of many in the investment community. The possibility of a $1 trillion dollar loss had suddenly and unexpectedly turned real. It happened in a matter [...]

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Seven Investing Secrets for Someone Starting Over Again

Posted in Investments, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2010 | 1 Comment »

I recently was asked by a friend of mine to offer some financial planning advice to his adult son. The son is rebuilding his life, having recently shut down his unsuccessful business, completed personal bankruptcy and emerged from a bitter divorce. He has no IRA or retirement plans, shares custody of his two teen-age children [...]

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Ways to Play this Summer!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on May 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Can’t afford $3K for an Italian getaway this summer? Not to worry – summer comes in many forms. Let’s take a look at what we can do for a very reasonable amount of money. As always, it pays to do the math to see if you are really saving money. Sailing away – how many [...]

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Young Adults Should Learn to Manage Money Without Credit Cards

Posted in Credit/Debt, Education, tagged , , , , on May 18, 2010 | 1 Comment »

I recently helped my 13-year-old daughter open her first bank account, complete with checks and a debit card. We have agreements in place on her use of the card and the checking account, and we will go over her statements monthly. This is a first step for her in learning good money management in the [...]

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A Soldier’s Story: Helping Wounded Warrior’s Manage Their Money

Posted in Charitable & Planned Giving, Medical & Health Issues, Retirement, Savings, tagged , , , , , , on May 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

October 4, 1942. That was the date that a young man named Henry was inducted into the United States Army. Born before the Depression, he grew up in the backwoods of North Florida. (In all honesty, most everything was backwoods in that day.) He had been married only a few months before getting the call. [...]

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