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Archive for December, 2010

Uncle Sam’s Last Minute Holiday Gift

Posted in Taxes, tagged , , , on December 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »

How to put the new tax package to good use Swooping in like a FedEx driver, Uncle Sam delivered a tax package to every American’s door in the nick of time. Regardless of whether you believe the package is naughty or nice, there is something for just about everyone’s benefit in this package, at least in [...]

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Bond Voyage- Should You Buy Bonds If Interest Rates Are Rising?

Posted in Investments, tagged , , , , on December 22, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Bonds are tricky little devils. I feel like talking to clients about bonds is a harder concept to understand than stocks. Bonds (we investors sometimes call them fixed-income securities, as that’s what they hopefully give us – fixed income) are just supposed to pay some rate of interest and when they mature, you get your [...]

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Pension and Generations

Posted in Retirement, tagged , , , on December 21, 2010 | 3 Comments »

“Just tell me what it would be worth,” said the 20-something pastor attempting to get his mind around the concept and purpose of a pension. How could I explain a pension and attempt to justify it as a benefit? He only understands looking at a bank or investment statement for a balance as a means [...]

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A Manger Not a Mansion

Posted in Charitable & Planned Giving, Values, tagged , , , , , , , on December 20, 2010 | 1 Comment »

I think old Andy Williams had it right when he sang “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” People seem to be more neighborly. Good moods abound. The children get all excited with the anticipation of a visit from jolly old Saint Nick. And who could forget the classic we all learned as children, [...]

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How to Create Your Financial Policy

Posted in Financial Planning, tagged , , , on December 17, 2010 | 4 Comments »

In working with clients we spend hours discussing and setting goals for their personal and financial lives. Part of our work as planners entails delivering recommendations to help those who hire us achieve those goals. The difficulty for some in implementing the plan of action is finding the necessary time, commitment or dedication to “do [...]

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Will QE2 Boost our Economy and Create Jobs?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on December 16, 2010 | 1 Comment »

During the third quarter, the S&P 500 rose about 11% thanks mostly to the anticipation of a second round of quantitative easing, QE2 – the Fed plans to buy over $600 billion of treasuries vehemently trying to avoid a double dip recession. Economic improvements have been tepid and recent deteriorating data helped push the Fed’s [...]

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My Mea Culpa to CNBC

Posted in Investments, Values, tagged , , , , , , on December 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

I have a confession.  I’ve been pretty hard on CNBC, especially over the last few years.  When Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show skewered Jim Cramer, Rick Santelli and the like on his program following the market downturn, few took more joy in watching. But I am nothing if not a planner that [...]

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Yes, You Can Keep Your Money Resolutions in 2011

Posted in Financial Planning, tagged , , , , on December 14, 2010 | 1 Comment »

“Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” – Mark Twain My blog today is inspired by a recently aired PBS special by motivational author and speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer titled “Excuses Begone!” It is a fitting time of year [...]

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How Much Will I Need to Retire?

Posted in Retirement, tagged , on December 14, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Part 1 of 2 The title to this blog is asked by every client or person that I come into contact with and is probably why you clicked on this article. There are two components to this question – 1) how much do I spend or want to spend on my lifestyle and 2) how [...]

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Is There Soul in Your Financial Plan?

Posted in Financial Planning, tagged , , , , , on December 13, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Are you pondering some critical decisions in your life, wondering whether you should have another child, retire, start a business, go back to school, or remodel your home? Sometimes I will meet with individuals new to the concept of financial planning that ask ‘should’ they do any of the above. And in walking through the [...]

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