Financial Planning: When a Spouse Passes – How to Stay Out of the Dark

March 17, 2011

Well you knew I would be broaching this topic at some point.  In many years of financial planning I have seen numerous situations which made me sad, and which inevitably led to me becoming a financial educator.  Some of the most searing memories, and sad to say happened all too frequently, were of widows who were in the dark as to what their financial condition was. Continue reading “Financial Planning: When a Spouse Passes – How to Stay Out of the Dark”

Financial Education: 3 Important Check Ups to Do in an Hour

January 10, 2011

There are 8760 hours in a year – 730 in a month with about 240 of them spent sleeping.  That leaves about 490 hours to do what we want. We spend quite a few of those at work and it probably seems like we spend the rest of them waiting in line or being on hold. We can put a few of those hours to good use with some actions that might not be very urgent but are very important none the less.  Here are a couple of important insurance check-ups to do this week that take about an hour each. Continue reading “Financial Education: 3 Important Check Ups to Do in an Hour”

Financial Education: Estate Planning — Three Things to do in an Hour

January 03, 2011

Have you seen the new show – that re-make of Hawaii 5-0?  Here is the premise: A divorced cop (James Caan’s son) from New Jersey moves to Hawaii to be near his young daughter – add some hip native Hawaiian cops and skimpy bathing suits.  Doesn’t sound like a winner, does it?  Well if you guessed that it was almost unbearable to watch, you were correct.  Did I watch the whole show?  Yes.  I am not sure why but it was a complete waste of time. Continue reading “Financial Education: Estate Planning — Three Things to do in an Hour”

Is Your Financial House in Order?

December 23, 2010

Being the holiday season and my wife and I being the festive people we are, we were taking part in the age old tradition of trimming our tree to make it as decorative as possible.  Everything seemed the same as prior years – same size tree, some friends over to help, holiday tunes playing, and my wife lovingly asking why I don’t put more lights on.  There was one thing different though and that was the fact that all the ornaments were in special containers which made it very easy to decorate the tree but more importantly, easy to put away.  Every ornament in its rightful spot, nice! Continue reading “Is Your Financial House in Order?”

Family Drama and Your Will

November 19, 2010

I recently had a meeting with a woman who said she had a “simple question” about wills.  She was the last person I was meeting with that day, so I relaxed and got mentally ready for a simple question which would be followed by a quick workout and dinner.  My brain was just about to get put into action jointly with my stomach with the goal being to figure out what to eat.  Just as soon as I finish this simple question.  At least that’s what I thought for a few seconds. Continue reading “Family Drama and Your Will”

So What Kind of Life Insurance Do I Need?

November 04, 2010

Lately I’ve been approached a lot from workshop participants and they have asked a common question, “Do I have the right kind of life insurance?”  Now this isn’t an odd question by any means but I was wondering why all of a sudden this has become a hot button.  Was there a sale on life insurance I wasn’t privy to?  Was there a mass life insurance agent licensing I was unaware of?  Whatever the case, it was up to me to quickly let my workshop participants know what to look for in making an informed life insurance decision. Continue reading “So What Kind of Life Insurance Do I Need?”

How We Can Learn a Valuable Lesson from Wesley Snipes

August 27, 2010

Wesley Snipes was recently sentenced to three years in prison for failing to pay over $15,000,000 in taxes.  It could have been worse for him; the sentence was considered light because “jurors accepted his argument that he was innocently duped by errant tax advisers.”

That makes me ask a few questions: Wesley, what exactly were you thinking? You hired tax advisors who told you it was acceptable to NOT FILE TAX RETURNS???  Did that not sound suspicious? Continue reading “How We Can Learn a Valuable Lesson from Wesley Snipes”

Retirement Readiness – Do a Bennie Check-Up

August 11, 2010

A workshop participant had a huge grin on her face at one of our Retirement Readiness workshops when she announced to the group, “My ex-husband passed away and had me down as the beneficiary on his IRA and I have to say that I don’t think he really meant to.  I also didn’t turn the money down but I am sure it was not meant for me!” The crowd broke into a combination of smiles, chuckles and outright laughter – the severity of their reaction probably having more to do with their own life experience than anything else.

There are many worse stories that I have personally witnessed Continue reading “Retirement Readiness – Do a Bennie Check-Up”

Creating a Will – Sooner Rather than Later

August 09, 2010

“We couldn’t decide on a guardian – the couple we wanted to pick was very loving but we were concerned they wouldn’t give the children boundaries” was the excuse the couple gave.  They had two children ages 10 and 12 and knew for years that they needed to get a will so they could appoint a guardian in case something happened to both of them.

I asked them what prompted them to talk with me today.  “Our friend passed away at age 44, the loving one that we were going to choose and we are deeply saddened.  We also realized it could have been us and the court would pick the guardian for our children instead of us and we just couldn’t let that happen,” Continue reading “Creating a Will – Sooner Rather than Later”