A Draining But Fulfilling Choice

October 04, 2013

One of the things that I’ve lived through over the better part of the last decade is going through a relatively ugly divorce and beginning to rebuild my financial and personal lives while being a semi-workaholic.  This point was brought into view very clearly recently in a conversation with a woman that I have started dating. I work a lot!  So does she.  And, I have the added element of traveling a lot for work.  Somehow, we’ve started referring to my travel as being “out to sea.” Continue reading “A Draining But Fulfilling Choice”

Introducing Our Newest Planner: Doug Spencer

August 19, 2013

When it comes to choosing a financial advisor to help get you closer to your financial goals, it’s important to ask some tough questions. We have a pretty rigorous hiring process here at Financial Finesse and only about 2% of potential candidates make it on board our team of unbiased financial educators. Recently, I had the chance to sit down with Doug Spencer, CFP®, one of the resident financial planners and a recent addition to the Think Tank at Financial Finesse.  I asked him a series of questions trying to pick his brain and find out more about how he became interested in joining a growing group of financial planning professionals who are committed to providing unbiased financial guidance to employees in the workforce. Here is a summary of our discussion with some important resources included for anyone seeking an unbiased perspective on how to take control of their financial future: Continue reading “Introducing Our Newest Planner: Doug Spencer”

Perception vs. Reality

August 02, 2013

I read this article about how we are working fewer hours now than prior generations and we have more “leisure time” than prior generations too. At first, I was thinking that the article was absolutely wrong. I know that I spend way more than the 33.7 average hours per week in this report.  Most of my friends do as well. With our smartphones receiving emails and text messages from coworkers, along with the other technological tethers that many of us live with, it seems like we work all the time.  Continue reading “Perception vs. Reality”

The Top 5 Things to Teach Kids About Money

May 27, 2013

Happy Memorial Day! If you have young kids, this unofficial start of summer is a great opportunity to start thinking about how you can use some of their time away from school for another form of education: how to make smart financial decisions that can benefit them for the rest of their lives. After all,  the first money lessons your child gets will likely come from you and can have a major impact on their ability to avoid major financial problems later in life. In particular, these five basic concepts should be incorporated into your child’s education about responsible money management: Continue reading “The Top 5 Things to Teach Kids About Money”

Why I Love What I Do

April 05, 2013

We usually discuss what to do with your money but not how you earned most of it in the first place. Without trying to sound too much like I’m sucking up to my boss…I’m one of the few people I know who really love what they do for a living. I’ve met a lot of people who hate their jobs but “have to” stay for financial reasons, benefits, or something else.  I’ve met people who like their jobs but aren’t all that enthusiastic about it. And, occasionally I’ll meet someone who feels like they are doing what they were put on Earth to do.  When that happens, I feel like I’ve met a kindred spirit.  Why do I enjoy what I do so much? Continue reading “Why I Love What I Do”

There REALLY Is No Such Thing As A Silly Question When It Comes To Financial Education

December 18, 2012

Whenever I facilitate a financial education workshop for employee groups, I always encourage the attendees to ask questions that come to mind – no matter how basic or odd they may think the question is. I promise them that there are no silly questions, and I’ve heard quite a few that prove employees are hungry for financial education.  As a financial planner, a benefits specialist, HR representative, or payroll manager, sometimes it is easy to forget that what we talk about every day can seem like a foreign language to your workforce. Here are a few examples:  Continue reading “There REALLY Is No Such Thing As A Silly Question When It Comes To Financial Education”

The Importance of Being Financially Independent

June 13, 2012

I received a helpline call last week that reminded me of why it is so important for all of us to be financially independent. I’m not talking about having so much money that you can do whatever you want, but rather being in a position to manage your own financial affairs if and when the need should arise. Continue reading “The Importance of Being Financially Independent”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Speaks Out on the Future of Retirement Security

May 22, 2012

I recently spoke to an employee who had decided, at age 54, that it was time to start focusing on retirement.  Her goal was to retire at age 65, and she was wondering if that would be possible, considering she had not been saving for retirement for the past several years.  She’d been in a financial fog during that time while trying to recover both emotionally and financially from a rough divorce. Continue reading “U.S. Chamber of Commerce Speaks Out on the Future of Retirement Security”

Does Calculating Your Retirement Needs Even Matter?

March 27, 2012

The resident financial planners at Financial Finesse handle a variety of difficult questions from employees representing many different walks of life and unique backgrounds.  One common area of concern these days is retirement.  In fact, nearly 31% of all employees indicate that retirement is their number one financial planning priority.  A recent helpline caller represented a perfect example of how a seemingly complex retirement planning scenario can be simplified using some quick and easy to use retirement planning tools.  Continue reading “Does Calculating Your Retirement Needs Even Matter?”

Valentine’s Alert: Educate Your Workforce on Providing for Their Loved Ones

February 07, 2012

According to a recent study by LIMRA, over 30% of U.S. households have no life insurance coverage, and this includes close to 11 million households that have a child under age 18 who SHOULD have coverage as part of their financial plan.  “Well, that’s not my employees”, you may be thinking since your company benefits probably include employer-sponsored life insurance.  On average, most companies provide a company paid benefit of 1 x the annual salary of their employees.   But with 1 x  their salary, that leaves many workers severely under-insured,  since the common rule of thumb is that you need at least 6 to 10 times your annual income if you have loved ones at home that rely on your income.  Continue reading “Valentine’s Alert: Educate Your Workforce on Providing for Their Loved Ones”

One of the Biggest Challenges Facing Financial Planners

February 01, 2012

One of the biggest challenges I face in my line of work is deciding when to explain things in more detailed technical terms and when to explain them in more understandable  “practical” terms.  For example, when discussing the income limits for traditional and Roth IRA contributions, most financial professionals will tell you the limits are based on your adjusted gross income (AGI) when technically they are based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).  In many cases, such as this one, the difference between the practical and the technical may be so small that it’s just easier to speak in practical terms. The problem is that if you don’t know the technical stuff, it’s easy to make a financial mistake. Continue reading “One of the Biggest Challenges Facing Financial Planners”

When Should I Consider Having a Trust?

January 11, 2012

At Financial Finesse, we are often asked this very basic question.  It seems simple enough.  A trust, by its purest definition, is a form of ownership.  You can own assets in your name alone, you can own assets with someone else (e.g. jointly), you can own assets by contract (e.g. a life insurance policy), or you can own assets in a trust.  There are several benefits to having assets held in trust.  For example, when you have a trust, you can control who receives trust assets, when they receive these assets, and what these assets may be used for.  Consider the following example:

When I was a child, my father was killed in a car accident.  Prior to his death, he provided instructions in his will that basically said if anything ever happened to him, money should be set aside in a trust until each of my two brothers and I turned 18, after which the money would be used to pay for college. Continue reading “When Should I Consider Having a Trust?”

Helping Employees Cope with Medical Bills

January 10, 2012

Flying home last week from the wintry northwest, I heard lots of sneezing and sniffles from my fellow travelers.  Although we’ve been lucky to have such a mild winter so far, cold January weather usually brings with it the onslaught of cold and flu season.  In a typical year, 5 to 20% of the population in the U.S. will get the flu, according to www.flufacts.com , and some of your employees may end up with flu complications that may require a trip to the doctor or even hospitalization. Continue reading “Helping Employees Cope with Medical Bills”

7 Gifts That Can Keep on Giving

December 08, 2011

Rather than give away more fish this holiday season, why not teach them how to fish with a gift of financial education? After all, New Year’s is coming up and better money management is one of the most common resolutions. (A gift about losing weight may not go over so well.) While unfortunately you can’t exactly buy our services as a gift for someone, here are 7 personal finance books that I’ve found to be particularly insightful: Continue reading “7 Gifts That Can Keep on Giving”

Surveying Employees: What’s Gained from the “Inner-view”

November 29, 2011

Whether you’re trying to get feedback on a new employee benefit, employee morale, or about company management, employee surveys are typically the best way to gather voluntary data and opinions from your workforce.  The problem is how to get the employees to actually participate so you can get their inner-view.  According to PPI, a workplace assessment company, employees ask themselves this question before participating:  “Is this survey safe to answer, and is it worth my time?”  Some feel that their anonymity will be compromised, others fear retaliation from management for their comments, and many simply think the process is an exercise in futility, with HR gathering the information, but doing nothing with it. Continue reading “Surveying Employees: What’s Gained from the “Inner-view””

Thumbs Up to the Rules of Thumb

November 08, 2011

When ordering take-out last night for my family, I used a rule of thumb that when you order Chinese food, you should ask for one entree less than the number of people in the group to avoid unwanted leftovers.  Between the four of us, we split Chicken and Broccoli, Hunan Beef, and Sesame Chicken.  Even with only 3 entrees, we each got a second helping and our dessert of fortune cookies, and there were NO leftovers.

So how can employees consider rules of thumb during open enrollment season?  Continue reading “Thumbs Up to the Rules of Thumb”

What It Takes to Have a Winning Benefits Communications Plan for Your Employees

October 25, 2011

Congratulations to the most recent PSCA Signature Award Winners for 2011!  The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA) announced the winners of their Signature Awards at a special presentation at its 64th Annual National Conference at The Mirage in Las Vegas last month, to honor excellence in plan communication and education.  This year, the Signature Award judges recognized 48 winners in 18 categories, based on how companies design, manage, and provide defined contribution communication and investment education to plan participants.  Signature Award judges carefully review how effective the campaign was at achieving its goals and I’m proud to say that 3 employers that I have worked closely with over the past few years, were recognized as 2011 Signature Award Winners. Continue reading “What It Takes to Have a Winning Benefits Communications Plan for Your Employees”

An Unconventional Q&A Session with a Financial Planner

August 19, 2011

If you have read more than two of my blogs, you probably already know that while I take your financial lives pretty seriously, I don’t take myself seriously.  At all.  So, in the spirit of having a little bit of fun with this (it’s summer after all), and answering some REAL questions that I’ve been asked over the last few years, here’s a little “unconventional financial education” Q&A session: Continue reading “An Unconventional Q&A Session with a Financial Planner”

Why I Love My Whole Life Policy

August 15, 2011

Whole life insurance has a bad reputation.  It isn’t perfect but then again it wasn’t ever meant to be.  When used for the right purpose, however, it can fit perfectly into a financial plan when there is a need for life insurance.  You hear a lot of talk about the negative aspects of whole life and what it doesn’t do such as: Continue reading “Why I Love My Whole Life Policy”