'The Trusted Family Advisor’

55) The Trusted Family Advisor

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ow does one, especially a woman, choose the right Financial Planner?

            Firstly, what is financial planning?

            Financial Planning is the effective management of financial resources to achieve life goals.

            What is a Financial Planner?

            A professional in a vocation involving specialized knowledge & skills used to provide disinterested counsel and service for compensation without expectation of other business gain.

            A Financial Planner may be trained in a variety of personal finance topics ranging from daily financial management to long-term financial planning.  These topics can include goal-setting & prioritizing, values assessments, budgeting (what you spend on), cash flow management (when you spend), banking & bill-paying, credit management, and tax management, to insurance management, home purchasing, education planning, retirement planning, investing, estate planning, and specialty areas, such as planning for same-sex couples or divorce.

            The CFP (Certified Financial Planner) is often the professional designation of choice.  It covers a wider range of topics than any other financial professional, with the possible exceptions of the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) or a CPA who holds the AICPA's Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation.  There are other designations out there, but they are usually related to a single specialized area.

            A Certified Financial Planner holds a certificate from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.  To attain this designation, the professional must satisfy education & ethics requirements, have passed a long, comprehensive competency exam in a variety of topics and have had three years of experience.  They are then governed by a Code of Ethics, a Code of Practice Standards, and a Code of Professional Conduct.

            A disclosed CFP Practitioner practices the 6-Step Financial Planning Process:

            1. Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship.

            2. Gathering client data, including goals.

            3. Analyzing and evaluating your financial status.

            4. Developing and presenting financial planning recommendations and/or alternatives.

            5. Implementing the financial planning recommendations.

            6. Monitoring the financial planning recommendations.

            All of this is separate and above from licenses and registrations for managing/brokering investments and/or insurance, preparing taxes, practicing law, etc. and other specialized designations such as for divorce financial planning.

            A CFP Practitioner (vs. a CFP) will be one of the best persons you will ever know since they are usually intelligent, articulate, educated, practiced at teaching, and they like to help people, and adhere to high personal moral integrity.  They are not all about making money for themselves, although they like to earn a decent living and be in control of their own lives.

            The biggest issues that women face relate to their historic non-involvement with money.

            If you think about this, it’s ludicrous.

            Women live longer than men, often marry someone older, and already control more than have of the money in the US.

            They have always had to provide for children (and now, parents), and have always managed the household, making them excellent multitaskers, budgeters, and savers.

            But it's been the man's purview to have a team of financial professionals, including accountants, attorneys, bankers, insurance agents, and investment brokers.

            Men like to confidently take action, often ignorantly and without advice, and they often practice, 'Ready FIRE, Aim'.

            Most financial professionals are men and most financial decision-makers have been men.  If a man and a woman visit their advisor together, studies show that the professional spends the majority of the time speaking to the man.  The man will 'take care of the little lady who should concern herself with such things’.  This just pisses women off and they usually find a new advisor when their man is no longer in the picture.

            Therefore, a woman will want to choose a planner who is referred and/or whom she has checked out by hearing them speak (e.g. live, TV, radio, writing).  She will check their credentials.  She will meet with him/her to feel comfortable and heard.  The planner should be professional, willing to explain things again, and again, until she feels comfortable with the answers to her questions and the advice.  The planner needs to be patient, understanding and have a good bedside manner.  A woman will develop trust for the planner and be involved.  And the planner will be responsive.

            In my office, we appreciate delegation, not abdication; we fire clients who abdicate responsibility and involvement.  And we place particular emphasis on education and security.

            We like to teach, women like to learn.  Women have different goals and values than men.  Women like to make a plan, and patiently stick to it.  Women integrate, men categorize; women ask for help.  Women are loyal and send referrals.

            In her book 'Next: Trends for the Near Future', Marion Salzman, a Young & Rubicam Global Brands Manager observed that people are spending more and more time with like-minded individuals.  This ranged from who their friends were, the activities in which they participated, with whom they do business, and even where they live, moving to be closer to those who share their values and interests.

            The right planner may be more loyal, communicative, respectful, and true, than a husband.

            Who's your Trusted Family Advisor?

www.WomenAndMoney.TV

'Motivated by Goals, Not Fears'

54)  Motivated by Goals, Not Fears

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hat a shame to be motivated by fear - except, maybe, when safety’s at stake.

With the New Year, it's time to remember to set goals, and let them be your motivators.

You need to review your goals daily.  Maybe post a photo or display a toy or something that reminds you.

Also, use affirmations in the present tense that state the goal as already having been achieved.  This will help program your subconscious, or at least, help to manage expectations.

You must believe!

Goals can be achieved one step at a time.  Sort of, like how you eat an elephant - one bite at a time.  Or how a journey begins - by putting one foot in front of the other.

In WWII, MBO was developed - Management by Objectives.

For instance, if the goal was to recapture Paris, then the objectives were to first capture Hill 319, then Hill 320, etc.

So objectives are the step-by-step actions you take to systematically pursue your goal.

This calls for a plan - a financial plan.  Then you know what your goals and objectives are, what the time frame is, your risk tolerance, your liquidity needs (emergency plan), and other details.

Just like a jigsaw puzzle of your life, you start by framing the picture.  Then you start to fill in certain sections, such as credit, taxes, investments, insurance.  Eventually the picture starts to take shape.

And each piece has its place, so you don't want to jam it in where it doesn't belong.  This also means that, sometimes, you have to walk away and take a break.  You don't always want to plan without finally acting.

So what's your picture look like?  What's your plan?

            

www.WomenAndMoney.TV

'Death, Blood & Bloodshed (i.e. Family Holidays)'

53)  Death, Blood & Bloodshed (i.e. Family Holidays)

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he Palestinians and Israelis were at it again Congress is too.  It's like two children who disturb the holiday dinner table.  People are pushing others to their death in front of NYC subways.  People are shooting schoolchildren and police officers.  People are burning churches.

            And then there are family gatherings for the holidays...

            Distant strangers feed the victims of Hurricane Sandy and help rebuild their homes.  Others are clothing and sheltering the homeless.

            It really starts with basic respect for one another.  It involves common sense.  And, hopefully, eventually, respect for one's self.

            Nothing can evolve without respect, not the Earth, Humankind, society or personal relationships.

            Whether it's for your family, who deserve the most respect, an entire people, your neighbors, coworkers, clients, the President of the United States, a senior fraternity Brother, a clerk or waitperson, it starts with respect.

            The world was reborn on 12/22/12; in this new time, new year, will you lead and follow with respect?

            Happy New World!

           

www.WomenAndMoney.TV

 

Chicken Little 2.0

52)  'Chicken Little 2.0'

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he world ends later today; I’m not sure if it’s US Eastern Daylight Savings Tme or not.  If you're in Australia, it may have already happened.

            I know because Chicken Little told me.  Not to mention, it's the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the planets are aligning with the Milky Way, the Sun has started its 11 year storm cycle, we're late for the 6th extinction, Planet Nibiru is going to collide with us, the Poles are reversing, it's the Winter Solstice, the date is all ones and twos (i.e. 12/21/12), there was Super Storm Sandy, people are going crazy and killing children, and the Mayan Calendar ends today!

            WHAT'S A WOMAN TO DO?!!

            If I commanded the Starship Enterprise, I could go to Talos IV, and live any dream I had.  Or, I could visit Mr. Atoz and get processed so that I could step through the Atavacron to a historical period and live out my days in the past, where they all speak English.

            But, we all know that we don't space travel - yet.  (Plans are being discussed for one of the next times the world ends.)

            Financial planning is about the future, but it starts with preventing stepping backwards.  This is risk management.

            Risk management is:

                        1. Common sense (Not giving anything away yet, not drinking Jonestown Kool Aid, or spending all of your savings or credit)

                        2. Dealing with emergencies

                        3. Having emergency savings (which can double as an opportunity fund)

                        3. Credit availability (to supplement cash, or travel - actual or virtual)

                        4. Insurance (transference of catastrophic risks to others)

            I'm prepared; are you?

            If I'm wrong, I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow; maybe I'll do the laundry or I'll watch Star Trek, eat a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli with a Pepsi, and nap, or finally holiday shop.

            Are you managing your risks?  Or ignoring them?  Are you managing your money or is it managing you? Have you been processed for the Atavacron?  What have you planned for tomorrow? 

            (Please don’t call today; I’m having my end of the world cocktail at noon - that’s when it’s midnight in Australia.) 

           

www.WomenAndMoney.TV

 

 

 

 

'I SING the Body Eclectic’

51) I SING the Body Eclectic

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alt Whitman wrote 'I SING the Body Electric'.  I write of the 'Body-Mind, Spirit' connection.

            People are different; people are the same.  Everywhere.

            People are normal, 'people are strange' (The Doors)

            There are good people, and bad people.  We have differing geography bodies, clothes, foods, cultures, holidays, music, religion, even values, but throughout history, people are the same.  (Unfortunately, little human social evolution seems to have transpired, and it's still a concern, although we do make slower-than-glacial progress.)

            New York City is a Mixing Bowl; Denver is a Melting Pot.  And more than half of the world now lives in cities.  The top six are in the East or Far East (as are 18 of the top 27 - 2/3!)  NYC and LA are the only US cities; five continents are covered), so it’s also smart to make friends!

            Celebrate diversity.  There's too much intolerance.  Variety is the spice of life.  Diversification spells safety.  It will also protect your investments.

            The Silk Road connected East and West; the spice trade (commerce) led to the 'discovery' of the New World.  The Vikings connected northern and southern Europe.  The world shrunk.

            Change and evolution spell survival, even if outside your comfort zone.

            In life, you can't always pick and choose what you want (but sometimes you get what you need - The Rolling Stones).

            Inevitably, bad comes with good, light with dark, man with woman, winning with losing, and life with death.  Even spies try to even it out with the rule 'one of us, one of them'.  Therefore, whether it's nature or intellect, diversity and opposites co-exist.  In addition, commerce and investment are often the starting point for the evolution of civilization.

            Like it or not, recognize it; ultimately, I hope you accept it.  It's a Universal Rule.

            People must come together to survive, just like after 9/11, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the Haitian earthquake of 2010, Super Storm Sandy, the lighting of the Menorah, and the Three Wise Men under the stars!

            Even stars and planets come together!  (Friday the planets align, concurrent with the Winter Solstice and the end of the Mayan Calendar!)

            Are you diversified?  Are you evolving?  Are you investing in your future?

            

www.WomenAndMoney.TV

'Respect'

50) Respect

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ing it: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T".

             Affecting one's life starts with respect.

             Without, there may be no life, a short life or death.

            Lack of respect ends in homelessness, unemployment, fights, crying, depression, anxiety, divorce, split families, unhappiness, crime, murder, bloodshed, war, and death.  Look at the Middle East or the homeless or the seaside victims of Hurricane Sandy.  How about holding doors for others, not cutting lines, not cutting others off in your car.  Look at your family-filled holiday table;  how much tsouris, crying, fighting, unhappiness, and anxiety is there?

            Respect for one's health helps birth a baby.  Respect for the elements & food grow a child or keeps an adult healthier.  Respect for knowledge aids survival and teaches life skills.  Respect for others allows people to work and live together, improving quality of life and longevity.

            Respect for numbers allows families to grow, homes to be built, crops to be planted, businesses and finances to be managed, money to be counted, saved and invested.  It allows life plans to be made.  Farming & agriculture, business & trade, civilization & space travel all spawn from respect.

            If you show disrespect for others, or nature, or numbers, you may suffer.  You may have no home, food, income, clothes, savings, friends, family or life.

            Respect is basic.  Have respect.  Have respect for yourself, for others, nature, and numbers.

            John Donne said, "No (wo)man is an island".  Are you? 

            

www.WomenAndMoney.TV

'Numerology’

49)  Numerology

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eligions have sacred numbers, mathematicians play with numbers, individuals bet on numbers.  (But 'Holy Rollers', in American English, refers to Pentecostal Christian churchgoers!)  This Financial Planners also interprets the numbers...

            December will offer us the date 12/12/12.  Numerologically, this will be very similar to 12/21/12, except for the slight change in order of the numbers, and of course, the end of the world on the later.

            One's represent the 'male' vibration: individuality, standing alone, leadership, power, and dominance.

            Two's represent the 'female' vibration: partnerships, relationships, intuition, compromise, and working together

            So many ones and so many twos, at first glance, could make for an interesting day.  In addition (pun!), there are the same number of ones and twos.

            However, we must look deeper.

            Speaking of addition, in numerology we use the full date (i.e. 2012), not just 12.  That makes the date 12/12/2012.  (That makes more twos; is this the lesson?)

            Then, we must add the digits, again, and again, until we can reduce them to a single digit:

            1+2 + 1+2 + 2+0+1+2  = 11;

            1 + 1 = 2.

            So, the day adds up to a two: partnerships.

            However, 11 is also a 'Master' number, in its own right, so expect magical things.

            Therefore, along the lines of basic algebra: 'if A = B, and B = C, then A = C', numbers are math, numbers are magic, so math is magic.

            That's why you need a financial planner: to work magic and pair the two: numbers and money.

            Numbers seem inflexible; the laws state that one plus one equals two.  But, sometimes, like birth, one plus one can equal three (or more)!  In addition (pun!), money, a medium of exchange subject to math, has to be used to plan a flexible life.

            Is your life magic?

            Financial Planners are magic, although they can't always work magic; they need your help.

            Who's your financial planner?

           

www.WomenAndMoney.TV