Crazy Uncle

On the last day before the end of the Mayan calendar it seems fitting to post a quote I heard yesterday from the movie "Annie Hall".  If ever I have laughed so hard at something metaphorically describing the state of our state I cannot remember.  ENJOY AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Quick--Before Anyone Notices

You know that look you get when you think you have gotten away with something--the sly monkey grin.  That is the visual I had yesterday while reading an article from an "expert" in the retirement income field.  He was referring to the use of annuities and how "the masses" (that's you and me) can help fund one's retirement and that if advisors and customers get smarter the insurance companies won't be able to continue to offer such a good deal. 

Knowledge Does NOT Equal Wisdom

Junot Diaz an MIT Professor and also associated with Harvard recently said--"I teach classes everyday and I can tell you there is absolutely NO correlation between knowledge and wisdom."  Jeff here in our office said, after passing the rigorous mult-year CFP(r) (certified financial planner) program and examination 6 years ago and then coming to work here in our office, that "I didn't know how to DO financial planning.  I had lots of information from the study programs and books but no practical experience or knowledge to apply it in the real world." 

Penguins CAN Fly

Recently I was stuck somewhere waiting with my I-pad and one of my favorite apps--Penultimate.  I had just seen a Discovery Channel film that featured penguins playing in big waves.  My childish rendition is shown here.  Today I received an email from a thought group regarding societal and human development called Spiral Dynamics Integral.  The video below shows a clip of the very same penguins. 

Perpetual Motion and Money Machine

On the way back in the car from a business lunch 4 of us financial planner, husband, father, coach guys were talking about Money and Energy.  Here lately especially with the election coming up and the goings on with Oil and Gas companies here locally there has been no shortage of doom and gloom predictions. 

Mad Moment--Right Reason

I just left a meeting where I was told by concerned parents about their son who just lost his job with a large multinational company.  Apparently the corporate leaders decided, and told him as the state manager, that Christmas bonuses would not be paid.  He argued back and forth but was ultimately told that no bonuses were going to be paid. 


He felt it was so wrong that he paid bonuses to his team out of his own pocket.  Apparently one of the recipients thought their bonus should have been bigger.  After that recipient complained to the home office--my clients' son was fired for violating company policy. 

Smoke, Beer, Pawn--Oh Boy!

Is it just me and I am driving around the "wrong" parts of town or are their really more discount cigarette, liquor stores and pawn shops than ever before here in OKC?  Maybe it is true what my father-in-law used to say--"Invest in liquor stores.  People drink when they're happy and they drink when they are sad."  IF the same is true for cigarettes, and pawn shops are where the money comes from--I guess it all makes sense now.

How to Win Every Time

Last night I watched the movie "Patch Adams" again for probably the 4th time.  This is the one where Robin Williams plays a medical student who gets crosswise with the establishment bureaucrats in the school system with his comedic antics aimed at "treating" patients.   

Okie Goes to France

Leaving Wednesday for France for two weeks vacation!!  Last night I was asked by a farm girl in her 80's to be sure and let her know what they are growing over there and what people really think about their new Prime Minister.  Since we are getting to stay in a small town with long-time friends it will be a great opportunity to see what it is REALLY like in the Euro Zone.  I am hoping for everyone that the news reporters are making "it" out to be much worse than it really is. 

I'll let you know in a couple of weeks...till then Au Revoire (with an Okie accent of course)

Bankrupt Lawyers?

This post has been sitting in draft mode for a few weeks but I still think it is worth mentioning in a meaningless information sort of way.  On May 28th one of the largest law firms in the world filed for bankruptcy.  Dewey and LeBoeff gave it up and turned the pension plans over to the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation with an estimated $80 million dollars underfunded liability. 

Medical Expense or Health Insurance

NOTHING in the recently confirmed "Obama Healthcare Plan", in my opinion, really addresses living a healthy life and enjoying the benefits or consequences of your choices.  Somewhere along the way the reimbursement of MEDICAL Expenses has become known as HEALTH insurance. 

What we have done, I'm afraid, is to systematically

Giving Up the American Dream

I overheard a story yesterday referring to the "American Dream". We all have our own personal opinions about what that might mean but I wonder what it would look like if we considered ALL of the major decisions we make in life as to whether they ADD TO or TAKE AWAY FROM Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Will Work for Fuel

In the spirit of--you just can't make this stuff up--research reports that the lower the price of gasoline the more obese the citizens.  It also mentioned that you should know it is not as simple as saying we have 7 billion mouths to feed but the flesh of 7 billion people of varying sizes instead. 

If the world average was the same as the USA it would be the equivalent of adding another billiion people on the planet. 

I'm Shocked!!! (not)

Well here it is--another darling ginormous Wall Street firm often referred to as the expert and implied that they know something "we" (the regular folks) don't. Oh--JP Morgan is the bank to which I am referring of course.

We run a small business here in OKC and sometimes things don't go as planned and also some things go on that I did not fully understand at the time but am fully responsible for. It is totally believable that this could happen on a monster scale at a company like JP Morgan. It also points out a few issues worth noting:

1) Large banks have massive product manufacturing facilities that require significant profits from transactions
generated to slice up the economic carrot.
2) Government will use any error in judgement as an example as to how they (the government) can do it better and protect the public.
3) Small firms and banks are risking their clients and their own money where Large Banks are risking "OTHER
PEOPLES MONEY" (namely yours and mine as shareholders, depositors, and taxpayers)
4) If you take a carrot--slice it into as many pieces as you want it is STILL no bigger than what you started with--only much harder to put back together if need be.

It blows me away that there is even an argument in Washington about whether people who say they are financial advisors or financial planners should be held to a higher standard than a "buyer beware" one that the brokerage and banking industry is subject to. Oh well--there goes some of that money we keep sending to these giant financial services companies back in to the pockets of the regulators (generous label) and politicians.

How can we get alignment between the needs of the people, the financial system, and government?

Won't Be As Bad As It Looks

On a call this week with a friend and expert on what is referred to as "Peak Oil", he slid in a comment that made me chuckle.  "It looks bleak right now based on everything we can know but it likely won't be as bad as it looks."  I guess after seeing much of the information put out on this topic you could classify my chuckle as nervous relief. (see picture insert) 
Oh yeah--did I mention Chesapeake Energy also announced today an SEC investigation and several shareholder lawsuits?  Yuck. 

Brilliant Exclamations

Driving to work this morning, I said hello to the first Bald Eagle I have ever seen in the wild.  The magnificent raptor was flying low headed south along the North Canadian River near Lake Overholser.  It looked just like the picture with the sun shining on its' white head and tail just after sunrise.

You know of course my brilliant exclamation was something like--"WOW!! look at that!"  

Solar Future is Sunny

Recently we decided to check into the rumors that solar panels had gone down in price significantly.  We had a company come out and give us a quote for a grid tied solar array.  I am sure of two things--

1)  Sales tactics are rampant.  2) The story is compelling and worth looking into.  

Below are my notes from a class I attended last Thursday at OSU OKC.  Solar panels are in my future.  Could they be in yours? 

Have I Got a Deal for You?

Below is a copy of a solicitation we are prone to get from product vendors marketing to "financial planners."  This is just one of many we receive everyday trying to get us to SELL products to our clients.  Annuities, mutual funds, viatical settlements, retirement plans and insurance are the most common "...hottest but less known investments..."  we see.  Most often these "hottest ...investments..." are based upon concepts that we use, but have been turned into something iffy. 

This "...savvy Financial Planner..." thought people with whom he works would like to see WHY some people who call themselves financial planners might recommend a product like this.  Consumers come across these ads in newspapers, internet, radio and TV.  Like Paul Harvey used to say here is "The rest of the story."

How Low Can It Go?

I was reading an article last week about Natural Gas saying it was at $2.50 but by the time it was published (a weekly subscription) the price was at $2.12.  Today the price is $2.07.  One year ago the price was $5. In 2008 it was $10.

The term "Savvy Investors" must be the new way to make people think there is some secret out there that only a few people know about.  Numerous headlines and advertisements use this term about the current levels of Natural Gas. 

Any Oklahoma business has HUGE risk associated with the Oil and Gas business.  If you work directly in the business even more.  Consequently we are more interested in how to diversify that risk than to speculate farther. 

Just Doing Our Job Ma'am

Recently we got a call from a client who just lost her job. She was telling us how much she appreciated being in the position she was, due in part because of work we had done over a year ago when her job seemed secure.  This is a common comment to which we always say the same thing--"That's just financial planning and we were just doing our job." 

She had received an inheritance and was wanting to review her families' overall situation in this new context.  One of the first things we did was to pay off ALL their debts including the house.  That along with a cash reserve account helped make the job loss way less scary.  She has now replaced her job in part, she says, due to her calm confidence, and I think the good work ethic which put her here in the first place.

Saturday I was talking to a banker on the golf course where he asked me about another "financial advisor".  He was impressed (not positively) about this person's focus on themselves and their needs rather than the needs of the client.  His perception of the "financial advisor" was of a salesperson not an advisor.  Knowing the person to whom he referred, it did not surprise me.  However,  I wonder what they might mean by "just doing our job"?

$1,000 Toilet

This falls into the category of--You just can't make this stuff up!  Last week on a call with a sweet couple from out of town they reported a large (in their opinion) expenditure of note. 

It seems there commode was in need of replacing and therein lies the story. 

Change BEFORE You Have To

There is an article in our newsletter this month talking about retirement planning and how easy it is to think planning for 'it" is a long way away and there is plenty of time to deal with it.  This "there is plenty of time to deal with it" mentality is prevalent in our culture and is probably a basic human characteristic. 

Smart Hours from OGE is an example of a tool to help each of us take action now rather than wait until the brown-outs occur or costs are so high we can't manage them.  Here is the link to the website and a graph describing the cost of electrical power.  http://www.ogepet.com/programs/smarthours.aspx

What do you know and How do you know it?

On the way in to the office this morning there was a piece on the radio about Florida turning down $400 million dollars of Federal money because it was associated with the healthcare reform act which Florida believes is unconstitutional.  Now that is putting your money where your mouth is--go Florida.

As normal, there was quite a debate about healthcare reform, which got me to wondering.  I know for me GIGANTIC issues - such as healthcare, legal, and tax reform, and the effects of globalization - are hard to keep up with and yet there are many "experts" who claim to know what I should be doing and thinking.   

They Were There When We Needed Them

Yesterday morning I walked into the conference room to meet with Karen in our office.  On the table was a box of tissue left there from a meeting the day before.

It reminded me of something I read recently about the value of ongoing financial planning where a client was reported to have said --"They were there when we needed them."  The family meeting where the tissues were needed was such a case.

Uganda B. Kenya

My now deceased brother was fond of saying "Uganda B. Kenya" as a replacement for you gotta be kidding me.  Well some things have a way of sticking in one's brain and this has for me.  Jeff in the office next to me told me about a new Department of Labor (DOL) initiative where my brother's saying was invoked. 

Jeff mentioned that the DOL was hiring 1000 new employees to audit company sponsored retirement plans.  The reason for the new hires is because previous audits have produced $1,000,000,000 (that's one billion) in fines (that is revenue to the government).  The average fine was $450,000.  One conclusion was that there were only a couple of bad guys and that most errors were of an administrative nature. 

Never Say Never

Sometimes life has a way of making a liar out of us.  Last week, while meeting with a client (age 78) that I've worked with since 1982, I was told the mother-in-law (age 94) was living with them again.  Well, for some people that might sound normal, but for them it was INSANE (based upon their earlier life experiences that is).

I'm talking about people who had tried this before and wished bad things upon each other until the mother-in-law moved out several years back.  Now, however, it felt very different. 

Say What???

Yesterday morning me and the boys went out for breakfast cafeteria style.  Just after sitting down I overheard a conversation from a customer to the store manager.  I don't know how old the customer was (not elderly in my book) but he said something like this.  "...let's just hope the economy continues to improve.  Although it doesn't really matter to me since I am retired.  I get to sleep late and play golf.  You guys will get there someday." Commenting on his points one-by-one:

Unintended Compliment

Today a real estate appraiser told me a story about a conversation he had recently with an unhappy homeowner (HO).
  The HO was trying to borrow money from his house after doing some improvements and consequently the lender asked for an appraisal.  Apparently the appraisal was not as high as the HO wanted and so he called the appraiser to inquire.  (For an experienced appraiser in a flat to down market I am sure he is used to a call like this.) 

  After clarification was complete, very early on supposedly, the HO devolved into a personal attack including this comment which is the UNINTENDED COMPLIMENT--"Well I guess that is why I have a house like this and you drive a car like that."