USA Debt Hockey

 

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A Change of Heart

 

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Practical Reality

 

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IQ Points I Can't Afford to Lose...

 

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Dunkin Needs Dough

 

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Yin-Yang 2020

 

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Risk: An Interesting Definition

 

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Housing Prices in the 1980s...

 

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Free 4 Everyone!

 

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World Financial Planning Day – Top 5 Reasons You Should Work with A Financial Planner

In honor of World Financial Planning Day earlier this month (10/7), I wanted to take some time to shine a little bit of love on myself and my fellow financial planners by sharing some information on what we do.

Didn’t know there was a World Financial Planning Day? That’s alright – that’s why you’ve got me! 

World Financial Planning day is a great time to raise public awareness about the value of financial planning. Everyone has financial dreams, and a financial plan can increase your probability of achieving your most important goals. The best way to get started is (naturally) to reach out to a financial planner.

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, I want to share my top 5 reasons why you should work with a CFP® professional:

1. Experience and passion. CFP® professionals will share their experience and passion for building financial plans and guide you along the path toward your dreams. 
2. Consistent support. A CFP® professional will provide consistent support through regular meetings, advice, and a solid financial plan. 
3. Fiduciary duty. A CFP® professional has the fiduciary duty to be by your side. They are required to act in your best interest.
4. Strategies for success. Got a big financial goal? A CFP® professional can help you develop strategies with achievable milestones and timelines. 
5. Clear, effective advice. When it comes to big life changes—buying a house, adopting a child, an inheritance—you can rely on a CFP® professional for clarity and recommendations that will save you money.

A CFP® professional like myself can help you create or adapt a financial plan to incorporate your or your child’s education goals. Check out a blog post authored by my fellow CFP® professional here for more details. 

And if you have any questions, contact me. As Certified Financial Planner Ambassador of the state of Oklahoma, I am happy to give you answers straight from the horse’s mouth! 

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Inspiring Story

 

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Physics v Biology

 

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Precision isn't Everything...

 

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Small Print

 

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Political Perspectives

 

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Interest Rates

 

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Racism Reframe

 

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Vicious Cycle

 

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Post-Covid Spending

 

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Man v. Nature

 

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Probabilities

 

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Medicare Tune-Up

 

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Our Favorite Words

 

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Human Energy Fun Fact

 

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We Are What We Think We Are

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Social Security Fun Facts!

Nature's Invitation

Race to A Vaccine

Like all of us, I'd love to have a vaccine tomorrow. But we need to be responsible and not rush things. After all: it's better to be safe than sorry.

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Defining Freedom

Busting Phone Scammers

300 Laughs A Day

Recently I heard a statistic that stated that the average child laughs 300 times per day, while the average adult only laughs 7 times.  

Federal Support Calendar

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Stock Market v Economy

The Rise of the Machines

Positives of Covid-19

How to Win Every Time

Last night I watched the movie “Patch Adams” 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.    

Oil & Labor

Juneteenth Thought for the Day...

New Normal

Life Haiku

A Covid-19 Perspective

The following is from a non-profit called Bushenyi Alliance for Rural Health & Development. The group was started in Tulsa by a client, and it works on helping Ugandans get healthcare, education, and public improvement of local infrastructures. Click on the link above to check out their site and learn more about it. Though small, it’s an amazing group! 

Recently they shared an interesting bit of context regarding Covid-19: 

Thank You, S.E.C.

Oklahoma: America's Heartland

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Good, Fast, Cheap...

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Statistic or Tragedy?

True American

Yesterday I was having a conversation with a 31-year employee of a locally-owned service business. Business is good, and they are very financially responsible people. I was talking to him about how it’s often hard to see what's really going on in the economy from our secure bubble. To which he replied: 

“Look, Troy, when I make or win a sale, I create business to bring into the company where men and women in the manufacturing plant take steel and put it in the machines that make equipment that we then sell all around the world. Then those employees take their paychecks home and they buy groceries, make house payments, and move their lives ahead one month at a time. Now what is wrong with that?”

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."  

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're just doing our job."  

Mother Nature's Way

Here is a re-post of a blog I published back in October 2013 that perfectly describes what's going on right now.

So I went to a conference last week in Dallas where financial advisors from around the region gathered to discuss strategies for "High Performing Firms".  I was NOT enthusiastic about being there until Ren Cheng, PhD gave a kooky professor presentation on Systemic Risk.

Prepping for Corona Virus Impact

This piece is an attempt to offer a few practical ideas for how to respond to the coronavirus.  No fancy words, just a list of a few actions one might take:

Band-Aid Fixes to Social Security

I remember a time when I was a young man fresh into my career as a financial planner. The year was 1981, and just like today, the news was on fire with talk of Social Security funds eventually being depleted. But being that I wasn’t anywhere close to retirement age at the time, I didn’t pay any attention. 

I SHOULD have. 

If you’re one of some the 69 million Americans who receive Social Security or SSI benefits, you'll notice some changes in 2020.