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! 

** All written content is for information purposes only. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources. No representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness.  All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. ** 

Crypto Legitimacy?

Most investment managers and financial planners avoid bitcoins as an investment or a currency, for a few reasons. 

IRS--Here To Help

We have all heard the old saying--"Hi I'm from the IRS and I'm here to help."  To me this represents a situation to which the response usually goes something like--"Yeah right."  Well this morning that exact scenario played out with the Social Security Administration for a widow filing for benefits.  

This family have been clients for many years and fortunately for the widow we had already run her Social Security projections.  This dedicated software program is designed to help decide which option to choose and is especially helpful in unusual situations.

Fork In The Road

At a recent conference in Nashville, Ed, a therapist, asked if i would drive him up the road to pick up some medication he needed since he left it at home.  Ed and I go a ways back and he is one of those people who is chock-full of intelligent humor and sweet and meaningful anecdotes.  Hence, the rest of the story about the Yogi Berra saying.  

The Wealth of a Nation

Adam Smith is often referred to as the father of modern capitalist economics. He was known to have said--"the decisions of individual owners to use their capital for their own gain, and of purchasers to buy for their own interests, would somehow be guided by an "invisible hand" to produce the greatest overall prosperity of society."
That was back in the day when money represented HUMAN productivity.  Needless to say our world financial systems have diverged from such a practical  measure.  Below is a clip from a piece that struck me as interesting, challenging and on some level bothersome.

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

 Jim Rhone is an old school motivational speaker who talked about life in the seasons of a farmer.  In the winter you prepare for summer and in the summer you "make hay while the sun shines".  The hay is for putting back for times when the harvest is non-existent or less bountiful.  Certainly now, in Oklahoma at least,  we have bountiful supplies of water and it might be a great time to re-visit the "Comprehensive Water Plan" created a couple of years ago by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. 
In contrast this morning at breakfast an attorney mentioned having just attended a seminar on WATER RIGHTS.  

How To Easily Pay Down Debt

Whether in the global economy or your personal economy the picture shown here is true.  We as Certified Financial Planner Practitioners (tm) are regularly asked to make recommendations regarding college savings.  We also see student debt as liabilities for some clients years after entering the workplace.  It occurred to me how college debt could be compared to government debt as an example of how income growth makes paying down debt SO much easier.

Whose Money Is It Anyway?

In the past few years Credit Unions have offered interest rates on savings that are quite compelling.  HOWEVER,  hoops abound through which one must jump in order to achieve these higher rates.  Below is an annual notice regarding some of the hoops and "costs" of the good interest rate shell game  

Lipstick on a Pig

Two stories recently have converged to make me wonder about a couple of the biggest financial decisions people make.  This morning CNBC reported that 4 of the worst cars in crash tests were Jeep and Dodge. (Chrysler/Fiat products)  The reporter went on to say that in the last few years the Jeep specifically was reported as unreliable, had poor owner satisfaction, and bad crash tests BUT--sales are up 21% in the past year due to pretty design.  

Last week a local builder told me about a neighborhood, in which they are building, where the smaller more energy efficient homes are not selling nearly as well as the larger less efficient but "fancier" ones.  Hence his motivation to build more of the latter rather than the former. (BTW--the builder has a more efficiently built home for his personal use.)  

Years ago I considered building a house but only wanted it to be on the smaller size allowed for the area. After meeting with an architect and building designer it became clear that the only way to make the project make sense on a COST PER FOOT basis was to build a multi-level house with more "cheap" square footage to average down the cost.  For me the project never made sense and so it never happened.  

Maybe I just don't get it OR maybe the explanation resides in another report recently showing that the sales of SPIRITS are up dramatically in the past few years.  That along with the burgeoning business of marijuana and SHAZAM--it's starting to make sense;-)

You know the age old FRAM oil filter commercial--"pay me now or pay me later"--it certainly applies to housing and vehicles in today's world.

What's Your Motivation?

In January ATT--the original Ma Bell--lowered their expected return on pension fund assets to 4.3% from a previous 5%.  They also increased life expectancy for retirees to accommodate current longevity trends.  RESULT--over $8 Billion dollar charge to their financial statements for the increased cost in funding the pension plan.  (BTW--Auntie is 105 and has been on an ATT pension since she was 55.)  

Below is a clip from the most recent valuation of the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System Pension Plan (OTRS):

BB King Plan

About 10 years ago I had the privilege of getting to see BB King from the 4th row center of the Oklahoma City Civic Center.  WOW--you can pick up a lot from being that close.  Here are a few of my vivid memories on this day celebrating the life of a legend who passed yesterday at age 89.

Upside Down Oil Wells

Every now and then you see a simple picture that fills in a lot of blanks.  The link below is a graphic representation of how North Dakota would look if the oil wells ACTUALLY drilled in the state were above ground instead of below.  

Makes me wonder what the plan is when the wells are fully depleted. Otherwise it is quite an impressive visual of what is below the ground.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/24/upshot/nd-oil-well-illustration.html

Interest--ing Global Bond Yields

• In the first transactions of this kind, BoJ purchased Japanese government bonds (JGBs) from banks at a negative interest rate.

• Earlier Thursday, the yield on Germany's two-year bond actually went negative, touching -0.004%. In other words, investors are effectively paying the German government to hold their money.

• The yield on the 5 year TIP (US treasury inflation protected security) on 10-22-14 was -.04%.

• At its September 30th meeting, the Reserve Bank of India left the repo rate on hold at 8 percent, waiting for more evidence that inflation rate is slowing. 

Three of the top 5 economies in world have recently had bonds with negative yields.  This is more like the days of old when people were charged DEMURRAGE fees for storing their excess crops--which would equate to savings and investments today.  It was also at this time when some of the most fantastic European buildings were built and which continue to create value to the local communities hundreds of years later.

I wonder what these long term projects would look like in today's quarter-to-quarter markets?

 

Risk Management Takedown

When I was growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma championship wrestling was quite a source of entertainment.  Gorgeous George, pictured at right, was one of my favorites along with characters like Haystack Calhoun of course;-)  What does this have to do with Risk Management you ask?  Well some things never change like wrestling AND insurance companies ability to turn a risk management issue into a product to sell to the public.

Better Than "FEE ONLY"

"As I live and breathe."  an exclamation my grandmother was known for when frustrated by something that seemed petty or ridiculous.  Well that is where I am with the BRANDING known as "FEE ONLY" in the financial planning world.  The organization in the picture above started based upon a single purpose to register people whose only source of compensation for financial planning services was fees.  Their ranks have swollen (tongue-in-cheek) to a whopping 
2,400 members but it is amazing the impact they have had on the media.

Corporate Profits Don't Equal Jobs

I just saw this graph from a regular publication I receive and thought it was very interesting and might explain why so many people aren't as excited about the stock market and economy as the financial cable tv guys seem to be.