Security:Simple Keys

to Reach FinancialSimple Keys

to Reach Financial

Security:Okay, tell the truth. How much storage space do you have clear and free in your home?Very little, right?It’s simply part of the human condition that the junk in our homes expands

and multiplies to fill all available space. Office drawers over-flow with unusedkeys, broken pencils and dried-out markers. Closets bulge with clothes you haven’tworn since the Beatles landed in America. Garages are so obstructed and clutteredthat the main thing they were built for -- your car -- has found a permanent homeoutside on the driveway or street.

The same principle applies to our finances.Very, very rarely is our personal income enough -- not because the dollars are

insufficient to cover the need but because the clutter in our lives has consumed allof our financial breathing room and left us with no dollars to support meaningfulinvestment!

“Oh,” you think, “so this article is about doing without, about turning off lightsand eating out less, scrimping and sacrificing in order to build a nest-egg!”

No. This article focuses on the big stuff, the major common-sense issues, thestupid DUH! sinkholes that we know to avoid and yet ALL of us occasionallystumble into. These are things you do and slap yourself, moaning aloud, “What adope! Why do I do this?”

So here they are -- the big habits that rob us of our quality of life both nowand in the future:

Don’t loan money to relatives or friends. In 2000, the federal governmentwas actively garnishing the Social Security payments to six -- that’s right,

“six” -- American seniors because of delinquent student loans. As of April, 2013,

Vital Issuesfor You to Consider:uu What Is “Lifestyle

Investing,” and Should It Be Important to You?

uu Plan Now (!!!) for College Costs!

uu NOT a Good Investment Strategy!

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Second Quarter, 2014

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that number had surged from six to115,000! WHOA! According to Timemagazine, Americans age 60+ in 2012owed $36 BILLION in student loans.

Do not loan money to relatives andfriends. Do not co-sign for the debts ofothers. Do not take out student loanson behalf of your grandchildren. It’snot good for you and, in the long run,it’s not a wise decision for your friendsor relatives either.

Understand your budget! If youread that and ask yourself, “What

budget?” then ask the nearest personto kick you really hard. A budget is notabout what you spend; it’s about whatyou should not spend. Understand this:our national economy thrives on peoplewho confuse their needs with theirwants. If you understand that youNEED to set aside a portion first forinvestment purposes, then your budgetmay define a bigger SUV or dinnerevery week at the Outback as a WANT.Buy a lot of those wants now, and youwon’t be able to buy needs later. It’sthat simple.

Don’t gamble! It’s amazinghow the smallest opportunity for

easy gain deludes us. Whereas veryfew people would play cards when thedealer is known to stack the deckagainst you, people will rush to casinosin full knowledge, presumably, that the

odds are stacked so that the casinokeeps at least 15%. Otherwise, thecasino would fail. Lotteries work onthe same principle. If you want theodds stacked in your favor, walk rightpast the casino or lottery outlet andinvest in your retirement plan.

Plan for setbacks! If you everestablish a list of absolute

truths, that is statements that are truefor 100% of all human beings all of thetime, this would be near the top: “It’salways something!”

If you don’t plan on unexpecteddetours, distractions and disasters,you’ll never reach your destination inone piece. Planning on a highly liquidreserve fund for emergency needs isjust this: “responsible.”

Don’t consider DIY investing a“plan”! Yes, yes, it’s true. On

the front cover of almost every Moneymagazine is a handsome couple whohave become extremely rich through a“do-it-yourself” (DIY) investmentplan. But remember is this: on thefront of every Cosmopolitan or Elle isthe Photoshopped picture of a beautifulmodel; so what are the chances of youever looking like that?

DIY retirement planning exposesyou to potential losses which simply

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Financial Security:#4

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a GoodInvestment Strategy!

a Good Investment Strategy!NOTNOT

A whopping 68% of taxpayers prefer tohave MORE withheld from their paychecks

in order to receive a larger refund when they file their returns.

A large tax refund is, very simply,Uncle Sam’s paying back to you theamount you loaned him, tax-free andinterest-free, out of your week-by-week paycheck all year long. It is alsoprobably a good indication that youare not planning carefully.If you are getting a big tax refundthis year, why not call and let us helpyou redirect those dollars to work foryou and not for your rich uncle.

Source: White, Martha. “This Simple TaxError Is Costing You $2,800!” Time magazine.business.time.com. 2/3/2014

“I’ll take a bullet for you, Bobby,but I won’t loan you money.”

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Old: Reach the Target NumberA lot of old-fashioned “financial

planning” consisted of sloggingthrough a long list of questions to finda target number, defining to the dollarhow much money you might needwhen you reach your “retirement age.”Then your “agent” would put togethera “plan” to help you reach that number,buy the right financial products, set thesystem on auto-pilot, and he or shecould walk out of your life.

New: Earn All You Can!The old fashioned auto-pilot plan

eventually gave way to the era ofhands-on investment planners, wellschooled in finance and working onyour behalf to absolutely maximize thevalue of your investments -- againaimed at a comfortable retirement.

Newest: “Lifestyle Investing” Lifestyle investing adjusts the

focus from retirement to the investor’squality of life here and now.

Instead of looking for maximumreturn to reach a retirement goal, theinvestor and planner work together tobuild and manage personal income so

the investor gains maximum controlhere and now over his or her personaltime. An increased emphasis is placedupon health issues to assure longevity,and many lifestyle investors take realjoy in “giving back” to the communityin the form of volunteering for socialor environmental causes.

A new wave of lifestyle investorsis emerging through development ofthe Internet. Technology has freedmillions of people from traditionalemployee lifestyles, office cubiclesand fixed business locations.

Sound like a good direction foryou? Call us up, and let’s explore thepossibilities!

Source: “Lifestyle Investing” The UrbanDictionary. urbandictionary.com. 2/14/14

simply accompany abrupt, emotionalinvestment decisions or decisionsmade without a deep understanding ofsuch issues as tax liability, investmentcosts, or the vagaries and possibilitiesof literally hundreds of investmentoptions.

What DIY investors are notgoing to tell you (because they haveno idea) is how much more theycould have earned if they had justbeen open to professional advice.

Here’s the bottom line: we allfall prey to the stupids occasionally,but moving in with the stupids is not

a wise option. Make a move in theright direction. Call us for aneasy introductory meeting or toreview your current financialplan.

Sources: 1) Rowan, Rachel.“Retiree Alert: How to Reduce orStop a Social Security StudentLoan Garnishment” www.Tuition.IO. 4/8/2013 2) Tuttle,Brad. “60 and Still Not Out ofStudent Loan Debt” Time. 4/3/20123) Frum, David. “The Harm thatCasinos Do” CNN/ Opinion. 9/24/134) “Bad Money habits to Break in 2013”DI Institute. thebigretirementrisk.com.

What Is All the Talk about

Lifestyle InvestingWhat Is All the Talk about

Lifestyle InvestingAnd Should It Be Important to You?And Should It Be Important to You?

The High Price ofBad Habits!

The High Price ofBad Habits!If cigarettes cost $5.50 a pack,a pack-a-day habit costs a smoker$165 monthly or nearly $10,000in cash in five years.Want to help a loved one break thehabit? Offer to contribute to an investment account for every weekor month he or she is clear.

5 Simple Keys to ReachFinancial Security:

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Plan Now (!!!)Plan Now (!!!)for College Costs!

American families now owe $1.2 trillion in student loans, ranking secondin the United States only to home-mortgage debt.

Furthermore, the average cost of attending a public four-year college hassoared upward by 73% over ten years, out-stripping the rate of increase forhealth-care services, energy, housing and almost every other commonly heldexpense category.

At many colleges and universities, average tuition costs coupled withroom and board for a university student approaches $60,000 annually --almost the equivalent of the nation’s average household income.

If your family values higher education, you will know as well that allcollege programs are not equal -- that attending the right college can providea universe of contacts and respect that the average college education simplycan’t match.

You need to plan. It will take an effective strategy for you to be able tohelp your children with the costs of higher education. Come on. Call us now.Source: 1) Campbell, Kelly. “How to Balance College Costs with Retirement.” US News& World Report. Yahoo/finance. 2/20/2014 2) Jenkins, Jack. “Real Family Values:Making College Affordable & Alleviating Student Loan Debt” Center for AmericanProgress. americanprogress.org. 1/14/2014

Dudley realized he’d forgotten everything he’d learned and was

still paying off student loans.