Congratulations- you made it through 2011. It truly was an accomplishment, given that it seemed for a while that the world would implode as we know it. Domestic and international economic failure, war, terrorism, historically high unemployment and low housing valuations…enough. Now it’s time to set your course for 2012, the year of recovery- at least, personally.
The definition of success is different for everybody. Some base it on money, some on love. Some define it by how much you own (he/she who dies with the most… Continue reading
Risk tolerance, by definition, is the amount of risk you are willing to sustain in relation to reward. There is an old saying: “With reward comes risk, and with risk comes reward… sometimes.” Nowhere is there a guarantee that if you invest in a more risky or aggressive investment that your reward will commensurate. In the times that we are in, human emotion tends to take over from rational thinking. Fear of losing principal or previously made gains, not having enough funds to retirement or acquire that elusive… 
Retirement has changed. There’s no more gold watch ceremony, thirty, forty or fifty year milestones, and for the most part, pensions to carry you into the new paradigm of life. It’s a down and dirty, fend for yourself game that our parents don’t understand, and our generation is struggling with. 
Life is a dilemma. Things that we have, like our 401(k), IRA’s, investments and our house seem to be steadily going down in value as we sit by helplessly watching. Conversely, things that we don’t have like food and clothing continue to escalate in price. It’s somewhat frustrating as we seem to be sucked into change events far beyond our control. But are they? 
Unless you live under a rock (not unlike the Geico commercial) you have been engrossed and enveloped into the financial crisis du jour. The memory of 2008 is still clearly on everybody’s mind as they review their investment and 401(k) statements. The biggest question I hear is “is this 2008 all over again?”No, it’s not. Unfortunately, it may be worse. Consider this: 
With the country teetering on the edge of defaulting on its debt payments and the Democrats and Republicans battling it out over how and why to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling, the markets are in a questionable turmoil due to indecision and a lack of finality. Add to that the worldwide upset going on, and it’s anybody guess how it will play out. I am a great believer in learning from experience, and although we little people have no input as to how to direct the… 
While out of the spotlight for many years, the vision of Zsa Zsa Gabor conjures up glamour, beauty and wealth…not to mention comedy. If you were a fan of “Green Acres, which ran from 1965-1971 she portrayed a city girl drafted into country life by her husband Oliver Wendell Douglas, played beautifully by Eddie Arnold. The couple said “goodbye to city life” and started a new life in Hooterville, USA. While the exact location was never made clear, it was the land of a TV watching pig (do you… 
One of my rules of thumb (and lord knows, I can be all thumbs) if three or more clients call me with questions on essentially the same subject matter, it’s time to write a blog! With interest rates the lowest they’ve been in 300 years (OK- maybe a little less) the possibility of refinancing your mortgage may be something you have been thinking about. If you have- good for you- you’ve been paying attention. 
Little did we realize when we brought our loving bundle home from the hospital that the task of saving for college would be so daunting. In today’s world, especially post (and that’s a matter of opinion)recession, keeping our heads above water on a daily basis is enough; let alone the thought of having to come up with tens or hundreds of thousands to send our bundle into the world with an education to set them on their path to adulthood. Saving for college along with retirement and building an emergency… 
Do you have a formal estate plan in place? If so, can you recall the last time it was reviewed? Do you really know what an estate plan is? 