| |
 |
|
|
How
to Get A Clear Financial Picture |
|
In his book The Seven Stages
of Money Maturity, George Kinder relates an anecdote about
Mullah Nazrudin, an ancient Persian sage and storyteller.
Nazrudin walks into a bank to cash a check and the teller asks
him to produce some identification. So he pulls out a small
mirror from his pocket, glances at his reflection and says,
“Yep, it’s me.” This tale, though amusing, may seem, well,
a bit immature for a book that’s supposed to be about money
maturity. Yet it captures perfectly Kinder’s belief that
before we can take the practical steps necessary to master our
financial situations, we have to take a good hard look at
ourselves and our relationships with money. Read
more about George Kinder’s map to money maturity
in this editorial from best-selling author James Geary.
|
|
|
Easy-To-Use
Tech Tools for Financial Planning
|
| Tim Clegg, a
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with 20 years of
experience, is harnessing the power of technology to help him
help others. Clegg is a senior advisor with Financial Solutions,
an initiative of the non-profit Solutions Community Development
Corporation, which provides financial literacy programs to low-
and moderate-income families in the Holyoke-Chicopee area of
Western Massachusetts. He became increasingly irked by the fact
that his clients couldn’t afford to pay for the time it takes
to prepare a thorough financial plan. "These people face
financial issues just as complex and challenging as anybody
else," Clegg says, "but they can’t afford to sit
down face-to-face with a planner to organize their
situations." The answer, he thought, was to create software
to automate parts of the planning process so the planner could
spend more time with the client. Read more about how technology
is helping make financial planning easier to do.
|
|
|
It
Pays to Be Fit: Connections Between Financial Fitness and
Physical Health
|
| Last
month’s “It’s Your Turn” introduced a survey asking
whether you entered 2007 with a resolution to improve your
financial or physical fitness. To date, the vast majority of
those who completed the survey (87%) indicated they did make a
resolution to improve their financial or physical fitness. More
than 70% stated they made resolutions to work on both
financial and physical fitness.
TwoMedicine Health and Financial Fitness, headquartered in
Bozeman, Montana and with additional offices in Billings,
Montana and Denver, Colorado, has been involved in helping
improve people’s lives by examining the connections between
physical health and the state of our personal finances. Learn
more about TwoMedicine’s activities in this article from Earl
W. Hanson, CFP ®,
MBA, a founder of TwoMedicine:
|
|
|
Are
Obesity and Smoking the Only Factors To Blame for Our Health
Care Crisis?
|
| We are seeing
all the headlines these days about the causes of heart disease,
cancer, and unnecessary accidents. And we’re talking about our
poor lifestyle choices and behaviors, such as poor nutrition,
lack of exercise, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and
lack of adequate sleep. As health care costs sky rocket, we’re
all looking for the answers, the solutions. But do we ask the
right questions? Research clearly shows us that stress is one of
the major risk factors that lead to poor behaviors and ill
health. But do we really think enough about the root causes of
these behaviors? Maybe it’s time we take a harder look at the
role Financial Fitness plays in stress, and the costs of
health. Read
more.
|
|
|
|
Financial
Alerts
|
| NAIC has issued
a consumer alert
to college students
urging those renting an off-campus apartment or house to
consider purchasing renters insurance. Although many college
students are a dependent under their parents’ insurance, their
personal property — things such as computers, stereos and
furniture — is often not covered if they live off campus. Read
more about renters insurance to decide if it’s right for you
or your child living off campus.
NASD is urging seniors to be cautious when considering life
settlements — a fairly recent option that allows some people
to sell their existing life insurance policy for cash. While a
life settlement can be a valuable source of liquidity, life
settlements are not appropriate for everyone. The latest NASD investor
alert covers what all
senior citizens should know about life settlements, including
questions to ask to help determine if a life settlement is a
good choice.
Read
more about these and
other financial alerts.
|
|
|
|
Your
Rights as a Financial Planning Client
|
| Working with a
competent and ethical financial planner can be a highly
rewarding experience. When you decide to seek professional
financial planning assistance for the first time, it’s helpful
to have reasonable expectations about the services your
financial planner will deliver. CFP Board’s Your Rights as
a Financial Planning Client brochure describes the kind of
treatment you deserve as a financial planning client and can
help you recognize when your financial planner is putting your
interests and needs first.
Does your planner respond promptly to your calls, e-mails or
requests? Has your planner made you aware of all potential
conflicts of interest? Are you involved in decisions at the
appropriate times? Understanding your rights as a financial
planning client will help you determine if you are receiving the
quality service you deserve.
Read
or view
and print the brochure
or request
a free Financial Planning Resource Kit,
which contains the Your Rights as a Financial Planning Client
brochure and other materials to help you learn more about
financial planning.
|
|
|
|
|
About
This Newsletter
|
|
You are receiving this e-mail because you subscribed to CFP
Board's eNewsletter. Periodically, CFP Board will e-mail you
"It's Your Turn," which includes information about
financial planning, financial planning tools and resources,
consumer alerts and much more. Suggestions and feedback are
welcome at mail@CFPBoard.org.
|
|
|
|
