By Dave Coen “Your Past is not your Future” – We hear that often, and it is a true statement. Our future does not have to be defined by what happened previously. But we can learn from our past in order to improve our future. John Maxwell, in his book “Failing Forward” said, “It does not matter if you fall down, as long as you pick up something from the … [Read more...]
5 Financial Questions to ask myself now
April 2, 2020 by
By Dave Coen People around the world are understandably worried, not only about the safety of their loved ones, but also about the status of their life savings. In turn, financial advisors are working hard to help their clients think about (sometimes substantive) mid-course corrections to their plans. At the same time, advisors are making sure clients … [Read more...]
Question 5 – 8 (12 Questions I should ask myself about Retirement and College)
March 8, 2018 by
Have we thought of what the impact of that might be on student #2 or #3? Sometimes we are so focused on getting our first student through college that we forget that there are one or two more coming along later. As parents, we are just trying to do the very best we can for our students, but it is not uncommon for us to see the students who come later suffering … [Read more...]
12 Questions I should ask about Retirement and College
March 1, 2018 by
(For the sake of brevity, I have included 4 here and the rest will follow the next time.) The answers to these questions are different for each family and there are no right or wrong answers. Your family is unique and your needs are different from your neighbor. All we strive for is to help the parents and the student to be on the same page so … [Read more...]
Bitcoin and inheritance
February 13, 2018 by
If you own Bitcoin, it might be wise to plan and think about where to store your information about it – just like all our passwords and other sensitive information. Our valuables used to refer to our possessions but now it also includes: information! No matter how young we are, we need to plan for the possibility of not being here tomorrow. How would that … [Read more...]
What is the Largest Asset Uncle Sam has? You might be shocked.
December 15, 2017 by
Pop Quiz - what line item is the largest asset in Uncle Sam's financial accounts? A) U.S. Official Reserve Assets B) Total Mortgages C) Taxes Receivable D) Student Loans The correct answer, as of the latest quarterly data, is ... Student Loans. This past week there has been an interesting article by Jill Mislinski in Advisor Perspectives. … [Read more...]
4 phases of a Financial Plan
December 15, 2017 by
1. Accumulation phase This is typically the longest phase and everything we do here will affect our future. We should perhaps try to look at this phase of planning from the future – when I am 70, 80, 90 – what will I hope that I have planned for if I were to look back from those ages? Will I have planned for Tax efficiency, a decent Rate of Return, what were … [Read more...]
I’m no fool, no sir-ee
November 8, 2017 by
Jiminy Cricket was not far off in those days. I was in boarding school in high school because we grew up on a farm that was pretty far from the town where the school was, and if I wanted to do all the sports and after-school activities that I loved, my (single) Mom could not afford to drive me back and forth – especially seeing that I was one of six … [Read more...]
Why should my kid have an Estate pLan?
September 21, 2017 by
A client was shocked the other day when I suggested that his student, recently out of college, should have an Estate Plan. As our children get older, our conversations with them get more meaningful and the subjects take on increased value. I often have discussions with my clients about their Estate Planning, but they were shocked when I suggested that estate … [Read more...]
Dr. Livingston I presume?
August 21, 2017 by
I was reminded this week of the time when we visited the Victoria Falls in Africa. Also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya (Smoke that Thunders), the Falls emanate out of the Zambezi river in Zambia and are one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Vic Falls (as it is known locally in Africa) are roughly twice as high as the Niagara Falls and twice as wide as Horseshoe … [Read more...]
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