34 going up to a warm 68 today in clear weather. And tomorrow 70 degrees, but come Wednesday a cold wet period starts with lots of rain. Lots of rain here means lots of snow North, so you heard it here first. Of course, the only reliable forecast is Buppies...
spent yesterday afternoon doing financial planning for my lady friend, who would dearly love to stop teaching at 62, but not sure she can. This is where, like I did for years in my last career, I go through people's financial shoeboxes and find stuff that makes me shake my head. Expensive small annuities written only to maximize broker commission. Inappropriate investments. Crappy cancer policies and other useless insurances sold. Sigh. When I was licensed I had the additional "burden" of being a CFP, which meant I pledged to 110% of the time recommend products and services that were truly best for the client, not the agent's wallet. Now you know this is what they all say...but do? Oh no. So now I have a friend who was sold a variety of annuity products several years ago with long back end surrender charges that are exactly what she doesn't need right now. But she's stuck and illiquid on several of these darling investment products sold to her. My payment for the work was in the form of a delicious chicken cordon bleu and homemade apple crisp. I had to chuckle, when I had my financial planning business, it was almost exclusively in the Quaker community of Pennsylvania. That in itself was invaluable because coming in the door folks knew I was not a wolf in sheep's clothing. And if they could not afford my consulting fee, at least for two little old ladies and one young couple with no money, I had my tea and cookies payment plan. I would spend three hours with a family over their kitchen table (always the kitchen table, never an office) with papers spread everywhere and my fee was a pot of Earl Grey Tea and home made oatmeal raisin cookies. No wonder I gained weight...but those cookies were good. Not very helpful to charge folks money they don't have to tell them they have no money. Pro bono work but all good. Twice I was "purchased" by parents to do financial planning for twenty and thirty year old married kids who were in financial troubles, both times after I did work for the parents. Always I heard "if only I knew this thirty years ago"... No, you don't want to buy penny stocks. Yes you need to study these investment options on your 403B and get out of the fixed fund paying you 2%. No you can't keep all that money in your Credit Union making 1%. (I was actually surprised to see that much interest even being paid...). An expected mix of folks invested too aggressively, 100% in stocks in their 60's, too conservatively with only fixed accounts chosen, etc. So it was actually fun to dust off my rapidly rusting financial brain and do some "work". Not that I think she will like what I tell her...but one has to deal with facts, not fancy. There is legislation in the works that will seriously increase the responsibility of anyone selling life insurance products to do basic financial planning first, vs. selling life insurance like hamburger. Not the highest level of care that I was held to, but at least some level... i think this will change the huge secondary insurance business where we all get the fliers for cheap term and whatever else is being peddled by mail or online. Particularly insurance products aimed at the elderly. Many folks don't like the government sticking its nose in "our business" but here's an area where oversight is long overdue. it's sad when we need more protection from the folks who allegedly are out there to help us. A lot of people cycle through the insurance business, like car salesmen..., and sell whatever they are told to to all their friends and family, and then go on to something else. And then I come along and open the shoebox and see stuff that folks never should have bought. I'm told over 90% of the new entrants into the life insurance business do not last. So think of all that insurance sold by folks who likely were pretty green behind the ears. yes, buy term and invest the difference. Though those of you who have old whole life policies, some of them are crunching out internal yields of 4-6% now due to old guarantees made during times of high yields. So every once in a while, I find a diamond in the rough, something for sure one should not cancel. Now I just wish I knew how to weld...
