The search for Happiness is not done by direct route…

Presented by Mark Phillips

Emily Esfahani Smith's recent article "There's More to LIfe Than Being Happy"speaks to the pathway to happiness and vitality in our lives. She provides a thoughtful summary of the work of Viktor Frankl and others who have studied the issue of happiness and longevity. Her work on this matter has appeared most recently in The Atlantic.

This may indeed provide great insight into the successful pursuit of happiness and longevity – or it may help confirm what you already believed to be so.

Share and discuss with friends and family freely!

Mega-Weddings: Say "I Don't"

By Melanie Vu

 

New research has found that there is no positive correlation between having an extravagant wedding and a long successful marriage. “We find evidence that marriage duration is inversely associated with spending on the engagement ring and wedding ceremony,” write Andrew Francis and Hugo Mialon, two economics professors at Emory University in Atlanta.  This study was based on the wedding budgets and marriage track records of over 3,000 U.S. adults.

In their study, they found that 60% of couples whose wedding cost over $20,000, say their marriages ended in divorce. Men who spent $2,000 to $4,000 on their engagement ring ended up divorced 30% more often than those who spent between $500 and $2,000.

There are several reasons as to why costly weddings don’t necessarily lead to long and happy marriages.

·         Expensive weddings may attract the people who are materialistic and narcissistic – who are less likely to sustain a successful marriage due to money issues. Financial planners note that money troubles consistently feature as a leading cause of marriage problems.

·         A Fairy-tale wedding may also raise unrealistic expectations about marriage. Couples who plan an extravagant wedding may trap the fiancé or fiancée who is having second thoughts, not wanting to speak up because of all the effort going into planning the wedding and all the guests who have already bought their plane tickets.

According to Michelle Fait, a financial planner in San Francisco, “those who spend the most are often seeking external validation”. Modern couples are under pressure from family, social media and friends to spend more on the wedding. The wedding should be the special day for husband and wife, instead it turns into trying to please and impress guests. History has repeatedly shown that obsession with impressing others is all too often a formula for disaster.

These assumptions are only based on one study, so we shouldn’t put too much weight on the price of a wedding and the success of the marriage. Having an expensive wedding does not cause an unsuccessful marriage, but couples who plan a wedding need to ask themselves if spending more on the wedding will help the future of their marriage.

Click here to read the full article.

 

3 Scams You Need to Know About

Presented By Mark Phillips

It’s one o’clock in the morning and your sleep is interrupted by a phone call. Startled, you answer the phone and hear what sounds like your grandson on the other end, saying he’s been in a bad car accident while on vacation in a foreign country. While waiting for a tow company to come, he was mugged. Now, he’s hurt and has no money. He desperately needs you to wire him a few thousand dollars to get back home safely. He also asks you not to tell his mom and dad, as he doesn’t want them to know about his dilemma.

This story is just one of many similar tales that phone scammers use to target senior citizens. In what’s known as the “grandparent scam,” crooks scare their elderly suspects with a call in the middle of the night, catching them off guard with a heartbreaking story about someone they care about. The “grandchild” is always in need of cash, which he or she instructs the victim to wire through a money-transfer service, and repeatedly asks the victim not to tell anyone.

A real and growing threat

As the number of aging Americans continues to grow, more and more scams are targeting people 60 and older, who are often perceived as more trusting and polite. Based on their success with seniors, many con artists are now attempting to defraud people of all ages with similar schemes. In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission received 60,000 complaints about the grandparent scam and related frauds; in 2011, the number of complaints increased by 22 percent, to 73,281.

Besides the grandparent scam, those who prey on the elderly have plenty of other tricks up their sleeves. For example: 

1.  Scammers posing as telemarketers ask for donations to civic causes, attempting to appeal to the older generation’s patriotism and respect for authority.

2.  Imposters pretend to be with a government agency, such as the Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, or another trusted source, trying to convince their targets that, in order to comply with new regulations, they must pay exorbitant sums for unneeded products and services.

3.  Claiming to represent Wal-Mart or another well-known company, scammers inform their targets that they’ve won a sweepstakes and need to make a payment to obtain the supposed prize. They may even send fake prize-money checks to their victims’ homes. But before the checks bounce, the criminals collect money for “fees.”

How can you protect yourself and older family members?

To safeguard your identity and finances from con artists, keep these tips in mind:

• Never wire or send money to someone you don’t know, no matter what the circumstances may be or how convincing the person is. As with sending cash, once you wire money, you cannot get it back. Also remember that legal sweepstakes don’t require you to pay taxes or other fees in order to claim your winnings.

• Don’t forget your common sense, especially in the middle of the night. Fraudsters call at times when they think they can catch you off guard, shock you, and cause you to panic. They also create a sense of urgency, pressuring you to send them money before you find out who they really are. As disturbing as the call may be, remember to keep calm and rely on your common sense.

• Question the caller. If someone contacts you claiming to be a family member, friend, or someone else you know, ask the caller questions to confirm his or her identity. You could quiz him or her on the date of a family’s member birthday, the name of a pet, or the restaurant you last went to together.

• Confirm the emergency situation. To determine if the story is real, call sources who can verify where the person in question is. If someone calls claiming to be your grandchild, contact your actual grandchild’s parents immediately, no matter how many times the caller asks you not to say anything to anyone.

• Be wary of strange messages. Usually, these scams don’t involve meeting anyone personally; rather, the scammers will keep their distance, contacting you by phone, letter, fax, e-mail, or even text message.

• Know that scammers don’t always ask for sizable amounts of cash. In most cases, it’s between $500 and $5,000. If you wire money once, the scammer may continue to contact you in the hope that you’ll keep sending money, upping the requested amounts until the total takeaway is far greater.

• Protect your computer, tablet, and smartphone information. Don’t let crooks get their hands on your e-mail account, phone contacts, or passwords stored on your electronic devices. To protect yourself, label the phone numbers of family members by their first name, rather than “Mom,” “Grandpa,” and so on.

• Contact your local law enforcement department if you’re concerned that a con artist is targeting you.

Remember, scams are ever-changing, and fraudsters are constantly coming up with new ways to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. To stay up to date on the latest scam alerts, visit the FTC’s website at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/phonefraud/index.shtml.

So How Is Everybody Doing??

 

By Mark Phillips

The last few years sure do feel like a big improvement over the nadir of the economic downturn in early 2010, which followed on the heels of the US stock market nadir in March 2009.

So how do we feel?

Generally a good bit better is what I hear. The overall mood of gloom has lifted a good bit.

How are we, here the collective average of us all, really doing?

Well, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of the US (that Greenspan, Bernanke, Yellen led money supply agency) the reality, when it comes to our financial security, not so much better at all – on average.

Sadly, according to their work, the percentage of households at serious risk of not being able to maintain a similar lifestyle in retirement as we, on average, have/had enjoyed when working remains over 50%.

The percentage has not really improved from 2010 to 2013. This projection even assumes that everyone will work to age 65 – which is not the average age for retirement in the past few decades – the real age of retirement has been closer to 62. Further, the projection assumes that everyone would reverse mortgage their home and annuitize the cash out proceeds to help fund their retirement lifestyle – also something very few people are emotionally ready to consider.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retirement-index-shows-many-still-at-risk-2014-12-17

So, while many of us feel considerably better, we have, collectively, not really improved our financial situation.

What is the disconnect?

Job prospects have improves in many job sectors. Investment accounts have rebounded for the minority of people that have investment accounts. This rebound has not helped most people in a meaningful way – even if it has helped a minority greatly.

Is this us just living in the now and leaving the future for then?

Perhaps.

Are the numbers way off?

Not likely as I see and read evidence. Close to half of current retirees, many of them working during the 1983 through 2001 surveys, are living measurably below their pre-retirement lifestyle. This is consistent with what the earlier surveys had projected. It suggests that this was predictable and unsurprising – and that it is a strong predictor of the future as it stands.

I suddenly feel as if I have been visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future: “Tell me specter, are these images you show me the images of what will be or of what may be?”

I want to suggest you think of this communal/societal retirement security problem as a slow motion airplane crash, because it is in its own way. Over 50% of households are not ready for impact and will suffer for it.

Perhaps the safety announcement you hear (listening intently, right?) at the beginning of your air flights is a good metaphor: “If  the oxygen mask drops from the ceiling above you put your mask on first and then proceed to help your child and others around you.”

You know the oxygen mask is neither comfortable nor stylish – and yet you know that if it does drop down in front of you that you will look a whole lot better for having put it on so you will do it – right?

Here is my safety message for all:

First, ensure you have your financial security oxygen mask on:

·         Spending less than you make, save at least 10%, ideally over 15% of gross earnings

·         Protect your current and future assets (cash reserve, maximum disability insurance, adequate life and long term care insurance, etc.)

·      Save assets in an optimal tax treatment fashion before retirement, and extract them in a tax optimal fashion in retirement

·         Investing (not speculating) for long term growth and income

·         Establish a plan for aging and care as well as wealth transfer in alignment with serving your needs and goals

Next, proceed to help others with getting their financial security oxygen mask on:

·         Ask your friends what they want, really want, deeply want (not the stuff that they think they can have) in their life’s experiences

·         Ask them what is their plan and how you might help with that.

·         Share my above five point guide for getting a proper “Financial Planning Oxygen Mask” in place

·         Share your plans and the feeling of comfort that having a better understanding of where you stand gives you

·         Share interesting ideas and insights with others that have been helpful to you – or may be helpful to them

Because we may be a helpful component for your friends and family in this regard please introduce us and have us help.

After all, 52% of households not being able to maintain their working lifestyle even by working 3 extra years and revers mortgaging their home is simply an embarrassing group outcome. This, you may believe, will not be, and thus not effect you, however, my experience is that the shortfall of others you care about will effect you.

We all can help move the needle. We need to do so now as later will be too late.

Aim To Retire Comfortably, No Matter How Much You Make

Presented by Nick Bautista

 

 

 

 

 

When thinking about saving for retirement it is often forgotten that even if you don’t make a lot of money, you can still retire comfortably. Building saving habits and spending less than you make are some of the keys to success.

Too often I see young people not save any money when they get out of College, and this is usually the slippery slope to bad savings habits. The temptation to spend every penny made is so high that a majority of them don’t start saving until it’s too late. This unfortunately continues into adulthood as the thought of savings gets pushed to the side for a variety of reasons, (house, car, kids, kids’ college, etc.)

 

The principles for pursuing a comfortable retirement boil down to two simple rules.

         1.  Spend less than you make

         2.   Set aside money every paycheck no matter how much it is.

 

Doing both these things can help create good saving habits and help you get better aligned with your financial dreams.

So, think about how much are you saving in retirement; are you spending less than you make?

One of the most Amazing Gift Catalogues in the World!

Presented by Mark Phillips

 

Heifer International's mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.

It all started with a cow.

Moved by the plight of orphans and refugees of the Spanish Civil War as he ladled out meager rations of powdered milk, Dan West, an Indiana farmer, volunteer relief worker and Church of the Brethren member, grasped that the people needed "a cow, not a cup"—cows that could produce milk so families would not have to depend on temporary aid. From that simple idea, Heifer International was born.

 

 

In 1944, the first cows sent abroad were donated by West's neighbors and distributed throughout Europe following World War II. More than 67 years later, Heifer has expanded its mission, just as it expanded to 30 types of animals it now provides—from goats, geese and guinea pigs to bees, silkworms and water buffalo.
 

Through their Web site Catalogue you can reach out and help change the face of the world through changing the human experience.
 

(Charity Navigator Rating for Heifer Int’l)

How to handle Medical Bill problems

Presented by Mark Phillips

Hiring a medical billing advocate was the best decision for an Arizona couple featured in this L.A. Times article. They learned to manage and reduce their overall medical bills from their son’s hospital visit. When faced with the reality of huge medical bills after a health situation, it may be imperative to have an agency like Medical Billing Advocates of America to help sort and understand what the charges consist of and what your rights are in terms of the law.

Don’t miss this. Read further to learn about other helpful resources and how an advocate can benefit your personal situation.  

Click here for article