Month: August 2014
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How to remain depressed: 10 tips for the depression-challenged
Staying depressed for a long period of time is difficult. It actually takes quite a bit of work and effort. Few people have the knack for it. In fact, according to a recent course I took at Coursera.org, the World Health Organization estimates that while as many as 125 million people worldwide that manage to achieve…
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self-medicating Planter Fasciitis
I had to learn a new medical term this past week: “planter fasciitis” which means chronic sore heels. It’s a condition I could not ignore anymore. I have two of the key risk factors: overweight with an increase in walking and running (I just recently bumped up to cover 12 miles/week and hope to get…
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Six changing financial needs of mature affluent clients
The needs of mature (50+) affluent clients are changing and so I’ve notice that the expectations that they have of their financial adviser are also evolving. 1) There are more divorces over age 50 involving larger pool of assets and liabilities increases the need for skilled divorce planning. 2) The need to further incorporate health care planning into overall financial…
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Tax planning: keep priorities in focus to ensure success
“When a CPA simply files your tax return and doesn’t provide strategic tax planning or advice, you may not be getting your money’s worth.” – Forbes I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, far too often our priorities get buried in the pace of business today. Financial planning is muddled, tax planning opportunities are missed, and tax return…
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Client Relationship Management (CRM) platform for sole practitioner
Two years ago I wrote a short product review article for CPAs on the topic of Client Relationship Management Software (CRM) that was based on my own experience trying to find a suitable platform for my own sole practitioner financial advisory business. The article titled Tech Product Review: Client Relationship Manager (CRM) Software was published…
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Investing an inheritance
Yesterday I handled a consumer question about investing an inheritance and published the Q&A after-the-fact. The amount of money being passed to the baby boomer generation is phenomenal and it is a huge impact on many people’s lifetime financial success. One recent study by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics indicated almost 1 in 3 American households…
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How to fix the small business accounting fiasco
Small business tax accounting is a mess and everyone knows it. Here are two examples: The IRS has long known that small business record-keeping is so bad that if all of the tax returns of small businesses that sponsor 401(k) plans were audited, more than half of the 401(k) plans could be disqualified. At a recent…
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Thought vs. action
One of the most qualified financial advisers I’ve known was such a perfectionist that he spent most of his time researching, critiquing, testing, revising different business concepts that he almost never got around to actually doing anything that would build his business. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I am inclined to jump right…
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A small business’ most valuable asset
When I speak with a small business owner, the topic of managing their most valuable asset often comes up. Usually, I’ll provoke the discussion: What really is your most valuable asset? What are you doing to protect it? What are you doing to grow it? At first, they are surprised to learn that I’m talking…