Shreveport Times columns

Question: My mom just passed. Her final years were so hard. Even though she was getting sicker and sicker, she fought us every step along the way as we had to make difficult decisions about her care. I don’t want to make things that hard for my kids. What can I do now to prevent that?

Answer: It sounds like you’re off to a good start by simply acknowledging the difficulty of the situation and seeking to deal with it before it reaches crisis time.

Question: Someone told me that when I look for a financial planner always look for a fee-based financial planner because they are unbiased. Is that true?

Answer: When it comes to money, no one is unbiased.

But the person who gave you that advice is on to something.

Question: I have recently come into some money that I want to invest. With the market at an all time high, should I wait to invest this money?

Answer: It sounds as if you know where the stock market is.

But do you know where you are?

Question: If someone said they would give me $1,000,000, but I had to be responsible for managing it, I would turn it down. I used to own a business that was making good money, but I sold it because I hated handling all the details. Am I crazy to hate money?

Answer: You don’t sound crazy at all.

You sound like a human being. Probably a pretty nice one, too.

By the way, it doesn’t sound like you hate money so much as the details and decisions that surround its care and feeding.

Question: How do I pick the best mutual fund amongst all those available? I read about so-called actively managed mutual funds and some people like them. Others think passively managed funds are best. I’m afraid I’m a bit confused by the whole discussion. Which is the best kind of fund to choose?

Answer: Have you ever watched an all star game?

The concept sounds great. You get the best players on each team in the league, split them into two teams made up of these all-star players and let them compete. Every major sport has an all-star game of one sort or another. It’s a great idea.

Unless you’ve ever watched one.

Question: I just got a significant raise in my income at work. My wife and I are not budget people. We’ve tried and failed every time. But we don’t want my extra income to just go to frivolous stuff. What’s the best way to make sure we save my increases in income?

Answer: Reverse the way you do your banking.

Question: What do you think they will do with the estate tax law? I have put off estate planning since I keep hearing about changing they are considering, including elimination of it.

Answer: The current estate tax law is in a fog with visibility limited to about two to three years out. In fact, that’s the way its been for most of my career. I’m not looking for that to change any time soon.

Q: I have an employee that is key to the success of my business. I pay him very well so that he doesn’t have any incentive to leave. But if we lost him, we would be up a creek. Beyond just more money, what other things can I do to tie him to us?

A: In George Orwell’s political satire Animal Farm, one of the characters quips, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Q: I was always taught to pay my bills on time and avoid debt like the plague. As a business owner I try to practice these values. When I started my own business, I took out a large loan amortized over 15 years, but I am trying to pay it down as fast as I can – maybe a soon as five years. The business is profitable, but sometimes the rate at which I am paying down debt can create cash flow issues for me. What’s the balance?

A: How long could you last without oxygen? When it comes to breathing, do you think in terms of balance or unlimited access?

In business, cash is oxygen. Other than that, it’s no big deal.

Q: I had a really bad experience with a so-called financial advisor several years ago. Since then I’ve kept my affairs pretty simple and done everything I could for myself. Because of that man I really don’t trust anyone any more. The problem is that things are getting complicated enough where I do need some help. What’s the balance between being gullible and getting the help I need.

A: The word you are searching for is trust, and it’s something a bad person caused you to discard as too dangerous to handle when it comes to money.

When I was about five years old, I stuck a safety pin in an electrical socket and quickly discovered the conductivity of metal and the shocking power of electricity. I thought I would never go near a light socket again!