Teaching your teenagers to drive is not for the squeamish.  (And all the parents said, “Amen!”) Years ago, I had a friend whose 15 year-old got his learner’s permit. Like every teen, he wanted to drive his parents everywhere. However, each time the boy got behind the wheel he would obsess over what was in …

Backward or Forward – How Will You Live 2021? Read More »

It takes a lot to be an optimist these days.  Just consider a handful of headlines from two national newspapers, one left leaning, the other right. These all appeared on the same day this week.  Pandemic Reshapes US Employment Across Industries Pandemic Leads Schools to Halt Ph.D. Admissions Airlines Aren’t Making It Easy to Use …

Optimism – The Rational Outlook for 2021 Read More »

The 1980s brought us cable TV, personal computers, parachute pants and mullet haircuts (powerful proof that not every “innovation” equals progress). The decade also saw the rise of the 401(k) plan.  Before the heyday of mullet haircuts, the phrase “retirement plan” referred to a pension plan. A pension was a social contract between workers and …

Get Your Planning Right in 2021 Read More »

Do you get the feeling that it’s the coronavirus, not the Grinch, that’s trying to steal Christmas? I’m sure I don’t’ need to recite all of this year’s national and international economic disappointments that have come as a result of this pandemic.  For the unemployed oil field worker, the exhausted nurse or teacher, the farmer …

Crisis Christmas Read More »

Sometimes when I ask people, “What are your financial goals?” they say things like: “Other than having enough one day to retire on, I’m not sure I have any clear financial goals.” After a pause they add, “That’s not a very good answer, is it?” That’s usually when I say, “Maybe if I asked better …

Are You Asking the Right Questions? Read More »

If you’re over 50, you may remember AAA TripTiks booklets. From AAA’s website: “In the days before Google Maps…or even the internet…a AAA agent would draw the route with a highlighter on a series of numbered maps, going through the route with the driver before they started. The end result, a guided route through a …

Plan Your Journey Read More »

The holiday season is advertiser season.  We see a parade of TV commercials and online ads showing us peaceful, thankful and content people. But they’re not real, are they? They’re actors, visions created for us by clever marketers, promising us the good life if only we’ll buy their product. Perhaps you’re not like the people …

Consumer or Contributor – Which Do You Want to Be? Read More »

What a year. Coronavirus. According to Johns Hopkins, COVID-19 has now infected some 12 million Americans and claimed more than 250,000 lives.  Race issues. Around the same time the coronavirus began spreading across the U.S., the death of George Floyd in Milwaukee triggered nationwide protests (some violent) over issues of race and policing practices.  Hurricanes. …

Thanksgiving Lessons in 2020 Read More »

“Do you want to retire one day?” That’s a question I ask new clients. The answers I get are fairly predictable. Older workers or people with jobs they hate say, “You bet! How about yesterday?!”  People who enjoy their work say things like, “I might want to slow down one day, but I can’t imagine …

Retire to What? Read More »

Why would anyone pay for an oil change?  Call me a weenie (and many do), but I don’t do my own oil changes. I know real men do, but I just don’t.  I used to go to one of those places that made you wait in their lobby, where you read dated issues of People …

Maintenance Always Costs Less Read More »

“I have an opportunity…” I can’t tell you how any of my client conversations start with that statement. “I have an opportunity to…buy into a business…buy some land…buy a house I’ve had my eye on for a long time.” Always these opportunities come with a timeline.  “I need to give them an answer…by tomorrow…by the …

Is It Urgent or Important? Read More »

$37 million. That’s how much the Los Angeles Lakers paid LeBron James to lead them to their 17th NBA championship. Along the way he earned the championship MVP title as the Lakers celebrated their title in front of…well, nobody. Weird year. Was it worth it for the Lakers? Having not won an NBA championship since …

Lowest Price or Highest Value? Read More »

How much of your life is in your control? Probably a lot less than you think. But how you respond to this uncomfortable reality can have a huge impact on your financial health. Think for a moment about all you actually control. Did you, for example, determine the parents you have or where you would …

The Truth About Financial Control Read More »

Some people collect baseball trading cards. Other people collect antique books. I collect Social Security statements. Mine. Yes, I am that boring.  The oldest one I’ve got dates back to 2003, so I’ve got almost 20 years’ worth of Social Security (SSA) statements. But they contain my work records all the way back to the …

How Secure is Your Social Security? Read More »

The smell of fresh cut grass in August still makes me want to run and hide. I get flashbacks of red-faced football coaches, whistles blowing, screaming encouraging slogans at me like, “C’mon, son…run! Harder! Faster!” During summer camp, these thoughtful men even had trash cans placed strategically about the field so we players could pause, …

The Danger of Financial Fatigue Read More »

Chris thought he had a stomachache.  So, like most young men, he considered his options and did the only sensible thing. He ate more.  Well, that didn’t help, so he bought the jumbo bottle of Pepto-Bismol. By the time the weekend was over, he was doubled over in pain and begging his wife to drive …

Get Right About What’s Wrong Read More »

In one sense, Laura and Sally didn’t sneak up on anyone. Meteorologists helped us track both hurricanes from their births deep in the warm Atlantic waters to their tempestuous tromps through coastal cities and towns.  Laura devastated Lake Charles as she worked her way up the western side of south Louisiana. As I write this, …

Are You Ready for the Next Storm? Read More »

Where should you work? If money is tight and job opportunities are in short supply, your answer might be “anywhere that will pay me!” While that’s not a terrible answer, it is also not an answer that’s likely to satisfy you long-term. Consider three mindsets that can help you frame your thinking about your career …

The Job You Should Be Working in Is … Read More »

I know an organization that frames the less-than-desirable duties of their employees as “get tos.” The idea is to change the mindset from negative to positive. Instead of seeing a duty as something you “have to do,” you change your viewpoint so that you see it as an opportunity for service, or something you “get …

Labor Day – Work is a “Get To” Read More »

“I hate debt!” That’s an oft heard declaration that erupts early in some of my meetings with new or prospective clients. Most of the time it happens as a large sheet of paper is pulled out of a folder, or a spreadsheet is opened on a computer. Whether computerized or penned, it’s a list of …

“I hate debt!” … Really? Read More »

If your feet hurt when you walk, get smaller feet, bigger shoes or go barefoot.  That’s both the predicament and the choice left to many retirees (and those anticipating retirement) today.  Their feet hurt. A.K.A., their expenses are larger than their income. If you’ve ever spent much time spending more money than you bring in, …

If the Shoe Fits Read More »

“I think I’m just going to wait until after the election.” I am hearing this response nearly every week from someone else afraid to make a decision with a financial impact. In my career I have lived through the elections of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald …

Waiting on the Election Read More »

“One one-thousandth of a dollar.” I said. “That’s not much is it?” I handed his phone back to him. He’d handed it to me to show me how low the expense ratio of his indexed mutual fund was. He pressed his lips together, holding back a smile. “I guess it’s my engineering training coming out,” …

Pay Attention to Your Costs … All of Them Read More »

“Should I refinance my house and get a 30-year mortgage? Is that crazy?” She was nearly 65 and had a six-figure mortgage attached to her house. She was single and had a good income as a nurse. But as she looked ahead, she could see trouble coming.  “I make nearly $5,000 per month now, and …

Retire Debt in Retirement Read More »

“When you’re going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill’s advice still applies. If you find yourself having “blown it” once again financially, now is definitely not the time to stop. Now is the time to get back up, dust yourself off and redouble your efforts.  Chrystal and Tony are typical of people I’ve talked to …

Perseverance Beats Perfection When Rehabbing Habits Read More »

“The signs are everywhere…” It was an ominous headline to an email that caught the attention of a client. “Is this something I should be concerned about?” Concern, worry and a buying decision to subscribe to an expensive newsletter was exactly what the email’s author was hoping to elicit.  The email’s author had “seen several …

Doomsday Always Sells Read More »

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Someone important said that long ago, but I think every generation has the opportunity to discover that truth in new and fresh ways.  But let’s start with the obvious…the math of giving doesn’t seem to work – at first anyway.  If I’ve got $100 and I …

Giving as Gain Read More »

Out of many, one. That’s what the “E Pluribus Unum” phrase stamped on those coins in your pocket means.  It is the aspiration of a hopeful nation, that out of a disparate population from all over the world, a union might be formed and maintained.  For many, our “union” seems tenuous and anything but unified. …

A Union Under Tension Read More »

“Where can I find a job in an economy like this?” He was young and thought of himself as more ambitious than most. He wasn’t going to be happy climbing up some corporate ladder.  “Where’s the best place for a go-getter like me to get the best opportunity?” I tried to break it to him …

Where is Opportunity? Read More »

“Didn’t see that coming!” A worldwide disease pandemic. An explosion of race related unrest across our nation. Oil prices going negative. A global financial crisis. A real estate bubble. The Dotcom bubble.  Pundits will blame someone for not seeing “it” coming. Consultants will charge a fee for helping you see it coming next time. And …

Black Swans: The Enemy of All Perfect Plans Read More »

What causes the average Joe stress at work? Work, right?  Or maybe something about work – a bad boss, poor working conditions, toxic co-workers or maybe just Facebook being blocked on their work computer (“dang IT guys!”). Each year international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) sponsors an Employee Financial Wellness Survey. Their 2020 survey asked employees, …

Workers Worry About Money Today, Not Retirement Tomorrow Read More »

What is financial freedom? If you’re thinking “being wealthy” or “becoming financially independent,” I disagree with you. I know many wealthy, financially independent people who are anything but financially free. For them, money and wealth are a ball and chain, a never-sleeping slave master that makes them do its bidding. Financial freedom is not a …

Financial Freedom Read More »

As the class of 2020 Zooms across the stage to collect their virtual diplomas, may I offer some advice as you set off to find your pathway to success? Fail. Often. I didn’t say “be a failure.” Nor did I ask you to enjoy the experience of failing.  But if you want to find the …

Failure … the Path to Success Read More »

What would happen if you lived to be 100? When Wayne was contemplating his retirement from public service, he didn’t want to retire from life. He was looking for an older man who had lived the last portion of his life in an exemplary way. Wayne was 61 at the time. Who looks for a …

Are You Prepared to Live to 100? Read More »

“Moore, if your brains was dynamite, you couldn’t make a humming bird sneeze!” They don’t make ‘em like Coach Shaw anymore.  He “drafted” me for his high school basketball team off my ninth-grade playground. The only thing I had going for me was being over six feet tall and attending a small high school blessed …

Coaches for the Win Read More »

The interviews are over. You’ve managed to make it through the gauntlet and emerge on the other side, ready to claim that new job. All that remains is for them to make the offer and you to accept. “We are pleased to be able to make you a job offer to become part of the …

Which Job Do You Want? Read More »

About 10,000 people retire each day in America.  That means you and I probably know someone who had planned to retire just as the Coronavirus-caused financial disaster struck.  Based on my experience, most of those 10,000 had already made peace with the fact they would have to do without a few things in order to …

I’ll Retire with a Little Help from My Friends Read More »

How is it that when you have the most unstructured time on your hands, you get the least done? Now, if you’re a doctor or nurse tending to Coronavirus patients, a banker pushing out PPP loans or a grocer working overtime to restock the toilet paper shelves, this doesn’t apply to you. But waaaay more …

Spring Cleaning … Where Do I Start? Read More »

What is wealth? Where does it come from? And is it easily destroyed? These are not academic questions unrelated to our daily if Coronavirus-interrupted lives.  In fact, your answer to these questions will drive how you respond during and after the worldwide pandemic. Is wealth the sum of all the money in all the banks …

What is Wealth? Read More »

Freedom.  It’s one of those things we as Americans prize very, very highly. In fact, Americans prize freedom above almost all else. In the past, we have proven that we will even die to ensure freedom for those we love. But we find ourselves living in a time when that precious gift – freedom – …

Freedom from Fear Read More »

The money is about to start flowing. And not a moment too soon. The COVID-19 virus has delivered a shock to the world economy the likes of which has not been seen in a long, long time. Businesses are shut down and individuals are staying at home. A national economy that was humming on Valentine’s …

Who C.A.R.E.S.? You Should Read More »

Sometimes, you just want your Momma. The safety of that soft touch, the secure hug, the serene voice, and the sentimental smell (even if it is that of meatloaf and Pine Sol). It’s Momma. And it’s safe. That’s what financial markets wanted these last few weeks. Momma. And for financial markets, Momma is spelled C-A-S-H.  …

Momma Cash Read More »

Question: All the uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus has me wondering how effective long-term planning can be during times like these. What do you think? Answer: “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened.”  So said French philosopher Michel de Montaigne over 500 years ago…which just goes to show you worry is …

Coronavirus – Good Reason to Delay Planning? Read More »

It isn’t the first time and it certainly won’t be the last. But we find ourselves in the midst of a worldwide health crisis – the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Among the many ripple effects of the disease, and the world’s desperate attempts to contain it has been a significant impact on financial markets. Markets don’t like …

Lessons from a Crisis Read More »

“Do you want to get well?” It’s a question that seems to have an obvious answer, especially if you’re sick. “Of course, I want to get well! What kind of question is that?” Next comes the follow-up question, and here’s where you separate the curious from the serious. “Are you willing to do what it …

A Way to Get Better Read More »

“How wrong can you be!” It was a message scribbled on a blue post-it note, stuck to a worn and folded newspaper clipping. The clipping was of a column I’d written for the local paper about 15 months prior to the note being written. I came across this old bit of correspondence just this week …

Letter from Jack Read More »

You’ve heard about that disease sweeping the world, right? It can cause fever, cough, body aches, fatigue; sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. Most cases are mild, but others are quite severe, even fatal in rare cases.  Around the world, nearly 1 billion people come down with this malady…9 to 45 million in the US alone. Between 12,000 …

When Markets Get Sick Read More »

Too much money is too much trouble You can have too much money. I know you don’t believe me. I hear you out there saying, “Try me! Just try me!” Of course, “too much money” is not the malady facing most Americans. Credit card debt is at an all-time high (over $1 trillion) and student …

Too Much Money is Too Much Trouble Read More »

There’s a reason football players come in all sizes. And, yes, as a matter of fact, this has a lot to do with your money…especially in retirement.  Whether you are a football fanatic experiencing the post-Super Bowl blues or someone who could care less about the sport, nearly everyone realizes football players come in large, …

Retirement Triple Play Read More »

What is love? And what does that have to do with money? A really smart guy once said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Well, if the treasure is money and the heart is love, then love and money go hand in hand. From one perspective, you could say that where …

Talk is Cheap – Show Me the Love Read More »

I know the speech. “Mr. Moore, this is all the money I have in the world.” She is clutching an investment account statement pulled from a tattered envelope. She has told me about the years of hard work she’s put in, saving as much as she could while putting three sons through college. Now she’s …

When is It Risky to Avoid Risk? Read More »

I wonder how many patients gorge on fried chicken the day before their first cardiology appointment. I’ve had many people come to see me for financial planning and begin the conversation by “admitting” they just bought a new car. Or a new house. Or maybe a new boat. It didn’t take long to figure out …

Symbols are No Surrogate for Substance Read More »

Have you seen the latest fitness craze?  It’s a mirror. Actually, they call it “The Mirror.” This $1500 piece of technology combines video and live feedback technology to provide the experience of a one-on-one trainer in your home…only she’s really just in your mirror. It’s actually kind of spooky. There you are, standing in front …

Money is a Mirror Read More »

Don’t look now but the 21st century is 20% done.  By this time last century, we’d fought a world war, built the Panama Canal, begun the Federal Reserve, started the income tax, given woman the right to vote and witnessed the birth of the first communist state. It was a busy 20 years.  Now the …

Developing Your 2020 Vision Read More »

Sometimes there’s just no substitute for being there in person.  Can you imagine sending an employee, who reports to you at work, to your daughter’s school Christmas play? “Your father would have been here, but he had a super important conference call he had to take…” Delegation is a necessary skill and focusing on the …

No Substitute for Being There in Person Read More »

“I don’t know what I don’t know…” Craig had called me out of the blue. I’d known him when he was a college student, then a young single man. “Bachelor till the rapture,” he’d say about himself. Until he met Kathy. She was a single mom with a gentle but determined spirit and wiggly three-year-old. …

I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know Read More »

By now, you have the advantage of knowing the outcome of yesterday’s SEC football championship contest between LSU and Georgia. No matter the outcome, LSU surprised everyone this year with its high-powered offense, led by quarterback Joe Burrow. And leading the team onto the field Saturday was their barrel chested, gravel voiced, Louisiana loving head …

Career Advice from Coach O Read More »

Last week we began exploring the need to “begin with the end in mind” when it comes to retirement planning. If you’re just stuffing dollars into a 401(k), you have a retirement account, but don’t have a retirement plan. A retirement plan is not only a tactic of funding a future retirement, but also a …

What Do I Do with My Retirement Plan When I Retire? Part 2 Read More »

Begin with the end in mind. That sounds obvious enough, doesn’t it?  When I finish writing this column, I’m planning to drive for four hours. But not just anywhere. I want to arrive in Baton Rouge at the conclusion of my drive. I’m not going to just get in my car and drive. I intend …

What Do I Do with My Retirement Plan When I Retire? Part 1 Read More »

All she ever wanted to do was stay at home.  When she and Craig first met and married, Anna chose a pretty traditional route for a woman of her generation. She stayed at home to focus her time and energies on raising their three boys. Though her boys each married women that chose to work …

Stay at Home Read More »

If you are old enough to remember when yearbooks were more popular than Facebook, you were an adult in the pre-Internet era.  That seems like a long, long time ago.  Today we often refer to Facebook and other such websites as “social media” or “social networks.” The idea is that the Internet facilitates the interaction …

They Were the Pre-Internet Social Networks Read More »

We got to an LSU football game once, only to discover we’d left the game tickets on the kitchen counter (stop laughing…you know you’ve nearly done the same). That wasn’t as bad as the time we got to Disney World, four Magic Kingdom manic kids in tow, only to discover we’d done the same things …

Did You Forget Something? Read More »

What’s the first thing they do when you go to a doctor’s office? OK, well yes, they check to make sure you have insurance. But what else? OK, you got me. They make you fill out a clipboard full of information that you fill out every single time you go to the doctor’s office. My …

Vital Signs Read More »

Wouldn’t it be nice to work at one of those places that offered big-time retirement perks? I mean the kind of employer that promises to send you millions of dollars over the course of your retirement. Guaranteed. You might be closer than you think. When it comes to retirement, attitudes naturally change as we get …

Social Security: Attitudes Alter with Age Read More »

“They’ll let you buy fresh dough and do it yourself,” Harrison offered. “You just get it in a big ball of dough, take it home and make your own. It’s cheaper!” I started thinking about flour all over the kitchen counter (and floor), chopping up dozens of ingredients, a hot oven and my spotty history …

DIY in the Kitchen and in the Retirement Account Read More »

The only thing she had left of him was his estate. If she lost that, she would lose him. It became obvious in our first conversation that she wasn’t here to talk to me about stocks, bonds, houses, buildings, businesses, or timberland. She had inherited all of that from her father.  From a purely financial …

Inheritance: Is It a Burden, Barrier, or Benefit? Read More »

“If I have my mind, I can work.” “Great,” I answered. “Let’s test that theory out.” I opened my drawer and pulled out a hammer, laying it gently on the desk between us.  “Please place your hand palm down on the desk,” I said. “Your off-hand is fine. And please don’t move it…the hammer can …

Your Disaster Scenario Read More »

What’s got you stuck? Consultant Bobb Beihl tells of a time he was behind the scenes of an Arizona circus and started chatting with a man who trains animals for Hollywood movies. “How is it that you can stake down a ten-ton elephant with the same size stake that you use for this little fellow?” …

What’s Got You Stuck? Read More »

When Tyler left, Melinda cried. She cried because he was a kind, thoughtful young man who reminded her of her own sons, whom she had also seen leave the nest. In the month or two he’d lived with us, he’d unconsciously worked his way into her heart. I also got a little misty-eyed…without being asked …

Launching Tyler Read More »

It would be a one-time expense.  He was not asking my permission. He was notifying me of a change I was now being tasked to make in his retirement plan.  He drove that change to our meeting. I had not previously thought of him as a tricked-out Escalade kind of guy, but there he was …

One-Time Expenses are Rarely One Time Read More »

“That’s never going to happen.” She held a binder in her hands with papers, charts, and projections outlining the process of how she and her husband might gradually replace the income they each earned through working with income that comes from their accumulated assets.  Otherwise known as a retirement plan. “Now hold on a minute,” …

From Vision to Provision to Victory Read More »

What if you found out retirement was bad for you? Would you reconsider it? Or at least the way it is traditionally done? Richard W. Johnson thinks so. He’s the director of retirement policy at the Urban Institute. His survey of studies done on the health of retirees suggests a number of downsides for retirees, …

Is Retirement Bad for You? Read More »

Early in my career, I learned that water causes wills.  “Hey, Julie and I are going to Europe to celebrate her 40th birthday and we both decided we wanted to get wills done before we go…” It’s a phone call I get once or twice a year, either from a client or a friend.  Something about …

Water, Wills, and What to Say Read More »

“Why hasn’t anyone ever told me about this?” she asked. She was at the same time relieved, chagrined, and just a tiny bit angry.  Like many facing retirement, she had started later than she now wished she had and was facing the prospect of a significant lifestyle change. Sure, she could keep spending money in …

Hidden in Plain Sight Read More »

When a preacher tells you that your treasure should be in heaven, you might want to listen. But if one of them starts telling you that at least some of your treasure might be found in recently discovered Confederate government bonds, foreign exchange currency schemes, timber contracts, off-shore certificates of deposit or high yield hospital …

Of Scams, God, and Good ‘Ol Boys Read More »

Question: What is financial wellness? I am a human resources professional and financial wellness is a hot topic among my peers. The idea is that if we provide financial wellness training for our employees, they can be more stable and productive for their employers. That sounds good, but I’m not even sure how to define …

Financial Wellness Read More »

Question: My wife and I are setting some goals with respect to our retirement and we have a question. Should we be pessimistic or optimistic about how things will go, both now and in retirement? I’ve run different scenarios and things can really turn out wildly different, depending on what assumptions you use. Answer: One …

Goal Setting: Aim at What You Require, Desire, and Aspire Read More »

Question: I have been working with a financial planner for a few years and I’m not satisfied. It isn’t so much about the investment part. That’s been OK. But I just don’t feel like he knows I am alive. Is it too much to expect to be able to find someone who will take care …

Mistakes When Working with a Financial Advisor Read More »