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 »