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As I penned this blog on the back of a barf bag while stuck on a Southwest plane waiting to have it’s malfunctioning electro-optical peanut butter sensor repaired, it seemed an appropriate time to remind myself of a few of the many, many things I’m grateful for.

Did you owe tax last year after the federal tax law changes? I did. Last year the IRS changed withholding guidance for employers that may have put more money into our checks but left us with a larger payment at tax time. Now is the time to check whether you’ll owe or get a refund and how to adjust if you need to.

The Medicare alphabet soup of options reminds me of that old Abbott & Costello routine, “Who’s on first?” where Abbott’s list of the baseball team’s players – Who, What, etc. – is also a non-responsive answer to Costello’s questions. Don’t remember that? Good for you, Medicare is probably years away. Chuckle, like me, when you think of that bit? Probably need to pay attention to this.

When you go to a car dealership you expect to be sold a car, right? In fact, they’re called salespeople. You both know the relationship of the other so you know what to expect. No problem.

Similarly, if you go see a financial advisor you expect to get advice. But, how do you know if that advisor is truly providing advice for you or really just trying to sell you something, such as life insurance or an annuity?

I love the big pass play in college football. In fact, one of my fondest football memories is the Andre Woodson to Stevie Johnson touchdown pass to beat Louisville in 2007. Even today, watching that play on YouTube gives me goose bumps. One thing I don’t care for, however, is the “expert” in the stands constantly yelling at the offensive coordinator to “throw the deep ball!” As much as I love them, those are low-percentage plays that are prone to incompletions or, worse, interceptions. They add risk to the team’s goals to score and win and should only be employed within the overall game plan.

My friend Jed came into wealth from some bubbling crude a few years back and decided to invest some of that newfound cash. Now, being a simple but wise man, Jed knew instinctively that he shouldn’t put all his eggs into one basket, but he didn’t know what kind of baskets to use and how many eggs to put into each. So, he decided to seek some advice from a Certified Financial Planner™ professional. This highly trained advisor, bound by a strict code of ethics requiring him to provide Jed advice strictly in Jed’s best interest, recommended he diversify his investments because that would help reduce his risk and smooth out his investing ride.  

As a generous man, Jed gifted part of his life-changing windfall to his son, Jethro. Now, Jethro is also a simple man but maybe not quite as wise as his father. In fact, he was quite comfortable keeping all his proverbial cereal in one, very large bowl. He didn’t seek professional financial help, other than his friend from the bank, Jane Hathaway, who readily agreed with Jethro’s suspenders and more suspenders approach.

Maybe nothing tests one’s self-discipline more than an unexpected bonanza of money. Hmm, what to do first? Buy the Tesla, fly to Europe? Oh, I know, I should invest in a horse! After all, horse people are rich, racing money must be easy money! In fact, a recent study found that adults who receive an inheritance save just half, while spending, donating or losing the rest.  And nearly 20% who received $100,000 or more spent their entire gift. Here are 4 tips what to do and 2 tips what not to do after receiving an inheritance.

Ever buy a “one size fits all” pair of pants? Me either. It’s no mystery why there’s no such thing. Boogie Cousins and I, for instance, can’t wear the same pair of jeans because he’s 7-feet tall and I’m 6-feet tall. Guess what? Boogie and I need different financial planning and investing strategies too. He’s going to earn a lot in a short period of time but, even if healthy, not for very long. That’s a much different situation than someone like me who has worked for more than 30 years and has one child graduating from college this year and another starting next fall.

Ever use one of those aging apps where you take a photo and the app ages you 20 or 30 years into the future? I won’t look like that! That’s crazy! Delete! Well, not so fast my future wrinkled friend. Maybe an app like that can inspire us to invest more for our retirement or exercise more or cut out sweets…well, let’s not get carried away.

In a study by Hal Hershfield, an economist from UCLA, people who viewed aged images of themselves were more inclined to increase their savings for retirement. Hershfield used software to age half of the subjects in his study with jowls and wrinkly skin – all those things that won’t actually happen to me or you, thank goodness. They then gave all the study subjects a fictional $1,000 and gave them four choices for how to use that money: investing in a retirement fund, give a gift to a friend now, planning a fun event or putting money into a checking account. People shown their aged images put twice as much money into their retirement fund as those who weren’t. If shown aged images of someone else, though, their choices weren’t affected.

Should I invest in that man below?

The four of us recently had “the talk.” No, that talk. We sat down to discuss our family’s finances – salaries, investments, etc. I’d read where two-thirds of Americans who have at least $3 Million of investable assets have not spoken to their children about their wealth, and never will. The article described the many excuses people give for not discussing the subject, including parents’ desire to maintain their kids’ motivation to succeed on their own and not expect a large inheritance. While I understand that sentiment, it seemed pretty ridiculous for a guy who blogs about personal finance and investing to avoid the same subjects with my own kids. So, we did it…and it was terrific!