To all my wise-crackers out there – yes, I realize it is not Monday as I’m sending this out – but it’s in Monday Morning Quarter-Buck style!  For those of you that are football fans, it’s common to sit around the preverbal water cooler and discuss what happened during our favorite football game the prior weekend.  Discussing where the referee’s missed the mark and made ridiculous calls, how the team played, and the actions of the coaches.  Well, that’s how I felt today.  Every time I thought I had this Special Edition ready to send out to you all, a new article comes into my email box with additional information, feedback and opinions.  So, what I had planned to have out to you this morning is just now finally “ready.”  

A bit of history – did you know that on November 6, 1917, yep one hundred years ago, women won the right to vote in New York.  Read more about this amazing milestone in this New York Times Article.

I can’t believe we are less than 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving! 

So much has happened since the last time I sat down to write this blog!  We’ve been busy recording some interesting interviews for our podcast, “Wine and Dime” with Amy Irvine, so if you have a few moments subscribe via iTunes or head on over to our website to catch up: Wine and Dime Podcasts

Last weekend, on November 4th, 2017, I had the privilege of co-hosting the 4th Annual Southern Tier Financial Conference for Women by Women.  The event this year

Autumn is here, although the weather is saying something very different (I’m perfectly happy with it!).  This year is just flying by and the events of the past few weeks have made it feel like it has been months since my last blog post! 
 
On the mind of many is the Equifax Breach.  It seems every day we are learning more and more about this breach.   Many of you may have already signed up for the 1-year monitoring from Trusted ID Premier, but I’m beginning to wonder if that is enough.  According to an article published by the Federal Trade Commission, Equifax is now offering free freezes until November 21st.  However, unlike a fraud alert, a freeze needs to be placed with each individual credit reporting agency, so to make a freeze truly effective you would need to place a freeze with TransUnion and Experian.  If you’d like to read the article for yourself, here is the link: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/free-credit-freezes-equifax?utm_source=govdelivery
 

This release is a little sappy, I'll admit, but I am feeling so thankful and really want to share something from my heart although it's a little scary for me to do that, I know you are all so supportive, that I am following the advice from John Lennon, "hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."

Several years ago, when my grandmother was clearly near the end of her life, I asked her if she could have a “do-over” was there anything in life that she would change.  She looked at me with her chin pointed out and simply said, “no.”  

It’s here, it’s finally here!  As you all enjoyed a wonderful Friday looking forward to the weekend, I quietly celebrated the fact that all advisors must now act as a fiduciary when dealing with your retirement accounts!  Notice, I mentioned retirement accounts only?  That’s right, there are now two sets of rules for some advisors.

In Part four of the College Education series, we explore loan repayment options, how does one apply for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and is loan forgiveness taxable?

In Part three of College Education month, we explore what we call the pre-qualifying process, similar to pre-qualifying for a house; let’s make sure your child (or maybe even you) will not graduate with so much debt that they can’t afford to build their adult life. When that award letter arrives and you see anything with the word loan in it, understand, not all loans are equal!  

In Part two of College Education month, we will explore questions that you might want to ask when you visit a college, talk with a college recruiter, or meet with a college admissions counselor.

If you Google “college interview,” you will find tons of websites on how to prepare for your college visit, but it’s from the angle of the college, not the student “hiring” the college.  Here’s the thing, you are hiring the college, they are NOT hiring you or your child.  So I propose a different approach on selecting a college to attend.  We think we are privileged when accepted at the college of our choice, but in reality, the college is the one benefiting from attendance and payment of such!

What questions do you ask when you are interviewing a person that you want to add to staff?  Why wouldn’t the questions be the same?  I suggest that you approach it that way by asking a series of interview questions that include, but are not limited to:

“OMG, I have finally discovered what’s wrong with my Brain: on the left side, there is nothing right, and on the right side, there is nothing left…” ― Minion Quote

Speaking of food...And so the backyard barbeques will soon begin.  The celebrations of summer and both College and High School graduations will soon be in full swing.  Perhaps you have one of these events to attend, or simply attending makes you think of your own family situation with regards to college costs?  Even if your kids are grown, are they still paying down their own college debt, which prohibits them from saving for other goals? A few big questions might be, how much do I need to save, how much will college cost, what can be done to reduce those costs?  My goal this month is to educate you on these options. Throughout the month of May my theme will be focused on college planning.