Thanksgiving – We Are Grateful for You!
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart,
it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
Our entire More than Money/MtM team has wonderfully large hearts and are immensely grateful to you. You honor us when you allow us to serve you and those you love. You honor us when you join in our efforts to make our world a little better by raising funds and supporting outstanding non-profits. You honor us when you join us in prayers for those who need our help. You honor us when you share some of your time to see our tv shows or listen to our radio show. You honor us when we are blessed to call you friend.
We are very, very grateful to have you in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving – all year round.
“Real Life Questions – Real World Answers”
“After retiring in 2009, I rolled everything over to a large financial services firm. Fast forward to 2023, I get a yearly call from my adviser about my accounts. I was never really satisfied with my earnings but after requesting $35K to purchase a pristine 2014 Jaguar, he just wasn’t as cordial anymore.
I asked my adviser to provide me with documentation that shows my earnings as well as any fees I have been charged for services since I opened the account. I never had anything in writing about fees. He told me he would provide me with it but a few months have gone by and I still haven’t gotten anything from him.
I don’t feel good about this anymore. What should I do?”
You might be the most patient person I’ve run into in a long time. Sometimes patience is a virtue – not this time.
You must secure for yourself a trusted, experienced financial advisor who puts your best interests ahead of his/hers. The treatment you have received, the lack of service, the complete disregard for your requests, and his crappy attitude are more than enough reasons for you to look for the type of advisor you deserve. As a point of reference, any respectable advisor would be able to answer your questions about earnings and fees in less than five minutes. The fact that he hasn’t responded in months suggests to me he is hiding something and that something may well get him into hot water. He is hoping you forget. Don’t forget.
You may be relieved to know that many really fine financial advisors are out there ready and willing to serve you with professionalism and respect. In fact, you will likely find that an outstanding advisor will cost you no more than this schlepp. All you need do to upgrade your entire advisor experience is say the word.
And finally, many people fear that moving to a new advisor is a hard, complicated, or confrontational thing to do. Not true. Once you’ve identified your new (respectful and professional) advisor he/she will handle all the details of the transfer. You just need to relax and enjoy the benefits of an outstanding advisory relationship. You’ve waited too long.
“My 25-year-old daughter was recently gifted $17K from her grandmother. This amount may be an annual gift, and if so, a trust will be set up.
My daughter is a university graduate, works full time, but her employer does not offer benefits or a savings plan. She does reside at a second home I own, and does pay rent and utilities, owns her vehicle. She has zero debt and a healthy amount of savings of over $60K.
Should she invest this current gift in a CD, a mutual fund, or an IRA, or a combination of investments?”
Congratulations to both your daughter and her grandmother. I suspect they are both rather remarkable women with large hearts and excellent judgement.
Your daughter has made so many wise choices that one item you mentioned sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb. Her employer does not offer either benefits or a savings (401(k) for example) plan. Why is she working for an employer who is either too short-sighted or too financially strapped to provide for their most important business assets – the employees?
As the father to three (or four – it’s kind of a story) daughters I would encourage her to look for a position that she enjoys and provides her with solid benefits as well.
In the interim, with no retirement plan at work, encourage her to set up an IRA. She can currently invest $6,500 (that will rise over time) into a Roth IRA (best choice for a young person) annually. Starting so young will allow her to craft a very exciting financial future taking full advantage of the miracle of compounding.
That still leaves us with some (potentially) large annual dollars to consider. Does your daughter wish to own a home at some point? If so, stock-piling dollars (not investing – big difference) is very wise. She has an excellent start with her $60,000 in savings. Adding grandmother’s gift(s) to that amount will move her ever closer to home ownership. She might consider short-term (24 months or less) CDs to hold some of those funds. Currently 5% rates are widely available. That will help accelerate her reaching her goal.
You mentioned setting up a trust. Why? Your daughter is an adult, has demonstrated lots of sound judgement, and has you for guidance. I’m not seeing the advantage (I do see some disadvantages) of setting up a trust. If the thought is you might be able to protect her from making some mistakes – don’t. She will make mistakes. We all have and continue to do so. Be there to counsel her. And be there to console her when necessary. Bruises are part of life and often provide us with valuable lessons – even wisdom.
Finally, consider introducing your daughter to a financial advisor. She may well benefit from having an advisor (not a relative) who can assist her with evaluating the many decisions she will face along her financial journey. In our More than Money World Headquarters we are fortunate to have advisors not much older than your daughter. She would have the chance to benefit not just from their guidance, but from the wisdom of an old(er) guy who helps out a bit here and there. They might well form a lifelong friendship.
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