Introducing a new consulting service: Jump Start Your Finances

Are you:

• Overwhelmed by your company’s 401K choices?
• Confused about investment products?
• Living from paycheck to paycheck?
• Saving enough to meet your financial goals?
• Getting all the tax deductions you are entitled to?

Jump Start Your Finances is a consultation session for younger individuals and couples, who have important questions about their finances, but who may not yet need a written financial plan.

The Jump Start Your Finances Consultation will teach you:

• How to choose the right investments for you,
• About diversifying your portfolio and why it’s important,
• Why you should check your credit every year,
• How to create a realistic and workable spending plan,
• About basic income tax planning, including how much you should withhold from your paycheck.

The Jump Start Your Finances Consultation is a 2 hour consultation, in person or via telephone, and is perfect for recent college graduates, first-time employees and beginning investors. Here’s what you’ll get from your financial checkup:

1. 1-on-1 coaching session with a CFP/CPA
2. A review of your 401K or other employer-sponsored plan
3. A Prioritized “to-do” list
4. Educational worksheets on financial planning topics

Ready to get started? Contact Kristine McKinley at 816-739-4853, or email us at kristine@beacon-advisor.com to setup your consultation today!

Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? A gift certificate for the Jump Start Your Finances Consultation is a thoughtful gift for the holidays, graduation, weddings, or any occasion! There’s no better gift than the peace of mind that comes with preparing for your financial future.

The most important thing you can do during volatile market times is to have a plan, and to NOT make rash decisions based on emotion. During volatile markets, planning is essential to minimize your stress level. That doesn’t mean that you won’t feel nervous if your investments decline, but focus and confidence will help you fight the natural human tendency when it comes to your own nest egg to sell when the market is down. Remember the old adage “Buy low, sell high”? Now is the perfect time to “buy low”.

A well diversified portfolio is one of your best allies when markets are volatile. Remember, you are investing for the long term; even if you are retired your investment horizon could still be 20+ years. Market downturns can be great buying opportunities for the long-term investor. For example, your regular 401K contributions this month are purchasing more shares than 6 months ago. When you actually need these funds in 5, 10, or 20 years, chances are very good they will have significantly increased in value. So by buying when the market is low, you are actually leveraging your money to work harder for you in the future.

On the other hand, if you are reaching the end of your accumulation years and/or entering the distribution phase of your life, you will not want to make any rash decisions based on the market’s short-term volatility. The worst thing you can do is to fall prey and “sell low” because you are panicked. So, give yourself a 10 day breather after any big market event – whether up or down – and give me a call before you make any buy or sell decisions. There may be some tweaking we can do to your portfolio to help you get through the volatility, without selling out when the market is down.

No matter which stage of investing you are in, the message I am trying to communicate to you is this: if your financial plan and investment strategy was sound a week ago, it is still sound today. Unless something has changed in your life, it is unlikely that you should take radical action. If you feel like your portfolio does not reflect your goals or risk tolerance, then now may be a great time to schedule a financial checkup to review your portfolio. Otherwise, remember that you are investing for the long-term, and this short term volatility will eventually pass.

Expect the market to be volatile this year. In addition to the recent recession fears (the media is not our friend in this case), we are in an election year, so expect more volatility in 2008. However, this too shall pass! Keep focused on your goals, post them in plain sight and review them often.

Probably the best advice I can give you is something I heard a CNBC analyst say this morning (while we waited for a low opening on Wall Street): “If you’re investing for more than 12 months, you should turn the news off, it doesn’t affect you today”.

Money Makeover: Couple frets over saving at the same time for their retirement, kids’ college expenses

by Gene Meyer
The Kansas City Star

Steven and Angie Cortez look into the future and see a financial dilemma they want to resolve now.

The couple, who both are educators and not yet 40, theoretically will be eligible to retire when Steven turns 53 and achieves the combination of age and years in service to qualify for Kansas Public Employees Retirement System teachers’ benefits.

That doesn’t seem realistic, the Olathe residents say, because their children, twins Kennedy and Carson, who turn 6 Monday, will still be in college when the milestone arrives.

They don’t mind postponing retirement for a few years. But they are concerned about how best to prepare now to hit two humungous savings targets — college and retirement — so potentially close together.

“We’ve been told that we should max out our Roth IRA savings before we contribute anything to college funds, but I’m not sure that’s the best way to go,” Steven Cortez said.

Neither target is an easy one.

Some rough, back-of-the-envelope calculations based on College Board projections show that the $50,000 it costs to send a student to a public college for four years now may more than double by the time Kennedy and Carson are freshmen. For a private school, the already higher costs will almost double too.

But a financial planner who analyzed the Cortezes’ situation more thoroughly calculates Steven and Angie also need to accumulate $1.97 million in the next two decades to supplement his KPERS and their other projected retirement benefits so he can retire at 60 and live as comfortably as they do now.

“Retirement savings should be your higher priority,” said Kristine McKinley, the certified financial planner from Lee’s Summit who examined the Cortez’s circumstances.

Saving for retirement often is more urgent than saving for college, McKinley said. First, as is the case with the Cortezes, retirement requires more money than college. Second, families have resources such as loans, grants or scholarships to turn to if savings come up short. Retirees have far fewer alternate choices.

But there’s good news too, McKinley told the couple.

Saving more aggressively and more efficiently now for retirement should also provide a potential cushion to help with the college funding if that’s needed.

The keys are Roth IRAs that the Cortezes opened to provide tax-free income when they retire. In a jam, Roth savers also can withdraw money they’ve contributed — but not the investment profits earned — before retirement without incurring penalties, she said. Pulling money out also will trim the account’s potential growth, however, so it shouldn’t be done lightly.

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