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What we can learn from the dogs

Just over a year ago, my family and I decided to take the plunge and get a dog. What type of dog should we get was the first question that we put our minds to and after much consternation we elected to get a German Shepherd puppy. We decided to do this through a breeder in Ontario. We checked out her website and through the wonders of computers we narrowed it down to a couple of choices. That Sunday we got into the car and drove the two hours to visit the breeder and see firsthand which one was going to become part of our family.

The Inherent Conflicts of Financial Advisors - Buyer Beware

Only a true financial planner or financial planning team can help the general public.

You may not agree with the above statement but unfortunately when push comes to shove it is very true. There are three ways in which a person/entity gets remunerated for their work – salary, fee and/or commission. If you work in the financial world, you will have a bias toward what is right or wrong for a client depending on how you get paid.

WHAT IS YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY?

Anyone who uses a company called 4Imprint for their promotional products will likely have received one of their ‘Blue Papers’ recently which spoke to the idea that a company should have a social media policy in place. That got me thinking.

10 Things that make you Poorer

The following is an interesting piece that I read the other day.

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 10:42:43 GMT | By Liz Pulliam Weston, MSN Money

The costs of these products increase as time goes by.
Everything you buy makes you poorer, in a sense. But some things have hidden costs that can lead you to shell out far more than you'd expected. Sometimes those continuing expenses are so high that you'll curse the day you first opened your wallet.

WHAT IS MISSING FROM YOUR FINANCIAL PLAN?

I spent a full day last week sitting in a conference room listening to someone who made a lot of sense – Stephanie Holmes-Winton. She spent time in her career managing money for some very wealthy people and as her career progressed, she discovered that the upper, middle and lower classes have something in common other than all requiring oxygen to survive.

I AM CANADIAN

What a great slogan that was for a nation that resoundingly enjoys their suds. But this past long weekend, I read an article in the Toronto Star by Cathal Kelly that made me decide to write about it in my blog this time around.

Financial Planner? Market Timing?

In August of 2011, I sent a note out to all of my clients that we were in for a ride with respect to the markets. Since that time, we have seen swings up and swings down and there is no suggestion that the near future will see anything different. Despite all of this, one of the most common questions that I get from people once they learn that I am a financial planner is “So where do you think I should invest because the markets are scary right now?”

YOUR RECENTLY MARRIED TO-DO LIST

Since many of you do not subscribe to my monthly email newsletter, I thought it would be good to post an article that was in the June issue.

John and Jane had spent many months planning for their special day. They had also budgeted and spent many thousands of dollars to celebrate their wedding. Now what?

Since John and Jane have made a for richer or poorer commitment to each other, it's time to do something about it; and they need to start right away. Following is a list of the primary areas that will need their immediate attention:

Emotional Reason Always Outweighs Financial Reason

Think about the title for a second. Have you ever found yourself saying something like, “I know that I should not do this but I want to!” If you have not, then you are truly a rare breed. Let’s face it most of us do this quite regularly. What most of us do not do, however, is plan for this situation.

How To Prevent Becoming A Statistic

Every day there seems to be some new scheme designed to make one person wealthy and the rest a couple of bucks poorer. Whether it is betting on sports games or putting your skill to the test purchasing a lottery ticket (sarcasm) there are ample opportunities to try your luck.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you actually won? Maybe you know someone that has won. Maybe you play the dreaming game - “If I were a rich man…” Whatever you think, it is completely different when it is your picture on the front page of whatever contest wrap up.

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