Prosper

Four Questions for Pastors on Money, Faith and Purpose

A couple of summers ago, our firm conducted research, asking a wide variety of respondents about their financial concerns as they thought about retirement. The answers varied, but a frequent response questioned the relationship between faith and finances. They often commented about not getting much direction from their church.

Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Hiring “the” Financial Advisor

There are a few people who will learn a lot about you through the course of your life: your spouse, your doctor, your lawyer, and your financial advisor. I can’t tell you how to find the right fit when you’re looking for a doctor or a lawyer. And when it comes to your spouse, the only advice I can give is to pray that you’re as blessed as I’ve been, and you find someone who has an abundance of patience and forgiveness—if you’re like me, you’ll probably need it! But having worked for three decades in the financial business, I can tell you more about finding the right fit when it comes to selecting a financial advisor. Before you start working with an advisor, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Do you have confidence in their competence?
• Do you relate to your advisor?
• Does the structure of their firm fit your needs?

Five Things Purpose-Minded High Achievers Face with Retirement

A little while back, I interviewed high-achievers—leaders who had built strong businesses, careers, and families—to find out what they were most concerned about when it came to retirement. Though the issues they were concerned about varied and reflected the unique nature of their individual successes, five common themes emerged. Interviewees feared retirement would lead to a loss of identity, wondered “How much is enough?”, worried that their families would be negatively affected by “sudden wealth,” were concerned about being on the same page with their spouse, and thought that living on their retirement income may require less charitable involvement. These concerns are completely reasonable, but the good news is that by being proactive, you can create a retirement that aligns with your values as a purpose-driven leader.

This 83-Year-Old Retiree Started an Organization to Rebuild the Country’s Electrical Grid

What do you want to accomplish in retirement? If someone had asked Bob Galvin that, they would have gotten a really strange answer. Galvin was born in 1922. His father was Paul Galvin, the co-founder of The Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. Before Bob Galvin assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer from his father in 1958, The Galvin Manufacturing Corporation would be renamed Motorola. After taking the reins from his father, Galvin grew Motorola from a successful domestic small electronics manufacturer to a leading global innovator in a wide range of technology. Under Galvin’s leadership Motorola ushered in the modern communications age when it developed the first cell phone. In 1973, a Motorola engineer used a 4.5-pound prototype to make the world’s first cell phone call. (Who did that engineer call? A competitor, to tell him what Motorola had created.)

What Does a Ford Pinto Have to Do with Your Retirement Account? More Than You Might Think.

If you’ve paid attention to the news lately, you’ve probably seen a lot of chatter on whether the federal government should mandate retirement advisors to maintain a fiduciary responsibility toward their clients. I’ve been around the block a bit, and the fiduciary conversation reminds me of the saga of the Ford Pinto. When the Pinto debuted in 1971, it had some things going for it. The economy in the 1970s was bad, and Pintos were designed to be affordable. The car’s good gas mileage also made the Pinto cheap to drive, and that was important because the United States experienced wide-scale fuel shortages during the decade. Unfortunately, the Pinto did have one big drawback: It was poorly designed, and the car tended to catch fire and explode when rear-ended. If people know or remember the story of the Ford Pinto at all, they tend to think the fires were the result of Ford’s attempt to skirt the law. That wasn’t the case.

Retirement Isn’t About How Much Money You Have. It’s About the Life You Want to Live.

When it comes to retirement, “How much is enough?” is really the core question many of our clients face. It’s a question that can cause a significant amount of anxiety. Why? Because retirement is one of the biggest changes we’ll ever experience. When we think about retiring, our emotions touch everything from a loss of identity to financial insecurity—and the natural anxiety that comes from an unknown future. But before you get too worried trying to answer “How much is enough?”, here are a few things you should know.

Want to Use Your Wealth to Make a Difference? First, Define Your Personal Mission and Vision

In my last post, I wrote about the need to have a plan for giving if you’re retired or have an unpredictable income stream. Those who’ve been blessed with wealth want to make a difference, but too often busy lives and careers leave them making last-minute, tax-driven donations at the end of the year. Writing checks (or online donations) on December 31 does make a positive impact, but if I know one thing about my clients, it’s that they typically hate settling. They haven’t settled when it comes to their careers or the businesses they’ve built. They haven’t settled when it comes to creating a prosperous life for themselves and their family. Yet too many settle for a giving “strategy” that isn’t really a strategy at all, robbing themselves of the opportunity to donate in a manner that truly aligns with their values and beliefs—and the opportunity to experience the true joy of giving. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are a few tips on how to change the way you approach philanthropy.

Time, Talent, and Treasure: Why You Need a Plan for Giving in Retirement

For many of you, the end of the year means a last minute rush of giving to charities you support. That rush often leaves you saying, “Next year, I have to do this better.” But when it comes to philanthropy, what does “better” really mean? It means having a strategy for giving. If you’re newly retired, an entrepreneur with an unusual income stream, or an investor with a mix of liquid and illiquid wealth, you might approach giving on an asset-based income, rather than the income generated by your business or your career. That can be a challenge. Giving on an asset-based income brings up questions like: “How much is enough?” “Can I afford to give like I used to and still maintain the quality of life I hoped for?” “What measuring stick do I use to determine how much I give?”

Your Next Big Act After Retirement is Waiting for You

Ronald Reagan retired from the silver screen, became a GE spokesman, retired from that job, became Governor of California, retired from that job, then became President. Bill Gates built the world’s largest software maker, retired from that job, and created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Today that foundation works to solve a variety of issues, from malaria to a lack of female educational opportunities. Freddy Simon started “Freddy’s Steakburgers” after retiring from his sales job at age 77. That one restaurant has grown into a nationwide chain of more than 220 stores. South African Otto Thaning swam the English Channel at age 73. And a meaningful second act isn’t just restricted to people you can find on Google.

The Certain Uncertainty of the Presidential Election

With just under a week to go until the November 8th presidential election, there is one thing Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, moms, dads, kids, entrepreneurs, executives, employees, doctors, lawyers, dentists, and anyone not covered by those categories can agree on: We’re all nervous. And it’s easy to see why. The stakes for this election seem higher, and the rhetoric regarding the candidates and the consequences of their election seem more dire than ever. But before you start stockpiling the rice, beans, and bullets, here are a few things to remember.