Financial Planning

Today’s title is generally attributed to Mort Sahl, America’s first widely televised stand-up comedian. He was well known for his commentaries on the times but before he became famous, he did, in fact, wash and sell cars for a living. The phrase came to mind recently when I saw actor Tom Selleck promoting reverse mortgages on TV.

My great aunt Irma was quite well off, living in a small grove in Orange, California next door to entertainer José Feliciano. We visited her every few years and she took us to nice restaurants, always picking up the tab. As I got older, I was more a part of the adult conversations going on during those visits.

I was looking forward to attending the spring National Association of Personal Financial Advisors Conference last week in Denver. A bonus was the Cincinnati Reds were scheduled to play the Denver Rockies. Instead of being in Denver, I attended a virtual conference.

Sarah Newcomb, director of behavioral science at Morningstar Inc., gave a presentation on reframing retirement.

Welcome back to my New Year’s thoughts about financial and life planning.

Last week I discussed insurance but didn’t have enough space to mention long term care.

This is really hitting home for me this week. I have a soon to be Senior in College home for the summer and he is into the financial questions. I don't know if it's because he will be living off-campus this fall and is getting into "adult" mode or what. He set up a Mint.com account, a ROTH IRA and is trying to budget for utilities, rent and food. He also purchased renter's insurance.

Since I’m on the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation, the Beatles have been an influence on my life for more than half a century. During their touring years, the least flamboyant of them was George Harrison, the lead guitarist and contributor of one song per album. After the band members went their separate ways, he became better known as a songwriter.