Start Now

It doesn't matter if you are just starting your first job, or you are 60 and just haven't brought yourself to join your company's 401k. I'll take licence from Nike here "Just do it!"  If you have not been with your firm long enough to join the 401K - or they do not have one, open an IRA.  And start now - you don't have to wait until tax season.

We have become a consumer society and most of us spend more than we earn. Tithe 10% to your retirement.  Many commit that much to church.  If you love God - you need to also love yourself. There is no excuse, put pennies in a piggy bank, put dollars in an envelope, just do it.  Have one less latte at Starbucks, You can pass on that 6 pack of PBR.

I wish I had started earlier.  Here I am preaching to save and at 54 I am way behind myself. I am aggressively making the move - and I know you can too - lets do it together!

Are You Ready?

No matter who you are, how old you are, how wealthy you are, one day you will ask "am I ready to retire?" We may all think that is what we are working so hard for.  That day you wake up and have nothing to do but golf, read, fish, surf, whatever your hobby is.  Mine is cycling.  But at the end of the day, your life will be changed forever.

Imagine you are the CEO of a 500 person mid sized company.  You are responsible for those 500 people, and they are there to ensure your success.  You and your husband both retired at the same time, your life is relegated to listening to your husband snore from boredom of watching TV.  Your self identity was based on what you did. Basically your life will change forever and I will leave your psyche to your shrink.  My job is to ensure that you can have the pleasure of listening to that symphony of snore.

You may have spent your life as a teacher, and you have looked forward to retiring on that pension you earned for disciplining and teaching kids for 40 years.  Will the pension be enough, will you have the cash to travel  you dreamed of? My job is to help you ensure that you have supplemented that pension. 

It is never to early to start, nor is it to late.  If you are 20 or 60, planning for "the day" is the number one priority of your retirement strategy.  And in the case of funding a portion with insurance, which will be an option, the longer you wait - the more it will cost.

New Directions

Well I made my decision to become a Financial Advisor with the Florida Financial Group, a MetLife company,  MetLife is the number one life insurance company in the world and in the Fortune 50.  It has also been ranked as one of the best places to work for working mothers.  I'm not a mother, but I am married to one, and the company's caring for this group of people is meaningful to me.

I have months ahead of training and certifications and I am excited to enter this new career.  I spent fifteen years in Public Accounting and fifteen years in industry - eleven of those as a CFO.  There was nowhere higher to climb on that ladder, so I am giving a shot at a new ladder.  I beleive this will be good work as I plan to focus on retirement advising.  Wish me luck and I hope to meet with you soon to help you with your retirement goals.