Two Thoughts

Financial planning can mean a lot of different things, and it can be as in depth or light as you want it to be. There are some people who budget every dollar and others who don’t worry about money until the sh*t hits the fan.

Two recent planning events made me sit up and want to share. First, the super in my building became ill. We found him in the basement passed out and completely incoherent. An ambulance came and took him to St. Luke’s–Roosevelt. Our super has a complicated family, and I’m not going to get into that, but we did not have an emergency contact for him. When I went to visit him and check on his status, the hospital said it didn’t have a telephone number of a family member to call and consult. Since I was not family, the hospital could not share any information with me. Our super was essentially in a coma, and no one could make a medical decision for him. That is a very scary thing. If you don’t have a healthcare proxy, someone to make decisions for you if you cannot, choose one and get it in writing as soon as possible.

The other event spurred a thought more than actual advice. I met a couple from Michigan shopping for a second home in New Hampshire. “Isn’t it cold enough in Michigan?” was my immediate response, but the answer is much simpler. New Hampshire does not have a state income tax, and Michigan does. This couple, who are two years away from retiring, were figuring out a way to have more money in retirement. Many times we think about saving more or being more aggressive in our investments, but the devil can lie in the details: reducing expenses can be easier than saving more. 

I am not advocating that we all leave New York, Michigan, or California and head to New Hampshire, Wyoming, or Florida, but I’m offering food for thought when planning for retirement.

Why I Ride

Each August for the past seven years, I have ridden the Pan-Mass Challenge. If you are not familiar with the Pan-Mass, it is a 192-mile bike ride from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, to the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown. It is a two-day challenge that raises money and awareness for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

This is the 35^th year of the Pan-Mass, and collectively, its riders have raised more than a half-billion dollars for Dana-Farber. Yes, I repeat, well over a half-billion dollars. Each year the Pan-Mass is the largest contributor to Dana-Farber. For the people of Massachusetts and the rest of the country, Dana-Farber is a very important place if you have cancer.

As we ride along back roads and through small towns, hundreds of people come out to encourage us and say, “Thank You.” They hold up signs reading, “Thank You for Saving My Life,” or “Thank You, I’m Cancer Free for Three Years.” Unfortunately, not every sign is happy or uplifting—there are plenty of photographs to remind us of children and adults who have not been as fortunate.

About this time every year, with about two weeks to go before the ride, I say to myself, “I don’t think I’ll be able to finish this year. I haven’t trained enough. I drink too much wine and snack too much. I’m just not in shape.”  

Last week, while riding in New Jersey, I saw another rider with a Pan-Mass jersey on. I whined to her about how I am just not that into it this year and not motivated. With a smile she said, “You know why you ride,” and then proceeded to tell me that she had been diagnosed with cancer two years ago.

It clicked, as it probably does each year—we ride to save lives and to help those who need support. Every dollar we raise goes to research or treatment. We ride to support clinical trials and experimental treatments or maybe to help a family member of someone facing cancer who really needs someone to talk to.

If you have not watched Stuart Scott’s speech from the other night at the Espy awards, here is the link, http://usat.ly/WiPPcw, warning: It will make you cry—but that’s okay. Scott is an ESPN announcer who has been battling cancer for seven years. He continues to work, travel, and challenge his body in an insane fashion. Like the now famous “Never give up, never ever give up” speech by Jim Valvano, Scott’s speech will leave you breathless. To those affected with cancer, he says, “Live, and when you are too tired, rest and let someone else take care of you.”

We often talk about those who have cancer as victims. They are unfortunate, but they are not victims. Victims feel alone. Someone, or a family, who is battling cancer should never feel alone. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be healthy have the ability to help. We can comfort, be a friend, or do something as simple as ride a bike and in the process raise a lot of money.

So, yes, thank you to the woman I met last week out on the bike path, I do know why I ride. Live!

 

Summer Wines

Before I was a financial advisor, I was in the wine business. For over a decade I worked in retail, wholesale distribution, and importing. I was in my late twenties / early thirties, and the wine business in the United States was about to explode. It was an exciting time, and I had a chance to meet many of the major icons of the wine industry—Robert Mondavi, the Gallo brothers, and members of the Antinori family.

After college and before moving back to New York City, I worked for a chain of wine stores in the metro Detroit area called the Merchant of Vino. The owner of the chain was a man named Eddie Jonna. I think he is the greatest retailer I’ve ever met. He and his sons were very generous and never hesitated to crack open a good bottle of wine to try. To this day, when people ask me, “How do I learn about wine?” I say, “Drink it.”

While I no longer read Robert Parker’s newsletter and I let my subscription to the Wine Spectator expire, I still enjoy drinking a glass or two of wine every evening with dinner. My friends still consult with me before buying a nice bottle for a gift or text me when confused by a restaurant’s wine list.

My feeling about wine is similar to my views on investing, keep it simple. Don’t get caught up in and confused by the media. Drink what you like and understand. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to find a great bottle of wine.

As we head into the Fourth of July weekend and the summer gets into full swing, I thought I would share some of my summer selections with you.

It’s summer, and that means it’s time for rosé from the south of France. I am really enjoying Miraval rosé from Provence. This is the winery that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie own along with the Perrin family. The Perrins are famous winemakers from the Rhône and own the famous Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Miraval is light and perfect for those steamy, muggy nights. Another rosé that I have been quaffing is Peyrassol rosé, also from the Côtes de Provence. This wine is fuller bodied than Miraval and has a bit more fruit to it. This wine can easily accompany anything you may be grilling up. The last rosé that I’ll recommend is a wildcard from South Africa, Mulderbosch rosé. This one has a lot of fruit but is still fairly dry. Don’t be put off by the first whiff—it smells like fresh strawberries.

If I am not drinking rosé in the summer, I’m drinking pinot blanc from Alsace. Pinot blanc is grown all over the globe and goes by other names in different parts of the world. Pinot blanc is probably best know as one of the main grapes used in the blending of champagne. I love pinot blanc because it’s dry and has just enough fruit to make it interesting. It doesn’t overpower you like chardonnay. Truth be told, the wines of Alsace are my favorite white wines on the planet. Boom, that’s right Burgundy! Last night I drank an incredible 2010 pinot blanc from Schoffit. It was rich and gooey like honey. I drank it with a steak, and it held its own.

I recently was turned on to an interesting wine called Shebang! It comes from a small California winery that produces a sauvignon blanc, a white cuvée, and a red cuvée. A cuvée is a blended wine made from several varietals. The price point is perfect at about $12 a bottle, and it comes with a screw cap. There is nothing pretentious about Shebang! These wines are fun and easy to chug. A friend of mine calls the red his “pizza wine.”

A little bit pricier, at about $18 a bottle, is a great Oregon pinot noir from Montinore Estate. Forgive me for the wine-speak, but this is a smoky, dark, and full-bodied pinot noir. It is perfect with a steak, lamb, and even a hamburger. I may be late to the party with this wine—a few months ago the New York Times rated it one its best summer wines under $20. If you can still find it, stock up.

There’s my list, short and sweet. I hope you have a chance to drink some of these wines over the next few months. Let me know what you think.

Let's Do This

I like the Home Depot commercial that shows people getting fired up to start a home improvement project. The tagline is, ”Let’s do this.” That how I feel, let’s do this—let’s get our summer going. Let’s pick some projects we want to get done this summer. Let’s roll up our sleeves and let our hair down.

It’s summer, and hopefully your pace at work slows down, the kids are out of school, and generally you have more “time” on your hands. “Time,” that’s a concept, a concept you need to make more of.

So, what do I want to accomplish this summer? Here is my list:

1.       Learn to fish. We have a weekend place on a small lake in upstate New York. I see people out in their rowboats and along the shore casting their poles in and out of the water. It looks so relaxing and peaceful. 

2.       Improve my paella cooking skills. Paella seems like one of those dishes you can prepare so many different ways and you would never get tired of it. Along those lines, I’d like to learn more about and drink more Spanish wine. Of all of the great “Old World” wine regions, I know very little of the wines of Spain.

3.       Organize my papers. I am not as organized as you think. I keep things tidy, but that often means jamming papers into folders and promising myself I’ll file them. Those folders are getting full, and it’s time to either file or toss them.  I also want to implement my use of Evernote. Evernote is a Cloud-based storage system that allows you to file, photograph, and categorize everything into different notebooks. Imagine having all your car repair bills in one place! Evernote is free, and you can use it from your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

4.       Consolidate my credit cards. I wrote earlier about the changing landscape of accumulating reward points. I see no reason not to consolidate everything, with one card earning all of the rewards.

5.       Use my iPad more. The iPad must have so many more uses than watching Netflix or reading a book. I want to learn how to make presentations and connect to a large television monitor for client reviews.

There is my list, what’s yours? Let’s do this.

21

Sorry folks, I’ve been absent from the blogosphere for a few days. I had the pleasure of going to Las Vegas with my family and friends over the Memorial Day weekend. We were all celebrating our oldest child’s 21^st birthday. We had made this pact many years ago, pre–Hangover the movie, and that day was finally here.

I want to pat myself on the back and my wife too! We’ve done a really good job—and so has our son. What a delight to witness the responsible, intelligent, and funny young man he has grown into.

When your children are young, you don’t know what to expect. To a degree, I still don’t know what to expect, but I like the road he is on. Parenting ain’t easy. It’s like driving: instinctually, you know when you should accelerate or brake, but you don’t always do that. With your children, it is challenging to know when to step in and when to lay off.

In these times of helicoptering parents, kids don’t always get to learn to make their own decisions. Parents want to decide for them. Learning to make decisions is important, not just because it gets you to think for yourself but because you put yourself out there. You get to test the waters. Sometimes you make bad decisions and learn from them.

A lot has been written about the importance of failure recently. It must be a graduation theme this year. We all have read and know the importance of failure—it teaches us to get up and keep moving, to persevere through adversity.

One of the best lessons that I learned early on is that life ain’t fair. The spoils don’t always go to the winner. People cheat, live beyond their means, or just get lucky. So be it.

So, on my son’s 21^st birthday, I say: be happy, be generous, be kind, know who you are, and most important, Jeggings are for women.

 



Choosing a guardian or trustee

 

Sometimes people beat you to the punch, and sometimes another can put into words what you want to say but does it a whole lot better. Regardless, we live in a world of sharing and transparency, so why not share ideas that you think are worthwhile? I think that is the business model for Twitter, but that’s an entirely different discussion.

Brad Jenkins, who is an advisor with Buckingham Asset Management in St. Louis, wrote a very good and concise article on appointing trustees and guardians. Like most people, my wife and I struggled over this question when we had our wills drafted several years ago. No one likes to think about the what-ifs, but unfortunately, what-ifs happen, and it’s better to think them through than not.

Jenkins’s article raises three very good points to think about when choosing a trustee or guardian. In a nutshell:

1.       Make sure you ask those you wish to appoint as either trustee or guardian if they are willing and able to take on the responsibility.

 

2.       Make sure you have a contingency plan in case someone is unwilling or unable to fill the role.

 

3.       Take the necessary time to discuss any provisions or restrictions you’d like your documents to include before consulting an attorney.

 

I always tell clients it is better to have something in place than nothing at all, and as Jenkins notes, you can always amend your legal documents. My wife and I have changed trustees and guardians several times over the years. People get divorced, your brother isn’t “the guy” you thought he was, or maybe the person you originally appointed has passed away. As with any insurance, it’s a good exercise to revisit these things every year to make sure you are covered, just in case.

Money ain't nothing

For the second year in a row, the New York Times presented the best college essays from incoming freshman on their relationship with money. Last year columnist Ron Lieber asked high school seniors to submit their college essays that specifically addressed class and money. 

It’s difficult enough for adults to discuss class and money, so imagine how challenging it would be for teenagers to open themselves up about the subject. Money is an even more complicated thing these days as the moat between the haves and the have-nots widens. These essays are honest and remarkable; hopefully, you’ll click through and have a chance to read some of them.

This blog is about living and investing simply. With respect to money, I am reminded of the quote: ”There are two ways of being rich: One is to have all you want, the other is to be satisfied with what you have.”