Many people are unsure about whether or not they should hire a professional financial adviser and pay for a financial plan to be done.  Objections like “it’s only for wealthy people with large investment portfolios,” or “why should I pay a fee to an adviser on top of investment commissions?” are common.  I would like to debunk some of these myths about financial planning and explain why everyone should complete a financial plan.  The most important reason for having a plan is that people who have a written financial plan are far more likely to achieve their financial goals than those who don’t have one!

What is financial planning and why is it important?

Financial planning is a 6-step process that involves asking questions about an individual’s entire set of goals and objectives, as opposed to only her investments.  To put it simply, financial planning is the process of determining whether an individual will be able to achieve life goals with her total financial resources.  The plan helps people manage their assets as well as the risks to those assets so their money lasts as long as they do. 

The 6 steps in the financial planning process are:

• Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship
• Gathering and articulating client data and goals
• Analyzing and evaluating the client’s current financial position
• Developing and presenting recommendations to the client and/or alternatives
• Implementing the recommendations
• Monitoring the recommendations * 

In addition to knowledge about investments, financial planners are also experts in the management of risk.  This means they have a core competency in insurance needs analysis and insurance products, tax, retirement planning and estate planning.  A comprehensive financial plan covers all of these potential risks to an individual’s assets. 

Perhaps the most critical time to consider consulting with a financial planner is when you are close to retiring or already in retirement.  Taking too much money out of your assets on a yearly basis, particularly when your assets have declined in value, could leave you without enough money to last your entire retirement.  And with longevity increasing dramatically, planning is even more important.

Current actuarial studies show that men who reach the age of 65 have a 49% chance of living to 86, and a 26% chance of making it to 92.  Women have a 49% chance of living to 89 at 65, and a 23% chance of living to 95.  In some cases, people’s money may have to last as long as 40 years. 

Finally, Certified Financial Planners – those who have the CFP® designation – agree to follow the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.  These standards outline a code of care which include putting their clients’ interests first, acting in utmost good faith, and providing full and fair disclosure.  These standards represent important consumer protections.      

To find a Certified Financial Planner in your area, try the Financial Planning Association’s PlannerSearch on the FPA’s website.

* Michael Dalton, et. al. Personal Financial Planning Theory and Practice, 5^th ed.

Nancy Tommaso Coatrieux
NT Financial Services

Mission Statement: The Women’s Exchange provides programs

in a supportive environment for all women to share ideas and information – to learn, to grow, to build relationships, and to have fun.

After 18 years as director, the question I am most often asked is “What is the Magic of the Women’s Exchange?”

To describe the Women’s Exchange by its mission statement only would be like describing the paintings of Renoir using only the colors, or the writings of Shakespeare using only the words. In all three cases you would miss the depth of the content, the richness of nuance that comes into play between the various elements, and the wonder that results when a finished product is more than the sum of its parts.

Located in Winnetka, Illinois, an upper middle class suburb north of Chicago, the Women’s Exchange serves as a meeting place for women from several surrounding communities. Its campus consists of four rooms in an old but elegant, ivy covered stone building attached to the Community House in the heart of the centuries old village. It is not a membership organization. No one ‘joins’ the Women’s Exchange. Rather, women become attached to it in some mystical way that is hard to explain to those who have not walked the steps to the second floor and felt the magic enfold them.

The Women’s Exchange is a place to leave your public self behind and experience your true self, warts and all. It is also a place to question who you are and to try on the new woman you’d like to become. Either way, the feeling of safety and acceptance is palpable. It is as if the walls themselves enfold you while you are there…listening, challenging, responding….and then holding your hopes, dreams, and questions safe until you return.

But of course, it isn’t the cinder block walls that are magic and it certainly isn’t the haphazard furniture. Couches and chairs of various styles and colors surround coffee tables from eras gone by. Lamps that once graced the homes of others have found their way into the rooms, often by way of the rummage sale held in the building each year. Well worn area rugs anchor each seating area. A coffee machine in the hall serves as a meeting place between classes.

No, it is the women who bring the magic with them into the space. Their eagerness to hear and learn new ideas, their willingness to share their own feelings, their openness to the opinions of others, and their belief that each woman’s story is hers alone to tell….that is the magic that is the Women’s Exchange. For in hearing the story of others we change our own story in some small way. In sharing our own story we impact the story of those around us. And that is magical.

Judi Geake, director

www.womens-exchange.org

CranioSacral refers to the cranium and the sacrum.  They are connected by the dual tube, which contains cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid transports oxygen and nutrients throughout the cranium (brain) and spinal cord, and carries away toxins.

CranioSacral therapists are trained to facilitate the body’s innate ability for natural healing.  Using a very light touch (on fully clothed clients) we help your body to find its optimal balance and release tensions deep in the central nervous system.

CranioSacral therapy is beneficial for:

• the structural balance of your body and your mobility
• releasing restrictions around nerves, organs, muscles and bones
• optimizing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, blood and lymph so that the body can self-correct more easily when under pressure
• mind-body integration

CranioSacral therapy enhances the functions of the brain; spinal cord; autonomic nervous system, endocrine system and the immune system.

We work with people of all ages, from infants to the elderly to enhance their quality of life.

To lean more visit us at: www.sc4cs.com

Patricia Berg-Drazin

patricia@pbdrazin.com

Divorce. Just mention of the word elicits feelings of sadness, confusion, maybe even despair.

This is understandable.  It is a process to be endured, but with help it can also result in a new positive life direction…with the help of a Divorce Coach.

A new tool to lead couples through an emotional nightmare in the midst of a legal quagmire, a Divorce Coach helps you make better decisions for yourself and your family by reducing stress and anxiety.  A Divorce Coach has an integrated perspective which recognizes the entire impact of divorce, which also involves financial, social and parenting skills.

Working with a Divorce Coach, you can more successfully manage the divorce process and set goals.

It’s the goal of a Divorce Coach to educate you on the three main ways to divorce: the traditional process, the mediation process, and the collaborative process.

In learning the emotional and financial cost of each process, it will enable the client to select the best course for them—and give tme time to be prepared in order to make good decisions.

The divorce industry has a whole stable of specialists (e.g. financial planner or therapist) available to help you.  A Divorce Coach can help you identify and sort through what you need.

Interacting with your spouse, attorney, and other specialists effectively and productively is essential.   A Divorce Coach can teach you how to optimize these meetings by teaching you strong communication skills and how to manage your emotions.

The bottom line: you don’t have to go through a divorce alone and uninformed.  A Divorce Coach can help you make the best decisions possible so you can lead a positive new life in the future.

Kate van Dyke

Divorce Counseling and Coaching, Inc.

kvandyke@divorcecc.com

www.divorcecc.com