Holistic Financial Counseling

Priceless moments

Good news from your Money Whisperer today:  

All is well, sleep in, smell the herbal tea, don’t read the paper; read or write a poem instead.

For one day put aside your worries about career, money, economy, future, voting on Tuesday. Allow the big problems to take a back seat for 24 hours or 48 if you believe in Sunday.

It is your pleasure today to create the best Saturday ever. Rake leaves, carve pumpkins, walk a corn maze, disguise the kids and yourself for your looting serenade tonight. 

Keep the spending to a minimum. Today is for the priceless moments. Go for it!! Get as many as you need. They are yours for the taking.

Creative use of Grey Power

It fascinates me to read about retirement finances in the papers. There is so much written about it.  It is obvious, however, that the focus is on the rich and richer retirees. All the advice, studies, recommendations are based on people with ample means.  There is nothing wrong with that, since that is where the business makes its money. I can’t help but wonder:

What about the pre-retirement baby boomers earning not much more than minimum wage?  They do not have the discretionary income to build adequate savings or retirement plans. In many cases there is not even a buffer to protect them from the almost inevitable curveballs  life throws at them, such as medical bills,  parent/student loans,  ailing parents, job loss and they end up in debt instead. 

And what about the homeless, the people who earn less than minimum wage, the physically and emotionally challenged?

It is statistically proven that a large percentage of baby boomers will go through retirement as a single person, especially women. That will increase the vulnerability of widowed, divorced seniors, who will age without the support or extra income of a spouse.

Where can they find expert advice on how to use their limited income most effectively to prepare for their wellbeing now and in retirement?

Are there ways to organize dialogues and brainstorms to find possible solutions? What venues are open to them or could be created to make that possible? What would happen if financial experts join that brainstorm? How can we use the untapped Grey Power for the benefit and welfare of all?

How will it affect the US economy and the future tax rates our children will have to deal with if we don’t do anything at all?