My grandfather passed away in 1977. He was a great guy and did anything to support his family. After his passing, we learned that my grandmother never learned how to write a check. It’s not that she couldn’t comprehend the task, it was simply something my grandfather took care of. (I am quite sure he didn’t know how to do laundry). So you might be saying; OK Chal, but that was a different time. Indeed, almost 50 years ago, but some things don’t change. I have met with recent widows who have no clue as to where the assets are or how to access them. In other conversations, some couples who do know where everything is don’t know where ALL the passwords are.
My advice is to have a quarterly ‘Family Financial meeting”. A suggested agenda might contain;
- Current State of affairs – Here’s where the money is
- Here’s instructions to access the money INCLUDING passwords.
- You may also need to change passwords annually
- Plans to use any money in the upcoming quarter
- Vacation
- Car purchase
- Gifts to charity
- Gifts to children
- ?????
- Tour of where important documents are kept
- List of Advisors and where contact information exists
- Tax
- Legal
- Financial (hopefully, Harvest Financial)
- What happens if….
- Medical powers
- Financial powers
- Closing remarks and decision where to go out for lunch. A PBJ in the kitchen does not memorialize such an occasion.
This may take some time to organize the first time, but it should take no longer than an hour to run through and topic B can be continued over lunch.
It’s been quite the month with the S&P 500 rising from 5648 on August 30 to the 5700 mark as of this writing (Sept27). The Fed dropped interest rates by 50 basis points and so we are seeing more borrowing happen. Lots of thoughts about what will happen between now and the end of the year with the Fed. Some say multiple changes, some say one., Over all looks to be a great Holiday season.
In politics, we are less than six weeks from the election and all I know is there are LOTS of opinions, but not much solid data to go on. I would love to hear about a balanced budget and debt reduction, but that is not as ‘sexy’ as money to first time home buyers. Listen for statements of policy and please vote.
There are lots of holidays in the 4th Quarter. Opportunities to spend money, gather family and create memories. We recommend being thoughtful on all topics. It seems like every store has Halloween candy, Christmas decorations and trinkets for every occasion. For most of us, we do NOT need a five foot Mickey Mouse singing Christmas Carols in the front yard – resist the urge. My grandkids are already putting together a list – resist the urge to fill the list under your tree. There will be lots of invites to join this party or that – resist the urge to attend them all lest you slight a friend. Send a card or make a phone call and remember that they all like hearing from you in January, too. Take a moment to create memories with those you love.
Enjoy the Fall weather in October which, here in California, can be anywhere from 60-90 outside. If you happened to be leaf peeping and find a fantastic tree, send us a photo.