The Rant: Personal Financial Planning: A "How-To" Guide (part 1)

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Saturday, September 8, 2018

Personal Financial Planning: A "How-To" Guide (part 1)

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Story image for the missouri river from News-Press Now

Rain-swollen Missouri River expected to recede

News-Press Now-Sep 6, 2018

The rising Missouri River has forced the closure of the city's walkway at Riverfront Park. Much of the walk is underwater. The river peaked at ...

Missouri River Nav Season To Be Extended 10 Days

The Waterways Journal-Sep 7, 2018

Higher-than-average releases from all Missouri River mainstem system dams will continue through the fall, and the navigation season on the ...

Story image for the missouri river from The Missourian

Fire Crews Rescue Three from Missouri River Rescue

The Missourian-Sep 4, 2018

... were stranded on the Missouri River for over an hour Tuesday night. ... Crews are focused on the river underneath the Highway 47 bridge.

The Rewards of Sound Financial Planning

Charles Lamson

What does living "the good life" mean to you? Is it owning a home in a certain part of town, starting a company, being debt free, driving a particular type of car, taking luxury vacations, or having a large investment portfolio? Seventy-one percent of Americans say being debt free is their number one priority, while 52 percent say owning their own home is a top goal (2005). But no matter how you define it, the good life requires sound planning to turn your financial goals into reality.

In today's complex, fast-paced world, there is a bewildering array of choices---where to live, what career path to follow, what car to buy, when to change jobs, how much to save or invest. Add to this a rapidly changing economic, political, technological, and social environment, and it is easy to see why developing solid financial strategies, guaranteed to improve your lifestyle, is becoming increasingly difficult. Many of the financial rewards our parents took for granted---home ownership, a college education, job security, and retiring at age 65---are becoming harder for today's young adults to achieve. A couple may need two incomes just to maintain an acceptable standard of living, and they may have to wait longer to buy a home.

Even if we are managing our personal finances pretty well today, we worry about the future. We want to improve our lifestyle, send our children to college, and have the funds to retire comfortably. Eighty-five percent of affluent Americans wish they had a bigger financial cushion (2005). The estimated cost to raise a child born in 2000 to age 18 is more than $300,000. Add to that four years of college (tuition only), at an estimated cost of $51,364 for a public college, $110,708 for a private college, and $146,416 for Ivy League universities, and the need to plan ahead becomes very clear.

The best way to achieve your financial objectives is through personal financial planning. It helps us to define our financial goals and develop appropriate strategies to reach them. We can no longer depend on employee or government benefits such as steady salary increases, or adequate funding from employer-paid pensions or Social Security, to retire comfortably. We must plan for our own future financial security, a daunting task if we do not know where to begin. And many people find the volatile economy and financial environment intimidating, even though now we have direct access to financial tools and research materials once reserved solely for stockbrokers. But we need to know how to use them effectively.

Financial needs and goals must be adjusted along with changes in personal circumstances, so personal financial planning is a lifelong activity. As you will learn, creating flexible plans and revising them on a regular basis is the key to building a sound financial future. And successful financial planning brings rewards, such as improved standard of living, wise spending habits, and increased wealth. Of course planning alone does not guarantee success, but if used effectively and consistently, it can help you use your resources wisely.

The goal of this guide is to remove the mystery from the personal financial planning process and replace it with the tools you need to take charge of your personal finances and your life.

This "How-To" guide is divided into six parts:

Part 1: Foundations of Financial Planning
Part 2: Managing Basic Assets
Part 3: Managing Credit
Part 4: Managing Insurance Needs
Part 5: Managing Investments
Part 6: Retirement and Estate Planning

Exhibit 1: Organizational Planning Model

The upcoming series of posts is a guide that emphasizes making financial decisions regarding assets, credit, insurance, investments, and retirement and estates.

Each part explains a different aspect of personal financial planning as shown in Exhibit 1. This organizational scheme revolves around financial decision-making that is firmly established on an operational set of financial plans. The writers of Personal Financial Planning contend that through sound financial planning, individuals can make decisions that will produce their desired results. Therefore, starting with Part 1, we look at personal financial statements, plans, and taxes, we move successively through the various types of decisions individuals make when implementing a financial plan.

Next post: Improving Your Standard of Living

*SOURCE: PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING, 10TH ED., 2005, LAWRENCE J. GITMAN, MICHAEL D. JOEHNK, PGS. 6-7*

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The kingdom of God is among you

Luke 17:20-25 Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, Jesus gave them this answer, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.’ He said to the disciples, ‘A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or, “Look here!” Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.’

Live Adoration from Tyburn Convent

Adoration, also known as Eucharistic Adoration, is a Catholic prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a sign of devotion and worship to Jesus Christ, who is believed to be present in the consecrated host. During adoration, Catholics pray to Jesus Christ before the Eucharist at their local parish. The Eucharist is typically kept in a tabernacle at the parish church, and may be presented in front of a closed tabernacle or in front of the exposed host in a monstrance. A monstrance is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Anglican, High Church Lutheran, and Old Catholic churches. It is a stand made of precious metal that holds the Blessed Sacrament during adoration. The word "monstrance" comes from Latin and means "to show".

Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. 1 Corinthians 13:8-9,13: Love does not come to an end. But if there are gifts of prophecy, the time will come when they must fail; or the gift of languages, it will not continue for ever; and knowledge – for this, too, the time will come when it must fail. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect. In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love. Colossians 3:14-15: Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.

It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household. ‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. ‘Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me. ‘Anyone who welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man will have a holy man’s reward. ‘If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.’ When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

The beheading of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12 Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said to his court, ‘This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Now it was Herod who had arrested John, chained him up and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had told him, ‘It is against the Law for you to have her.’ He had wanted to kill him but was afraid of the people, who regarded John as a prophet. Then, during the celebrations for Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so delighted Herod that he promised on oath to give her anything she asked. Prompted by her mother she said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head, here, on a dish.’ The king was distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he ordered it to be given her, and sent and had John beheaded in the prison. The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus.

Psalms 9:16

The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah - Question: What does Higgaion and Selah mean? Answer: Both Higgaion and Selah are used numerous times in the Old Testament. They occur together in Psalm 9:16. The meanings of these words are uncertain. We observe Higgaion in such passages as Psalm 9:16; 19:14; 42:3; Lamentations 3:63. In Arabic, the root gives a deep vibrating sound, like the murmering sound of a harp (Psa. 92:3). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states that it may be derived from the Greek versions of Psalm 9:16 and takes it to mean an instrumental interlude. It may also mean a soliloquy or meditation such as concerning the judgment of God (Psa. 9:16), the words and work of God (Psa. 19:14), and the loving kindness and faithfulness of God (Psa. 92:2-3). In the Septuagint, Selah is translated as daplasma (meaning a division). It occurs in Habakkuk 3:3, 9, 13 and 71 times in the Psalms. It is used in 39 of our 150 psalms. Of those 39 psalms, 31 they are ones handed over to "the chief Musician." So, pause and meditation may be the predominate idea. In addition, it may mean to lift up (Hebrew, salal) or, in some definitions, a repetition, end of a strophe, or a recurring symphony. In his sermon named "HIGGAION!" about Psalm 9:16, Archibald G. Brown, on August 17, 1873, at the East London Tabernacle said this: "When the psalmist wrote this verse, and reached the words 'The wicked shall be snared in the work of his own hands', he seemed to be overpowered at the terror of the thought, and so put a full stop and wrote in the word 'Higgaion!' As much as to say, 'O my soul, meditate on the tremendous truth my hand has penned, and let all who read the same meditate.' And then after 'Higgaion' he puts 'Selah'. He would have there to be a solemn pause. Oh, I would that there could be just one moment's solemn pause in our meeting tonight. Would that there could be a Selah, a Higgaion! Friends, shall there be? I put it to you. 'The Lord is known by the judgment which he executes; and the wicked shall be snared in the work of his own hands!" Now let us just for a moment meditate on that. Let there be a solemn Higgaion, and let every heart ask itself the question, 'How do I stand in reference to this tremendous truth?' *Answer by Dr. Joseph R. Nally, Jr. (https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp/file/47892)*

The Rant