The Rant: Personal Financial Planning: A "How-To" Guide (part 6)

Mission Statement

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Personal Financial Planning: A "How-To" Guide (part 6)

Technology in Financial Planning

Charles Lamson

As they have in so many other aspects of our lives, personal computers (PCs) and the Internet have found their way into financial planning. Indeed, financial planning is a natural application of the PC. What better way is there to handle all the number crunching involved in budgeting, tax planning, and investment management? There are many reasonably priced, "user-friendly" programs available for personal financial planning and money management, including the popular Quicken and Microsoft Money packages.

The Internet puts a wealth of financial information literally at your fingertips. To help you find useful online resources, every chapter of Personal Financial Planning includes numerous "smart.sites," links to relevant financial planning Web sites and I have included them here in this blog. Also I will share with you, the Money Online feature Gitman & Joehnk put at the end of each chapter that describes related Web sites and includes companion exercises to help you effectively use the Web in financial planning. By bookmarking (saving) these sites, you will build up a valuable library of personal financial Web sites.

Where applicable, I will point out ways to use the computer and Internet to simplify and reduce the time required to manage your personal finances. As a start, check out the general personal finance sites described in the Money in Action box that follows.

Money in Action

Financial Portals Open the Door to Online Information

With thousands of personal financial Web sites crowding the Internet, such an overabundance of online information can be intimidating. However, don’t let that stop you, because no matter how much you know---or don’t know---about personal finance and investing, the Web is a research tool without equal, and many worthwhile sites are free.

Of the many sites competing to be your Web gateway to the Internet’s educational riches, financial portals are an ideal starting place for the beginner. They are jam-packed with financial information---from personal-finance tasks such as paying bills online, shopping for a mortgage, or estimating taxes---to investment essentials such as stock quotes, online portfolio tracking, investment research, and news. Some also provide weather updates, a personal calender, and an address book. Some comprehensive sites that consistently get rave reviews are Yahoo! Finance (www.finance.yahoo.com), MoneyCentral (www.moneycentral.msn.com), and Intuit’s Quicken.com (www.quicken.com). Each has a slightly different look, emphasis, and organizational scheme. Evaluate their unique features to find the one that best suits your needs.

Yahoo! Finance: This site provides fast access to financial data such as stock quotes, company profiles, and breaking news stories from the opening screen. An easily customized home page allows you to delete any content you don’t want, other sites aren’t as flexible. Among the options available for viewing the homepage is one that calls up recent headlines for each of your stock holdings. Extensive message boards are available for investor discussions, free online bill-paying services are also available, as are links to many personal finance resources, from online credit report agencies to tax preparation sites.

MSN MoneyCentral: This site places more emphasis on articles, tools, and step-by-step guides for investor education. It offers a wide range of sophisticated, interactive tools such as stock screening and chatting capabilities, plus investment research. It provides access to online brokers and a customizable portfolio you can synchronize with your e-brokerage account. The Research Wizard provides market data and explains why it is important. Other features include a bill paying capability, online tax preparation, and free email.

Quicken.com: You’ll find broad coverage and consistency of personal finance topics at this site. It is a fully customizable site with features for tracking personal spending and bill paying. Each area---brokerage, taxes, home mortgages, small business, banking, and insurance---has its own bulletin boards, reference materials, and advice. Using the latest version of Quicken, you can connect with more than 1,000 financial institutions for additional services.

*SOURCE: PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING, 10TH ED., 2005, LAWRENCE J. GITMAN, MICHAEL D. JOENHK, PGS. 23-25*

END

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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

Mission Statement

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Personal Financial Planning: A "How-To" Guide (part 6)

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