Your Advisors Thoughts

Happy Tax Day!

 
It is a relief every year when we successfully complete another tax season.  We prepared almost 600 returns.  Roughly the same number as last year, in a very down economy.   A huge THANK YOU to our clients for making the 2010 tax season a booming success.  The work doesn’t stop here though. We still provide year round service to our tax clients.  In addition, we transition into financial planning services for the remainder of the calendar year.

April 15th is also my birthday.  Coincidence, yes;  happy coincidence, not really.  Last night I removed two tree stumps from my side yard.  My neighbor, Ron, who enjoys every project I do around my home, commented, “ Tomorrow, you will be aware of muscles you never knew you had”, right after he loaned my his axe.  He is right. I am very sore today, but it is a great reminder of the aging process and a call to enjoy life and stay active while we all still we can.

PS.  Help us make 2010 one of our best ever!  If you have any investing or financial planning needs, please let us know at 610-485-1010.  We will be happy to work with you, your friends or even your enemies, by providing sound financial advice.

 

Stay tuned for more….

Greg is a Investment Advisor Representative of Trustmont Advisory Group.

A little late (What Does A Financial Planner Do On His Day Off?)

 
Short answer  ...  counts snowflakes.  Long answer… determines that at 9AM February 10th my driveway had approximately 1000 Gallons of packed snow on it.  How do I know this?  I counted.  Here is how I did it.  When I woke up on the 10^th, I watched a few minutes of the weather report.  The weatherman said get outside with your kids and enjoy the snow, because accumulation of this magnitude may never happen again while they are still small.

 My son has been trying to make a snow fort every time it snows.  When I went outside to shovel, I found the snow was perfect for building.  I started filling up a 32 gallon tote with the wet snow and began to build the fort for my kids.  So how do I know there were 1000 gallons of snow?  I packed the 32 gallon tote 33 times!  That equates to 231,000 cubic inches or 133.7 cubic feet of snow. 

Anyhow, my kids had fun and so did your number crunching financial planner!

  

Stay Tuned For More….

You can contact Greg at 610-485-1010

He is an investment advisor representative of Trustmont Advisory Group Inc.

Success Or Failure

 

December 31, 2009—Greg Changes the sign outside “Your Best Interest” in a snowstorm

 Phil and I make a concerted effort to keep a relevant message on the sign outside our office and change it somewhat frequently.  The Christmas message was still on the sign December 28^th, so I decided it needed to be changed before the end of the year.  As most of us are apt to do, I delayed and procrastinated until the 31st.  Just before we closed, I went outside with a ladder and changed the sign in the blistering cold and heavy blowing snow.

 Someone from our office with a kind heart (Jackie) was passing me letters to hurry the process.   While working on the windy side of our office, I started laughing.  The irony of the situation hit me hard.  I was not following my own advice.  It had been a little warmer the previous few days and it was common knowledge that it was going to get colder and snow.  I did not plan ahead.  As I stood on the ladder laughing, I imagined myself falling off the ladder and having to explain the stupidity of my injury to everyone I knew.

 So….  Take it from an insightful procrastinator.  Get on track before you are in bad circumstances, doing something that you should have done when conditions were better.  The advice is FAILURE TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL.

 

Stay tuned for more….

 Greg

 Greg is an Investment Advisor Representative of Trustmont Advisory Group Inc.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oh What Fun It Is…      
   
As you already know, Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas season.  After the stuffed turkey feast, our family settles down with the Black Friday sales papers.  We make lists, check them twice, strategize and train.  The training, both physical and mental, usually starts in August with cart blocking exercises, running of the bulls, and memorizing store maps.

 

We joke, of course, but at 10:30 PM on Thanksgiving evening, Greg and his wife were standing outside, in the cold, waiting for a toy store to open.  The people were already wrapped a third of the way around the outside of the building.  By midnight, when the store was supposed to open, the line wrapped completely around the building and the police arrived to handle the large mob which had formed in front of the store.  People were pushing and yelling and Greg commented to his wife, “It’s only toys."   After considering this, they decided to go home to sleep.

On Friday afternoon, a close friend who came to Thanksgiving dinner called to ask if the shopping trip had been successful.  Greg’s wife recounted the story to her and our friend wondered whether we thought any of these people know the real meaning of Christmas.

The Real Meaning of Christmas…

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”  Luke 2:10-14

 

To us, Christmas is a celebration of hope entering the world through a baby boy.  Though it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and sometimes we do, our advice to you is to remember the things that count.

 

Merry Christmas,

Greg

 

Stay Tuned For More....

 

Greg is an Investment Advisor Representative for Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc.

 

   

 

 

Goals/Expectations/Reality

 

This is a picture of my prize pumpkin.  I planted 3 seeds this year and set a goal to grow a 100 pounder.  I wanted to show my 4 year old son how a little seed can grow into something really big.  We went out every morning, for almost a month, to pollinate the flowers.  We even played bees and buzzed around the yard a little.   

So, the official weight is 35lbs.  Now I realize this is not meeting my goal, but it is the largest pumpkin I have ever grown.  I learned a bunch about growing pumpkins this year and have spectacular plans for next year’s 100 pounder.  I am not defeated. 

Why does this matter and why am I am writing this?   Because I realize I need to recognize the minor victories of life and get excited about them (even if no one else does).  If you don’t reach your goal, acknowledge where you are, be thankful, learn from your situation, and make plans for the future.  That’s the best advice I can give. 

 

Stay Tuned For More…

 

Greg is an Investment Advisor Representative of Trustmont Advisory Group Inc.

LAID OFF? I CAN HELP.

Do you know someone who has been laid off? Odds are you may because unemployment continues to rise in our area.  In Pennsylvania, we jumped from 5.4% in July of 08 to 8.5% as of July 09.  That’s the latest figure we have right now. We are running behind the 9.7% rate in the U.S. as a whole. That’s a lot of jobs lost in our county in the last year.

The reason for mentioning this is I can help. The implications of getting laid off go far beyond the stress of losing a source of income. There are key steps to maintain health insurance, arrange for all possible government benefits, and very important decisions to make about retirement accounts.

If you have been laid off and need help, please call me at 610-485-1010.  If you know someone I should be talking to, please call me or send an email to: ybifs@ybifs.com.

 

Stay tuned for more....

 

This is a guest blog entry by Philip M. Giambri, President of "Your Best Interest" Financial Services, Inc.

 

Phil is a Registered Representative for Trustmont Financial/Advisory Group

Member FINRA/SIPC

 

 

     

4 Months 'til Christmas

We have a guest blog entry, submitted several days ago, by Phil Giambri,

President of "Your Best Interest" Financial Services,Inc. 

As I was out this morning on my daily walk, I was thinking that summer is almost over and how fast it went by. Then, an incredible thought popped into my head.  My favorite day of the year is only 4 months away!  I always consider Christmas Day the best day of the year because that is when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Since the birth of my grandchildren, Jonah and Paige, Christmas has become even more fun.  To watch a 4 year old and a 2 year old come down the stairs and see the delight on their faces as they try to comprehend the treasures that have been set out for them is just an unimaginable pleasure.

Then, as I continued my walk, the thought of the end of the year came to mind and I started thinking about the goals I set for myself in the beginning of 2009.  Where am I in the process of achieving the physical, spiritual, educational and professional goals I set this past January?

Four months to go!  What a great time for all of us to assess where we stand.  Still enough time before the end of the year to reach the milestones we have set for ourselves.

I had a friend tell me one time, “If you’re coasting, that means you’re going downhill.”  This has inspired me for many years; to always set high standards for all that I do in my life. 

I hope that as we all approach the end of another year, we will not only meet the challenges of everyday living, but will strive to meet our goals and be the best that we can be.

P.S.  Guess what my 2^nd favorite day of the year is.

Stay tuned for more....

Phil is a Registered Representative for Trustmont Financial/Advisory Group Member FINRA/SIPC 

TANSTAAFL

In my senior year of undergrad, I was reviewing my professor's notes on microprocessor design the night before a final exam.  I found a slide that had this one phrase on it:  TANSTAAFL.  Confused and slightly embarrassed, I visited the professor's office and asked about TANSTAAFL.  He laughed and said, "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"! 

Now I bring this up because I fall for the free lunch over and over again.  The coffee shop I recently wrote about finally opened.  As I buzzed into the parking lot Monday I saw the sign above.  I was excited because I read it as Free Donut + Med Coffee.  Notice the strategic placement of "with purchase of."  I promptly went across the street and said to the guy at the counter, "I hear you're giving away free coffee and donuts."  He responded with, "No, you get a free donut with the purchase of a coffee."  This time I was shocked and slightly embarrassed because I fell for the "Free Lunch."   I want you to know I'm not upset at all that I was fooled, and actually think it's kinda clever.

Remember as you navigate through life, there are no free lunches and "If It Seems Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is."  You will save yourself some time, money, heartache and embarrassment.

PS.  I got my free donut. It only cost me the price of a medium coffee!

Stay Tuned For More...

 

Greg Teal is an investment advisor representative of Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc.

HAVE YOU ABANDONED YOUR RETIREMENT?

Many people we talk to have not been paying attention to their retirement plans.  This last year has been absolutely unprecedented.  Some investors have not even opened a statement for their investments this year, because they are afraid of what they might see.  Others have 401(k) or 403(b) plans that they have abandoned when they last changed jobs.  This may have been 5 or 10 years ago, or even last week.

My professional advice to you is don't ABANDON your retirement; CLAIM it as your own.

 

Make sure you have your money working hard for you, by investing it appropriately for your time horizon and risk tolerance.  If you don't know how, get help.

 

BTW:  We have a cutting edge service called 401KPro to do exactly what is mentioned above.  Find out more by going to http://www.Your401kPro.com

 

Stay Tuned For More...

 

Greg Teal is an investment advisor representative of Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc.

Toe-May-Doe---Tow-Mah-Toe

A September 16, 2008 headline: "Financial crisis as Dow drops 504 points"

 

The Dow is a stock market index that has tremendous history dating back to 1896.  Its official name is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).  It is a computed average of the stock price of each of the 30 largest and most widely held companies in the US.  For the geeks, the average is a scaled average which is a price weighted average which compensates for splits and other adjustments.  Being a price weighted average, it gives higher relative priced stocks more influence over the value of the index.  This means if a $10 stock declines 10%, or $1, it can be washed out by a $100 stock increasing in value by $1, or 1%.  You have to keep in mind that this is the average of only 30 stocks when over 7000 are publicly traded.

 

 

A better indication of a well constructed portfolio (one that has a reduction in systematic risk), and a measure of overall market performance, is the S&P500 index.  It is comprised of an index of 500 companies selected by a committee and is mostly US stocks.  It is mostly large cap common stocks and the index is calculated by using float weighting.  The S&P500 index can usually be found by the ticker symbols ^GSPC, INX, $SPX.

 

 

Overall, I think most people should use the S&P500 index.  It is a better measurement of overall market performance unless, of course, you own a portfolio similar to the DJIA.  Although using the S&P500 index is against popular convention and may seem like swimming upstream, you need to be an informed investor.  Personally, I attempt to be bi-lingual (speak both Dow and S&P500) but use the S&P500 as my indicator of choice.

 

 

As a side note, one of my favorite services for market data when I am not at my desk is to text message (google) 466453 the message "stocks inx".  The service will reply to you with the current value of the S&P500 index.  (Google's service is free, but text messaging rates of your wireless phone provider may apply).

 

 

You should also note you cannot invest directly in any of the above indices or averages.  They are simply calculated values based on the stock market.

 

 

Stay Tuned For More...

Greg Teal is an investment advisor representative of Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC