Business and Financial Articles
As a CFP® who specializes in client advocacy, I have found that there is sometimes a disconnect between my industry and clients’ needs. Many of my new clients come to me after becoming disenfranchised with another advisor.
Here are some questions to ask if you are considering shopping for a new financial professional:
- Is your income fee-based or commission-based?
- What designations do you have? (I suggest looking for a Certified Financial Planner or CFP®)
- Are you tied to any sales goals with specific products?
- Are you working with any vendors who require you to sell a minimum number of their products or your contract with them will end soon? (Do you have any quotas to reach?)
- What are your limitations, if any, in selling specific product lines due to your current licensing? (Someone who is fully licensed has a Series 7 and Series 66 to be fee-based.)
- Do you charge an annual planning fee outside of compensation from products? If you don’t why not?
- If you’re talking to an independent planner: If something were to happen to you, who will take care of me?
- If you’re talking to someone associated with a firm: What happens if you leave the business, by choice, disability or death? Who would then be managing my money?
As consumers we all understand that a financial advisor makes his/her living by guiding our investment decisions and that they are entitled to derive income from their work – but not at the expense of our own income. Asking these questions will help identify the advisor who is best suited to serve as your financial coach and meet your specific investment goals.
When you’ve initially set a big personal goal, you feel a lot of excitement. We make huge strides towards achieving what we set out for; and we justifiably feel a ton of pride for what we accomplish. Sometimes, though, when we’re on our path towards our ideal lives, we lose sight of the ultimate goal and get lost in the everyday hurdles.
So in this article, I wanted to provide some tips on remembering the big picture when going after your big goals. Stop sabotaging your progress when it gets hard, and don’t allow falling off track to be an option.
Document your progress
When people are losing weight, they do a lot of things to keep track of their progress; weighing themselves every week, measuring themselves, or taking weekly pictures are all popular options. So why not do the same thing with your money goals?
When money is automatically transferred into your dream savings account (you have automated your savings, right?), have a spreadsheet set up. Update it with the day and amount you deposited into your dream account, and then keep a tally of the total. Seeing not only your total amount in savings, but also how many times you’ve invested funds into it is a rejuvenating thing.
Set up reminders
In the beginning, you may not know what will trigger the weaker moments. But once you figure it out, have a reminder system in place. If the clothing store right next to your favorite lunch spot makes you want to spend, spend and spend some more, set up a push notification on your phone for every day at lunchtime that just says “Dream Loft” or “Full-time Freelancer.” Seeing your ultimate goal is motivating, and you’ll be less inclined to spend excessively.
Have an accountability crew
Nobody can set you straight like your peers; and I’m not talking about the people you do drinks and go shopping with. We’ve talked before about surrounding yourself with people who doing the things that you want to be doing. Be sure to tell them your goal of being debt free (or paying for a new car in cash) by the end of the year. And then have them check in on you every so often to make sure you’re making progress. If they have a big goal they’re working on (such as amassing a seven-figure retirement portfolio), you can bounce ideas off of each other and keep each other accountable.
Next time you feel the urge to abandon your big dreams, take a moment to consider the big picture. Whether it is through post-it notes on your desk at work or setting up an account at a different bank, remember your goals and be ready to counter the weakness with strength. Continue to encourage yourself and be proud of what you’ve already accomplished.
How much can you earn and still receive Social Security?
Retirees are often ready, willing, and able to start new careers that may earn them significant incomes. However, some individuals may feel that it is not worthwhile to work for wages, only to have to “give up” some of those earnings in the form of higher income taxes. As frustrating as that may sound, it is important to understand the fundamentals of Social Security income and taxation so you can make your retirement years more “golden” and less “taxing.”
Income Limits: Paying to Work?
The first factor you must consider is your age and the so-called Social Security “giveback.” If you are age 62 or older, under the full retirement age (65–67 depending on your birth year), and receiving reduced Social Security benefits, you must “give back” $1 for every $2 earned above $14,160 in 2010. If you attain full retirement age in 2010, your benefits will be reduced by $1 for each $3 earned over $37,680 in months prior to full retirement age. Upon attainment of full retirement age, there is no limit on your earnings, and Social Security benefits are not reduced.
How Much Is Taxable?
A second factor affecting your Social Security benefits is the potential income taxation of those benefits. Let’s assume you are working and you also receive a check from the Social Security Administration (SSA) each month. You must first determine how much, if any, of your benefit is included in your gross taxable income. The first step in estimating this is to add up the following items: your wages, taxable pensions, interest, dividends, and other taxable income; all tax-exempt interest; any exclusions from income; your net earnings (net income less net losses) from self-employment; and half of your Social Security benefits.
This total is then compared to a first-tier threshold of $25,000 for a single taxpayer or a married taxpayer who is filing separately and lived apart from his or her spouse for the entire year, or $32,000 for a married taxpayer filing jointly. For a married taxpayer filing separately, who lived with his or her spouse for any period during the year, the first-tier threshold is $0.
For illustrative purposes, suppose your total applicable earnings are $27,000, and you are married and filing jointly. Since the total does not exceed the applicable threshold amount of $32,000, then no portion of your Social Security benefit is taxable. However, if the total exceeds the applicable threshold amount, further calculation is needed to determine the amount of your benefits that are taxable. You can refer to IRS Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, for more information, or consult your financial or tax professional.
As you can see, performing these calculations is no simple task. Thus, it is important for anyone who is thinking about receiving Social Security benefits while still working to understand the potential tax consequences and plan accordingly. As with all tax planning matters, it is important to consult a tax professional to help ensure your planning decisions are consistent with your overall goals.
During this season of giving, be mindful of the lessons you’ve learned these past three years in the recession.
I’ve already talked about saving for right now and the future and investing wisely. On the job front, I stressed to be prepared to look for a new job at a moment’s notice. Still, there are Americans that just didn’t get that chance.
Nationally, there are 14.8 million unemployed workers with over 400,000 of them right here in Chicago. Many of them have turned to temp agencies to find work, and a recent Chicago Tribune article highlighted their plight. Many companies are moving towards temp and part-time workers. And, financially, it makes sense.
“There is no incentive to make permanent jobs, with good job security and good benefits and good pay and good working conditions, (when) you have another 15 people waiting out the door that would take lower than that,” said Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute.
To make matters worse, unemployment benefits run out next month for over two million people. In the first week of December, 800,000 Americans will lose their benefits with the other 1.2 million getting their last checks at the end of the month. And another 3 million may become victim to the cuts in January and February.
This unsettling news really put things into perspective for me. And during this holiday season, the most valuable lesson I’ve taken away from this rough economic time is to be thankful. The past three years have taught us nothing if not to be humble.
As you know, I’m a firm believer in the connection between our emotions/thoughts and our biology. When we’re stressed out about something, especially finances, we feel the negative pull emotionally. Our thoughts then go to a bad place, and it affects us physically many ways. We eat too much or not at all. Our hair falls out. Or we lash out at those we love.
Instead of letting this rough economic time take over the happiness of this season, focus on what’s good in life. I have a wonderful family with a great husband. I have beautiful child with one on the way very soon. And I wake up every day knowing that I get to do something that I love.
What are you thankful for during this time?
A new year means a new beginning. It’s time to put the financial turmoil of 2009 behind us and find our pathway to financial abundance through authenticity – i.e. creating financial success by being truthful and genuine to yourself and those around you. So how does this journey to abundance begin and how do you keep it going strong throughout the year? I’ve included a few strategies below for a financially successful 2010!
1) Decide exactly what type of financial life you would like to have.
This means identifying your own deep-down desires, your life’s passions and allowing them to move you forward. Once you start living your life with purpose, the money will follow. Start mapping out your financial plan. Navigate away from your current financial patterns and create new goals that support your life passions.2) Clear space in your life to obtain these goals.
Often times, there are things and even people standing in the way of your new goals. This is what I call your “crabs in the bucket.” – things or people who support your current financial reality. If you have friends who are huge spenders and use credit cards all the time, try to go shopping with those who actually pay cash for items, or spend less frivolously. If you have a “Negative Nancy” in your life, shift your thinking before you encounter them. Say to yourself, “I know what’s right for me and I will reach my financial goals this year.”3) Prioritize which items are the first things to go.
On your path to financial success, there are going to be things you need to get rid of in your life. This could be material items, or even just a way of thinking. For example, if your closets are too cluttered from all of your shopping sprees, donate them and get a tax deduction. Or, remove the negative thoughts that are taking up space in your brain and replace them with positive thinking and reinforcements. Create space for the new you!4) Get your credit score cleaned up.
If your credit score is below 720, make it a priority to review your credit report and get it cleaned up. This report will filter down to many different items in your financial life and you don’t want this standing in the way of your goals. Consider hiring a company like www.veracitycredit.com to assist you. To receive a special discount on this service, e-mail me at info@jmcwealth.com.We encourage reproducing our articles as long as you link back to this page.
The economic storm is not over, but there seems to be a light at the end of it. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke issued a statement today saying that the U.S. economy is stabilizing and will begin to rebound later this year, but the recovery will be slow and cautious.
So what does that mean for us? This is actually the perfect time to set your personal financial strategy so you are well positioned to obtain your goals and priorities once the market does recover.
The financial strategy process is based on you as an individual — you and your spouse, or your immediate family. Think about your life goals. Do you want to purchase your first home? Are you hoping to retire in the next few years? Once this is determined, you should analyze your portfolio and compare it to your current personal or household strategy. Is it aligned? Is your portfolio consistent with the life priorities you just laid out?
Surprisingly, many consumers and financial professionals have this backwards. They start by chasing the “best” investment, insurance and financial opportunities as opposed to chasing financial opportunities that are both “the best” and that fit their personal objectives.
You absolutely cannot build a foundation for financial success when you start with a product. You build and maintain wealth by choosing your personal strategy first, then looking at the financial products that will best support it.
Make it a priority to set your financial strategies now so you can successfully weather this economic storm and come out on top when it stabilizes.
Julie Murphy Casserly, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, is a contributor to On The Money. As a 14-year veteran of the financial services industry and founder of JMC Wealth Management in Chicago, Julie helps people understand how their emotional attitudes and behaviors affect how they earn, spend and save. She is author of The Emotion Behind Money: Building Wealth from the Inside Out.
I can’t help but notice how many people are in what I would call a “paralyzed mode” these days. With all the negative media about our economy, housing, credit crisis, unemployment, not to mention the fast paced lives we are all living these days, how is one to cope?
It’s amazing to me how many of us lie as victims to circumstances as opposed to shifting our currently reality. Shifting what we choose to focus on. In my book, “The Emotion Behind Money: Building Wealth From the Inside Out”, I walk readers through some steps and twenty two exercises to get a person to shift their focus from what I call the “Crabs in their Bucket” to creating the life that you dream of, to actually build your wealth from what drives you inside, what your passions and dreams are, as opposed to listening to what is going on in your life outside of you, like the economy, unemployment, credit crisis, etc. People are stuck and it’s time to get unstuck!
When economic times are tough, this is a great opportunity to take the time to decide what you really truly want. The first step in doing so is to be willing to face your current reality. Certainly we all have things in our lives, financially, personally, professionally, or family wise that are not our ideal world. Pick one. Which one do you want to shift first and focus on that? What are your priorities? What are your priorities today, not the priorities that got you to where you are today, but re-evaluating your personal mission and vision for your life? Do you still love your job? Are you uncomfortable with the level of risk you’re taking in your investments? Would you like to spend more time with family, but your financial debt commitments keep you in a job that doesn’t feed your soul?
Many of us don’t shift because we have pigeon-holed ourselves into a lifestyle, a lifestyle that may or may not be serving are needs and wants today. In my book I refer to the fact that we each have two sets of numbers, your financial numbers and your emotional numbers. My experience has taught me that you need a balance between both of them for long term success in building and keeping wealth. These are the times to go back to the basics.
1) Look at where your cash is coming in and where it is going out, write it down. Choose what you want to energize in your life with what you are paying for from your income whether your income is $40,000 per year or $500,000 per year, take a look and choose what is important to you.
2) Evaluate your current investment portfolio. When you set up your asset allocation, you were younger, does that same philosophy still fit your objective?
3) Re-run or run that retirement analysis to see if you are on pace to retire, retirement can creep up on you faster than you think.
4) If still have a mortgage, how many more years do you have to pay on it, what age will you be when it is paid off? Do you want debt at that age?
For more tips and tools in how to Build Your Wealth From the Inside Out, you can go my website and/or purchase my book at www.emotionbehindmoney.com
Julie Murphy Casserly is a Certified Financial Planner, author and President of JMC Wealth Management, a Chicago-based financial services firm that helps clients realize their goals by examining the emotions behind their money. The tips above may not be suitable for all people, and JMC Wealth Management advises clients on their investment strategies on an individual basis.
Consumers and insurance companies pay millions every day for expensive medical diagnostic testing to try to find out what is wrong with a patient with typical musculoskeletal complaints. Usually, they come up empty, when a good chiropractor and physical therapist could easily figure it out that it is a problem with spinal alignment and muscular imbalances. How many wind up in the ER just for headaches? How much do consumers and government programs pay daily for the MRI and CAT scans just fro migraines?
“A new study of 70,274 members-months in a 7-year period studied by an independent physician association, compared medical management to chiropractic management. It demonstrated:
60.2 % decrease in hospital admissions,
59% decrease in hospital days,
62% decrease in outpatient surgeries and procedures,
83% decrease in pharmaceutical costs…
…when compared with conventional medicine performance. This clearly demonstrates that chiropractic and physical therapy non-surgical non-pharmaceutical approaches reduces both clinical and cost utilization when compared to conventional medicine alone”.
So do you want to save money, stay healthy and stay out of the hospital? And be part of a genuine health care solution for our nation? Then, get adjusted, exercise, take your vitamins and eat well!
Julie Murphy Casserly has studied the emotional connection between people and their money—their income, spending habits, and savings—for the past decade. And, for the last eight years, she has been working to build the wealth of large and small clients in her own practice. This experience allows her to offer people of all ages and financial status the benefit of her deep insights and comprehensive understanding of the interplay of the personal, emotional and financial attitudes and how they are linked. In so doing, she has been able to provide her clients with financial solutions that last.
Thanks to her hands-on experience, Murphy Casserly has developed a unique process that creates a bridge between the right and left brain, linking the left brain’s penchant for logical, sequential, rational, analytical, objective thought with the right brain’s random, intuitive, holistic, synthesizing and subjective capacities.
Throughout the book, Murphy Casserly illustrates how one can learn to access, understand and, as necessary, transform one’s relationship to money in the most dynamic and empowering way in order to alleviate many of the money-based problems that are obstacles not only to wealth but also true happiness. She shows the reader how to get past what are often self-imposed plateaus and progress to significant wealth-building, all with a deceptively simple but highly effective change in those subconscious attitudes and inherited beliefs about money.
The Emotion Behind Money is laced throughout with engaging and relatable anecdotes from the author’s personal experiences, from childhood to present, and from the examples of others. Nonjudgmental and empathetic, Ms. Murphy Casserly’s voice is warm and engaging. Genuinely interested in the reader’s financial well-being, she clearly has a gift of natural insight, and can read people and their monetary situations instantly. In the intake or “discovery” process, she explains, “you have to lead people to uncover the emotional numbers first and then get to the tactical or financial numbers. Once you have clarity about your personal mission, vision, values and goals and what emotions are triggered underneath, you can begin to get into the hardcore financial planning details that involve your core assets and liabilities, and use these as a launching pad to create a vibrant new relationship to money that will take you where you want and need to go for the rest of your life.”
The Emotion Behind Money can change your preconceptions and deeply impact how to handle, attract and accumulate money, and, on an even broader scale, how to set your most cherished goals in life and to be able to recognize and realize your dreams.
Brief bio of Julie Murphy Casserly Julie Murphy Casserly is the author of a new book, The Emotion Behind Money: Building wealth from the inside out. The narrative is personal and compelling as Julie draws on her own history of an often conflicted relationship to money, which had its roots in her upbringing as one of 12 children, and her parents’ attitudes that money was in short supply and hard to come by. The book is also filled with relatable composite anecdotes based on the wide variety of individuals and couples she’s worked with over the past decade as a Certified Financial Planner® and expert on wealth accumulation and management.
The book is designed to be helpful – some might say life-changing – for people of all ages and financial status. Whatever the reader’s starting point, whether they are in the early, middle or late stages in the game, he or she will gain a much clearer understanding of their relationship to money, and, armed with that knowledge, be able to create a life of abundance. Readers will learn how to recognize their true dream life and the steps they can take to make it a reality.
Julie is a Chicago-based entrepreneur as well as an author. She founded JMC Wealth Management, Inc. in 2000 and now works with clients worldwide, from singles or couples just starting out to individuals and families with a high net worth. Many examples in her book had reached a crossroads or a major obstacle and needed help getting “unstuck” so that they could move forward without being burdened by a lifetime of accumulated misconceptions about money and wealth. The book is also a workbook, filled with exercises that allow the reader to slowly but surely uncover, understand and correct his or her own attitudes and unproductive patterns with regard to money and wealth accumulation.
Prior to publication of this book Julie was and continues to be a sought-after media expert on financial issues, especially relating to the emotional connection to money.
The book can be ordered on amazon.com or at www.emotionbehindmoney.com
In the decade between 1990 and 2000 the cost of asthma care went up 54%, according to Family Practice News (October 1, 2000:5). More focus on diet,
lifestyle and supplementation can cut these costs. More attention should also be
paid to drug therapy and efforts should be made to reduce drug intake.
Inhaler overuse is an important issue, and can lead to increased hospitalizations and death. An article appearing in Family Practice News (April 15, 1993;46) stated that deaths from asthma could be cut by 50% if physicians monitored beta agonist inhaler overuse by patients. An inhaler should last one month, but often prescriptions are given with unlimited refills and the doctor has no idea how often the patient is using the inhaler. Other medications can contribute to asthma attacks. An article in the Annals of Allergy (June 1992;68:453-462) stated
that drugs may be responsible for as many as 10% of asthma attacks. NSAIDs
may be responsible for 2/3 of these drug induced attacks. Drugs, like muscle
relaxants, beta-blockers, or antibiotics can also trigger asthma attacks.
Diet is seldom stressed by the medical establishment, but it plays a role in asthma. Research appearing in the European Respiratory Journal (2009; 33:33-41) looked at the dietary habits of 54,672 French women and the association with asthma attacks. Of the subjects, 1,063 currently had asthma with 206 having asthma attacks at least once per week. There was a strong correlation between the frequency of asthma attacks the adherence to a “Western” diet including pizza, cured meats, sweets and other processed foods. Also the types of fats in the diet affect asthma symptoms, according to research appearing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005; 59(12): 1335-46). It found that
omega-3 fatty acids were especially helpful for preventing exercise induced
asthma attacks. This was supported by a review article appearing in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Medicine (1994;24:727), which found that a diet low in omega-3 fatty acids and high in omega-6 fatty acids and margarine may be part of the reason that asthma is on the rise. The article notes that asthma is low in Scandinavia and in Mediterranean countries where there is less omega-6 consumption and more consumption of omega-3 and olive oil.
Clinical and Experimental Allergy (2000;30:615-627) reviewed research about nutrients that may affect asthma. Magnesium supplementation was found to
reduce reactivity in the airways; magnesium is a mild bronchodilator, and acts to open the airways. Vitamin C intake has been shown to reduce exercise induced asthma. Vitamin C levels tend to be low in asthmatics. The journal Thorax (2009; 64(7): 610-9) also reviewed nutritional studies related to asthma and the intake of antioxidants, namely vitamins A, C and E. The authors concluded that “Relatively low dietary intakes of vitamins A and Care associated with statistically significant increased odds of asthma and wheeze.” This was echoed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995;61(Suppl.):625S-630S). A study appearing in the journal Thorax (May 2006; 61: 388 – 393) looked at 1,030 subjects and found that dietary vitamin C and manganese intake were inversely associated with asthma symptoms.
Nutrition is a simple and inexpensive way to improve asthma symptoms. It can reduce asthma costs and save lives.
Not long after I started my financial planning firm in 1995, I discovered something that was never taught to me in business school. It’s the notion that every person has their own unique and personal relationship with money. I consistently saw how my clients’ emotions were responsible for how they made money, how they kept it, or conversely, how they accumulated debt.
Therefore, I’ve made it my mission, and have built a successful practice, on delving into the emotion and psychology behind my clients’ monetary issues. I’ve found that by digging deep and really understanding my clients, I am able to put them on a financial path that is right for them, and only them.
It’s my hope that everyone discovers financial abundance by opening their eyes to the possibilities of a new reality– a reality filled with happiness, prosperity and inner peace. Here are some of the financial insights I have learned over the years that have helped my clients obtain financial happiness.
Be true to yourself
Answer this question: What is the most important thing in your life? Is it your spouse, kids, siblings, parents, your health, career, hobby, pets? Now think about how you are currently living your life. Are the two consistent? For much of my life, I was living a life of inconsistency and could have manifested happiness (and wealth) much faster had I listened to my inner compass.
Open your world to the possibility that you can achieve your innermost desires and dreams. And don’t let anything stop you from reaching these goals. Whether it’s starting your own business, or traveling the world, find this passion and live it.
Do what you are passionate about, the money will follow!
Like most people, I always thought that if you had millions, life was better. I also always thought that the surest sign of wealth was having lots of stuff, and that stuff was the key to happiness. I’ve since learned that my life doesn’t have to be dictated by money. And your’s doesn’t either! Wealthy people are not necessarily the ones who have more. The richest people are the ones who put their passions at the center of their universe. When you are living a life of passion, the money will follow! Wealth is truly a state of mine. It involves being rich in every facet of your life.
Harmonize your financial, family and personal worlds
Many of those I have counseled over the years are filled with shame, blame and guilt. Often times this is because they are dedicating too much of themselves to one area of their life. If you focus on the financials, you are likely at the office for the majority of the day, and then feeling guilty for missing out on quality time with family and friends. When your life is off-balance, happiness will never be achieved. An important step on your financial journey to happiness and abundance is to define your ideal life from every aspect. Once you acknowledge what this is, create a personalized plan to realize these ideals.
In closing, abundance isn’t just money. It’s also about tapping into what you truly value –joy, hope, honesty, love and compassion. Find your inner desire, follow it and you will truly have it all — money and happiness!
Julie Murphy Casserly, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, is a 14-year veteran of the financial services industry and founder of JMC Wealth Management in Chicago. Julie helps people understand how their emotional attitudes and behaviors affect how they earn, spend and save. She is author of the award-winning book, “The Emotion Behind Money: Building Wealth from the Inside Out.” Please visit www.EmotionBehindMoney.com for more information.
Start now!
1) Take a manila folder or envelope and write 2009 taxes on it and as you donate clothes or give money to charities throughout the year, put that documentation right in the prepared 2009 tax file for easy access when tax time comes.
2) If you’re a business owner or very busy person, hire yourself a book keeper right away. A great resource for this is www.Noritaco.com
3) When considering big purchases, research to see if you can get some tax credits or deductions for doing so. For example, if you put in solar efficient windows in your house, you will get to write it off on your taxes.
4) Make sure when you sold of some investments and/or the money manager you use sold off some stocks inside that mutual fund, be sure to get the cost basis, otherwise you could be taxed on the whole sale, not just the gain. This is a very common mistake.
It’s all about positioning yourself to be lucky! No one wants the IRS to audit you, but when you are disorganized and not sure exactly what you are doing, you’re more likely to attract the IRS to come knocking at your door. If you hate doing your taxes, then hire a professional to do them, its well worth the hassle and aggravation.
There are plenty of tax organizers on the web you can use. Just “Google” tax organizer and find the one right for you.
You want to keep not only your actual tax return filed, but also all the supporting documentation for seven years.
Any firm that gave you these documents can get you another one, just request it.
Don’t be afraid. We are going to use the word Money and Management in the same sentence. But according to Money magazine, more than a third of Americans have vowed to budget better in 2007. Bank accounts often dip to an all-time low after the holidays and aspirations for a balanced budget are high. ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner and Wealth Management Coach, Julie Casserly offers tips to make sure financial resolutions don’t become financial delusions by February. Approaching your finances holistically assures a balanced budget.
“It’s important to develop a system with accountability so the goals aren’t lost soon after January. People need to stay committed to their plans, making both short and long-term goals,” says Casserly.
Networking is what makes the world go round! Without it where would we be? You’ve always heard the saying, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know! This can’t be anymore true than it is in economic times that we are in today. If you live a life in isolation, who will be your advocate when it comes time for those job layoffs, new opportunities, and/or career shifts?
Life is about being in collaboration with others. It is so important to start to establish very strong collaborative relationships that create win/win scenarios in your life. Many of us have relationships that are one sided. For example, if you are a giver, it’s very natural to surround yourself with takers. But is this really feeding your soul?
Networking is all about advocacy, collaboration, and feeding your soul to get you where you need to be on your life’s purpose.
Keys for today’s environment:
1) Trust your intuition, if you’re at a networking event and something doesn’t seems right while talking to someone, excuse yourself politely and move on. The faster you listen to your “gut” the more right alignment you will be creating.
2) Create the space in your life by getting rid of what I call your “Crabs in your bucket”. Create the space for those that can help you move forward as opposed to support you being stuck.
3) Spend your time with those who feed your soul, those that excite you. In times like today, there is a lot of negativity, spend your time with those that energize you.
The cost of managing sickness is not only detrimental and challenging to overall health and well being but also to the pocketbook. It is much easier to maintain and work towards increasing your level of health.
As concluded by doctors Kenneth S. Fink and Patricia J. Byrns, “prescription drug coverage for 1 person-year cost $503 in 1998 and $759 in 2000, for an annual increase of 22.8%. The average number of prescriptions filled per person-year increased from 13.0 in 1998 to 15.5 in 2000. Increased prescribing for 6 drugs accounted for more than 25% of the total increase in expenditures.” 1.
Simple Steps to Start NOW! Create healthy habits that will last a lifetime and become invaluable in your future.
1 – Breathing: Deep belly/abdominal breathing has numerous health benefits: relaxes your body, muscles, mind; decreases heart rate; increases oxygen for the body to use; supports digestion and detoxification. Inhale slowly and deeply through the nose filling the belly with the breath and exhale through the mouth. You can practice inhaling/exhaling for the count of 4 seconds then increase it to 5 seconds, etc.
2 – Drink more Water: Your body is mostly water and needs water as its primary liquid. Water is crucial for muscle function, for the brain, nervous system and all your organs. Since your body was designed to regulate itself internally, drinking external stimulants (caffeine and sugar filled beverages) puts added stress on your body.
3 – Increases fresh fruits and vegetables: There are two kinds of foods — acid and alkaline. Your body was designed to function and heal in an alkaline state, which requires alkaline foods — mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating too much of acidic foods makes your body acid, causing acute physical stress and increased opportunity for sickness and disease.
4 – Exercise: Your body needs exercise that increases your heart rate, promotes muscle activity and aids neurological integration, so your body works as it was designed. Excellent exercises that achieve all three are swimming or walking correctly.
5 – Adequate Rest: Adequate, uninterrupted sleep each night is essential for cell repair. If you eat large meals too close to bedtime or drink the wrong liquids throughout the day, you over-stimulate your body. This makes uninterrupted, restful, repairing sleep difficult.
6 – Mental Health: What you think about affects your body directly causing it to release different hormones and chemicals. Think about a lemon and your mouth fills with saliva. If you are angry or in fear, your body will produce different chemicals which can potentially cause chronic muscle tightness, increase heart rate/blood pressure, and disrupt digestion. If you worry, your nervous system triggers more acid in your stomach even if you have nothing in your stomach — producing indigestion and ulcers. So choose to bring to the forefront of your mind all the things and people that you have to be grateful for as much as possible. Thoughts of gratitude and love are powerful positive feelings that add to one’s overall health.
1 – Changing Prescribing Patterns and Increasing Prescription Expenditures in Medicaid by,Kenneth S. Fink, MD, MGA, MPH1 and Patricia J. Byrns, MD2
Healthcare reform is certainly the hot topic of the last few weeks. Lifestyle drugs make up 7 out of the top 10 drugs sold in the US today.1 Medication use and costs can be cut with a few simple changes our daily routine. We can control very little of what happens in our life, so challenge yourself to control what you put in your mouth and how you move your body.
Dr Sargent, of Restor Healing Centre, says “anyone can cut their healthcare costs by making different choices. Most of us make food choices without much thought. There was a blog about a man who spent a year researching his new furnace2, but we believe spending one minute thinking about the food or even having to prepare what we eat, consumes way too much time in our “busy” schedules.” The following tips will help you reduce your healthcare costs by creating more conscious decisions about food and exercise.
1 – The only things in grocery stores that are actually 100% fruit or vegetables are in the fruit and vegetable section – fresh or frozen. 100% fruit does not come in a box or bottle.
2 – Fruit is the original fast food. Pick it up off your counter and put it in your bag. This is actually faster than the drive-through self shooting you will receive when you go through the local fast food chain. Saves gas, too.
3 – Walking is actually an activity we are designed to perform. We have two legs – easier to coordinate than four and shoes are less expensive.
4 – Move your body somewhere, anywhere, we have muscles to move our joints not to sit in front of our computer all the time. Ten minutes in the morning, ten at lunch, and ten after dinner – move it or lose it!
5 – Pop, soda and juice are a prescription for diabetes. Drink water, if flavor is what you need – add fresh fruit.
6 – Spending 15 minutes once a week to plan your grocery list will save you from impulse buying and unconscious snacking on bags and boxes – yes, I’m sure the containers are actuallt more nutritious than what is contained therein.
1 – http://www.drugs.com/top200.html1 Lipitor 5,880,128 -4.6% 2 Nexium 4,794,450 10.1% 3 Plavix 3,796,221 23.1% 4 Advair Diskus 3,572,473 5.4% 5 Prevacid 3,295,465 -0.6% 6 Seroquel 2,908,971 15.5% 7 Singulair 2,898,060 1.2% 8 Effexor XR 2,657,729 7.8% 9 OxyContin 2,502,982 139.8% 10 Actos 2,447,602 9.8%
2 – http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115×202827
Shopping for a new financial advsior – by Julie Murphy Casserly,CFP®
Achieving financial goals: remember the big picture – by Julie Murphy Casserly,CFP®
How much can you earn and still receive Social Security? – by Julie Murphy Casserly, CFP®
Lessons for the season of giving…and spending – by Julie Murphy Casserly,CFP®
Reducing Healthcare Costs Starts With You – by Dr Kristina Sargent
Natural Tips For Cutting Health Care Bills – by Dr Helen Lee, DC
Networking is what makes the World go Round – by Julie Murphy Casserly, CFP®,
Top 10 Financial Tips for 2007 – by Julie Casserly, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, MBA
How To Property Organize Tax Files To Avoid Confusion Next Year – by Julie Casserly, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, MBA
Financial Life Lessons – by Julie Murphy Casserly
Reducing Asthma Costs – by Dr Kristina Sargent
The Emotion Behind Money Book Release – by Julie Murphy Casserly
News In Healthcare Savings – by Dr Steven Arculeo, DC
Building Wealth From The Inside Out – by Julie Murphy Casserly
Setting Your Personal Finance Strategy – by Julie Murphy Casserly
2010 Financial Strategies – by Julie Murphy Casserly