LOHENGRIN GROUP

Client Newsletter

Volume 4, Issue 12

New Veteran Educational Benefits Announced…

Military personnel who have served at least 90 days since September 11, 2001 are now eligible for expanded education benefits, including tuition, housing, tutors and $1,000 for books. Under the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, benefits cover 36 months of higher education at a degree-granting institution. Other features: For the first time in history, Veterans can transfer the unused portion of their Post 9/11 bill's educational benefits to their spouse or their child. Reservists may qualify for 100 percent tuition reimbursement. With the Post 9/11 bill, veterans could be eligible for educational benefits up to 15 years after leaving the service. The Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program allows institutions of higher learning in the United States to enter into an agreement with VA to fund tuition that exceeds the highest public in-state undergraduate tuition rate. The institution can contribute up to 50 percent of those expenses and the VA will match it. Visit www.gibill.va.gov or call 888-442-4551 for more information.

1.) Travelex Cash Passport cards - The prepaid Travelex Cash Passport cards are easier to use than traveler's checks. You can have them loaded with Euros, British pounds, or the currency of many other countries. They work just like debit cards when you make a purchase or withdraw money at an ATM. And there's no guessing about the exchange rate because that's set at the time you make your deposit. An individual's name is not shown on the card, so identity is protected. There is a charge of about $2.50 for withdrawals and a charge of 5.5 percent if you don't use the money you prepaid and want it back in dollars. Search Travelex United States for sellers in your area.
Get out of town for less! If you decide you want to fly away right now, you're going to pay a big price for your last-minute ticket. There's still a chance that you could get a bargain seat at Web sites that specialize in immediate ticket sales. Click on Last Second Deals for a package that includes a hotel and car rental. Or visit airfarewatchdog.com for airline fire sale prices.

2.) The Times Square New Years Eve ball - More than a billion people are expected to watch the New Years Eve celebration in New York's Times Square. A million will be there in person. The famous ball that edges down to welcome the New Year will be covered with thousands of LED lights and thousands of reflective crystals between them. In 2008, the ball was doubled in size. It was 12 feet wide and colorful. The 2009 celebration actually marks 100 years of ball drops. It would be 102, but lights were interrupted with two dim-outs during World War II. It was Dec. 31, 1907 when the first ball, made of iron and wood, dropped to the delight of a cheering crowd. It was the featured event in the third big Times Square New Years Eve party. In 1929, Guy Lombardo sang "Auld Lang Syne" when the ball fell. The song became a tradition and it's still sung each year and joyfully anticipated by viewers in person and on television. In 1972, Dick Clark hosted the first "New Year's Rockin' Eve" show. After 9/11, he led the popular refrain "Happy New Year America" in 2001. By 1978, the ball was larger and featured large lights. The 1983 ball was covered with red to signify the Big Apple, and the 1995 version had rhinestones and strobes. 1999 brought the silver millennium ball, and 2007 was the 100th anniversary orb with red, yellow and green.

3.) Accident numbers grow, whether you're walking or riding on ice and snow - In wintery driving conditions, keep this keyword in mind: SLOW. It means slower speed, slower acceleration, slower steering and slower braking. Slow means it will take longer to get where you're going, so be patient and leave with time to spare. A few things to remember: Your headlights should be on. Four-wheel drive won't help you stop any faster. Abrupt action while steering, braking or accelerating could make you lose control of the vehicle. Make your own driving decisions. Cruise control can't see ahead or judge the condition of the road.
Dealing with snowplows - Washington State DOT cautions you never to crowd a snowplow. The front of the plow extends several feet and may cross the centerline or shoulder. Give plows plenty of room. They turn and exit frequently. Stay back about 15 car lengths. Snowplows can throw up a cloud of snow. Never drive into a snow cloud. There could be a plow inside. If you are behind a plow, stay there or use extreme caution when passing.
Safer walking -If you are forced to walk in the street because there is deep snow on the sidewalk, wear bright colors so cars can easily see you. Wear shoes or boots that have traction, or wear ice-traction slip-ons over your shoes (about $10 at Target). Pay attention to where you are walking. Don't be on a cellphone. Avoid carrying things, especially larger packages, which could throw you off balance.

Carl and Linda had just about reached the end of their rope. They didn't know where to turn, and felt very frustrated. They needed help.

See, their middle son Jimmy, is autistic. At first, he acted like any normal baby. But, by the time he was two and a half, the doctors finally agreed that his lack of speaking was due to autism; and that he would need lots of specialized care.

Carl and Linda were devastated. They had two other kids, one two years older, and one a year younger than Jimmy. He had been a real handful, and now that they know why, the mystery of his behavior has been solved. But not what to do about it.

They found out that there are some programs that Jimmy could enroll in that would be paid for
by the county and so forth. However, the two special classes were full, and there was quite a waiting list to get in. Even though Carl is a well paid executive, with Linda staying at home, and supporting three kids and everything, there isn't a lot of extra money in their budget.

The pain of their cash flow situation, is that there is a woman in their neighborhood who has set up a program for autistic kids. (She has one also, and has a masters in special education.) She is doing this class for a few other kids, for free, and is only charging parents the actual costs of materials, facilities, travel, etc. And that's been averaging about $300 - 350 per month.

Now, when Carl and Linda came in to see us, they were really upset. They were afraid that if they didn't get Jimmy in the program, that it would also get filled, and he would be out in the cold again.

They made the appointment to see us after having been referred by Linda's brother. Their reason for seeing us was to find out how they could arrange things to send Jimmy to this class. They were wondering if they should refinance their house, or take out a loan from Linda's 401(k) plan, or .... well, they didn't know what to do.

We reviewed their whole situation. We made it clear to them that the last thing we wanted them to do was to borrow money to take care of these expenses. Since they were ongoing consumed costs, we didn't want them saddled with these debts for years and years down the road. Also, when we researched their house situation, we had the bad news to tell them that their house is very likely upside down. (The value of the house has gone down 20% or more since January 2008, the last time they considered refinancing.)

Carl’s 401(K) has gone down even more than that. He showed us his June 2008 statement, and then the current one, and it’s down 39%, was down 47% a few months ago.

Understand we were NOT telling them not to take care of Jimmy. No way. What we were telling them was that they had to use different strategies to get the goal accomplished.

Anyway, we found out some interesting things when we did their plan. The most significant was that there were three things they were doing with their money that were costing them a few thousand dollars in unnecessary income taxes. Their accountant had not mentioned these things to them when he did their taxes, which is not unusual.

When they came to see us, since it was early in ‘09, they were able to take advantage of the entire year to save the taxes. (For example, if they had come to us in December, and they had already earned 11/12th's of their taxable interest income, there would be little we could have helped them do to legally get rid of the taxes, since they had already earned the money! Do you see what we mean?)

By starting right in the first month of the year, we were able to show them how to get rid of the whole year's worth of taxable interest, thus maximizing the tax savings!

Anyway, the bottom line was that their new, improved tax situation, reduced their taxes by approximately $3,800 in 2009! Here’s what we did to get them money back on their taxes NOW!

Since they needed the money now, we calculated how to change Carl’s W-4 form, to get all the tax savings money back on each paycheck! (See, we would never let someone pay too much in taxes, and then get a big refund. That’s loaning money to the IRS for free. NO WAY!)

Which, translated to about $320 a month increased take home pay. Which, was about the exact monthly cost of Jimmy's class!

Now, let's think about this. Carl and Linda can send Jimmy to the program, and not have any
additional debt, without having to send Linda to work outside the home! All because of making a few legal changes to their financial situation.

See, the key is that Linda really has to be home for the next several years. Jimmy, as well as the other two kids need her. It's their family decision not to use day care or some other option for watching the kids. It's not our place, or anyone else's place to judge whether this is right or wrong.

It's their personal wish.

And, working through a plan, we were able to get them their wish, while maintaining their lifestyle! The two real secrets were that they did real planning and they did it early in the year!

Because they got started with planning right away, they were able to get Jimmy enrolled in the program immediately, without having to wait until tax time to get a refund!

What a great feeling it is to have a job where we can make such a difference in a family's life!

(Are you going to start your 2010 tax planning right after New Year’s? Are you going to waste lots of money by procrastinating? Don't delay. Call us up for your annual review, RIGHT NOW, while this is fresh on your mind. We'll take care of the rest!)

So, what's the other moral of the story?  Same as always.  Proper planning is for everyone.

While your situation might not be the same as Carl and Linda’s, you shouldn't take that to mean your planning needs aren't just as critical! PLANNING BEFORE TAKING ACTIONS IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL, AND IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF FINANCIAL SUCCESS!! So make sure you take heed, and call us BEFORE making any moves! We're here to help you plan, and make sure you have the best shot at financial security! Especially during these tough economic times!

It’s getting near the time of year again where consumers will be flocking to retail stores for holiday gift items or to find those once a year sales we just can’t seem
to resist. Here are a few tips to help you spend within your means and avoid the post holiday spending blues.

• If you haven’t started saving for your purchases start now.
• Build a list of people to buy for and stick to it.
• Set predetermined spending amounts that are within your budget.
• Avoid charging on credit at all costs; if something needs to be purchased on plastic make sure you can pay off the full amount within 30 days.
• Avoid impulse buying, shop around; the chances are you will find the same product cheaper elsewhere.
• If you are purchasing something online check the shipping charges carefully.
• Start preparing for next year now. Calculate what it took for you to have a successful shopping experience this year. Use the knowledge gained from this years
experience to be prepared for next year. You might even be able to start sooner.
• Plan a route. Knowing where you are going and how you are going to navigate your day ahead of time can help you avoid long traffic lines, or long lines at
stores. Starting earlier in the day usually helps avoid the last minute rushes.
• Hi-Tech products usually don’t come cheap around the holidays. Chances are the same product you paid full retail price for will be much cheaper to purchase a
few months after the holidays. Perhaps waiting will pay off.
• Finally, take a deep breath, relax and pace yourself. Overly rushing can lead to poor purchasing choices that can cost you in the long run. Check a stores return/exchange program before you make your purchases.

Everyone who is contemplating immunization for the swine flu (H1N1) should be relieved by this news. Adults won't have to get two shots of the vaccine. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health say one dose of the new vaccine is strong enough to protect most people. The important part of this announcement is that people will not have to line up for shots three times this year but just twice: once for seasonal flu and once for H1N1. At this time, studies on whether children will need both
shots are not yet complete. But...The so-called swine flu may be contagious for a longer time than previously thought. Scientists at the Institute of Public Health in
Quebec say their study shows it could be contagious for a week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's flu chief says, however, that long breaks from work or school don't seem worth it for a virus that seems to cause mostly mild illness. The flu is spreading so widely now that confining the sick does less good. It's
virtually impossible not to have the virus introduced into settings such as school, universities and workplaces where people come into close contact with others.
Prevention - This situation may prompt more people to take the trouble to get the swine flu immunization. At least, it could prompt more people to do frequent hand
washing in an attempt to prevent the H1N1.

Q. Your credit score is mostly dependant on your financial history?     

True        False

Q. Two people save money in a tax-deferred Individual Retirement Account that earns 8% annually. Person A invests $ 3,000 a year from age 20 to 29, but then never saves another penny. Person B starts investing $ 3,000 a year at age 30 and saves that same amount annually for the rest of his life. Who has more money in the account at age 65?

A. Person
A. Even though this person saves for only 10 years, because he starts early he will have more money in retirement than the other person in this scenario.

Baton Rouge, LA - Did you know that all financial advisors are not the same? And, if you need to get some help with your money, you will need to know what to ask a financial professional before you make any moves!!

Most people really don't know what questions to ask, or what things they should be aware of. When it comes to your money, you had better know!
Picking the right advisor can help you, and picking the wrong advisor can be a big mistake!
Make sure you know which is which! In today's messed up economy, you cannot afford to take any chances. If you are like most of us, these days of world crisis, economic slowdown, and general confusion have you downright worried.

You know what? You should be! Managing money was always tough, but this last year has set records for government foul-ups and totally unpredictable markets.
These are scary times. And, therefore, you must be sure to use an advisor that will be right for you!

To help you, we have prepared a FREE REPORT called "Ten Questions You Must Ask A Financial Advisor BEFORE YOU HIRE THEM!"

To get your FREE REPORT, and learn the secrets some advisors would prefer you never knew, call toll-free 1-888-6INVEST, 24 Hrs., for your free copy of this eye-opening report will be sent to you immediately. Call NOW!

YES! I'd like more FREE information on the following:

FREE Reports Available!
Call Toll-Free 888-6INVEST, 24 hrs., or Email us To Get Any Of These Free Reports!

• “The Tax Savings Secrets The IRS Doesn’t Want You To Know!”
• “The Secret Alternatives To Lousy, Low Yielding CD’s…What Banks Don’t Want You To Know!”
• “The 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make Before Or After Retiring…And How You Can Avoid Them!”
• “The 14 Questions You Must Ask BEFORE You Hire A Financial Advisor!”

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