Have a site, blog, Facebook page, email newsletter, or Twitter account where you’d like to automagically get fresh content from your friendly neighborhood Financial Docs Binder? You’re in luck! In keeping with our “click-simple” motto of making our great content easy to get and share, here are a couple of widgets that you can grab and share online wherever you’d like, just click the Get Widget button at the bottom of whichever one you’d like to have:
Click-simple Content: The FDB Widgets
Have a site, blog, Facebook page, email newsletter, or Twitter account where you’d like to automagically get fresh content from your friendly neighborhood Financial Docs Binder? You’re in luck! In keeping with our “click-simple” motto of making our great content easy to get and share, here are a couple of widgets that you can grab and share online wherever you’d like, just click the Get Widget button at the bottom of whichever one you’d like to have:
Filed under Uncategorized
Death Stinks.
She went into hospice on Christmas Day.
My Grandma, she was an amazing woman. No grass grew under her feet. In her lifetime, she saw: electricity, radio, television, rotary and digital phones, computers, horse drawn carts, cars…. In 1968, her husband died. She retired from teaching 8th grade music and math in 1979. She paid off her mortgage. She traveled all over. She sang in choirs until 3 months before she passed. She spent 2 months in California every year taking care of/visiting her Aunt. She moved her body and stretched every day. She did puzzles every day (crossword, acrostics, you name it she did it.) She told me to move it or lose it. She prayed daily. She so had her stuff together. Everything had a place and everything was in its place. She actually said that. (Doesn’t everyone’s grandma say that?) She was never, ever old.
September 16th
Grandma had what the doctors called “mini strokes” and from which she was recovering. And recovering well and fast. She moved from living alone (since 1968) to her daughters house in New Hampshire after coming out of 100 days in rehab.
The paperwork was crazy.
My Aunt and Dad (on separate coasts) were trying to figure out Medicare, insurance, life insurance, how to buy her a bed, how to make sure she had the daily nursing care she needed (there is insurance for that, by the way). For a woman who had all her stuff totally together, it was tough to piece together without being inside her head. It was working out though. I talked with her on Saturday December 12th. She said she was frustrated since she knew the words in her head, they just wouldn’t come out of her mouth. Can you imagine that? A teacher not being able to communicate? She told me she loved me.
December 16th
Grandma had a major stroke.
Christmas Day
Grandma went into hospice. It wasn’t long before she said goodbye. On January 4th at midnight eastern time, she passed on to the next life. She would have been 96 in April.
What’s left behind.
We who were left without her on this earth grieve still. And we got flights and hotels and trekked out to Connecticut for the biggest party we could think of. We laughed and cried and people who we never ever met before told us how amazing and kind and happy she was.
Then came the paperwork. The insurance, the death certificates, the attorney, the banking, the itemizing, the funeral, the life insurance. Honestly, my Aunt, who just watched her mother pass away, was barely hanging on. As the main person on the East Coast, she knew where most of the stuff was. Grandma had her stuff together. Emotionally, though, my aunt was just so overwhelmed, it was hard, and still is hard, to make decisions and take care of details.
And this is the reason I created this binder for financial documents.
I created this binder because of my relationship with several amazing people, chiefly my financial advisor, Amanda Johnson. I’m pretty organized anyway, and she inspired me to create this binder. Until this moment, I never personally knew it’s true value. Grandma taught me that everything has a place and everything is in its place. In this amazingly emotional time, my Aunt and Dad are able to take care of her wishes because the stuff was where she said it was, all in one place. Yes, there is still some sorting to do, but not too much. This binder is meant for us when the unthinkable and inevitable happens. Midst the heavy emotions, we can still take care of what needs to happen.
Can you imagine what would have happened if everything was scattered all over the place?
I can. You can bet that I’m on my mom, dad, and aunt’s respective cases to get their paperwork in order. I already know the emotions will be hard when they pass. I don’t think I could take it if I had to figure out who paid for what and when and then make decisions on top of that.
I know this binder helps people.
I know it firsthand. Please get one for your mom, dad, or grandparents. I promise you, if they use it, it will make it easier down the road.
www.financialdocumentsbinder.com
Filed under Uncategorized
Death Stinks.
She went into hospice on Christmas Day.
My Grandma, she was an amazing woman. No grass grew under her feet. In her lifetime, she saw: electricity, radio, television, rotary and digital phones, computers, horse drawn carts, cars…. In 1968, her husband died. She retired from teaching 8th grade music and math in 1979. She paid off her mortgage. She traveled all over. She sang in choirs until 3 months before she passed. She spent 2 months in California every year taking care of/visiting her Aunt. She moved her body and stretched every day. She did puzzles every day (crossword, acrostics, you name it she did it.) She told me to move it or lose it. She prayed daily. She so had her stuff together. Everything had a place and everything was in its place. She actually said that. (Doesn’t everyone’s grandma say that?) She was never, ever old.
September 16th
Grandma had what the doctors called “mini strokes” and from which she was recovering. And recovering well and fast. She moved from living alone (since 1968) to her daughters house in New Hampshire after coming out of 100 days in rehab.
The paperwork was crazy.
My Aunt and Dad (on separate coasts) were trying to figure out Medicare, insurance, life insurance, how to buy her a bed, how to make sure she had the daily nursing care she needed (there is insurance for that, by the way). For a woman who had all her stuff totally together, it was tough to piece together without being inside her head. It was working out though. I talked with her on Saturday December 12th. She said she was frustrated since she knew the words in her head, they just wouldn’t come out of her mouth. Can you imagine that? A teacher not being able to communicate? She told me she loved me.
December 16th
Grandma had a major stroke.
Christmas Day
Grandma went into hospice. It wasn’t long before she said goodbye. On January 4th at midnight eastern time, she passed on to the next life. She would have been 96 in April.
What’s left behind.
We who were left without her on this earth grieve still. And we got flights and hotels and trekked out to Connecticut for the biggest party we could think of. We laughed and cried and people who we never ever met before told us how amazing and kind and happy she was.
Then came the paperwork. The insurance, the death certificates, the attorney, the banking, the itemizing, the funeral, the life insurance. Honestly, my Aunt, who just watched her mother pass away, was barely hanging on. As the main person on the East Coast, she knew where most of the stuff was. Grandma had her stuff together. Emotionally, though, my aunt was just so overwhelmed, it was hard, and still is hard, to make decisions and take care of details.
And this is the reason I created this binder for financial documents.
I created this binder because of my relationship with several amazing people, chiefly my financial advisor, Amanda Johnson. I’m pretty organized anyway, and she inspired me to create this binder. Until this moment, I never personally knew it’s true value. Grandma taught me that everything has a place and everything is in its place. In this amazingly emotional time, my Aunt and Dad are able to take care of her wishes because the stuff was where she said it was, all in one place. Yes, there is still some sorting to do, but not too much. This binder is meant for us when the unthinkable and inevitable happens. Midst the heavy emotions, we can still take care of what needs to happen.
Can you imagine what would have happened if everything was scattered all over the place?
I can. You can bet that I’m on my mom, dad, and aunt’s respective cases to get their paperwork in order. I already know the emotions will be hard when they pass. I don’t think I could take it if I had to figure out who paid for what and when and then make decisions on top of that.
I know this binder helps people.
I know it firsthand. Please get one for your mom, dad, or grandparents. I promise you, if they use it, it will make it easier down the road.
www.financialdocumentsbinder.com
Filed under death, estate planning
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When ordering an item from Room To Breathe™ Professional Organizers, we can ship to virtually any address in the world. When you place an order, we will contact you and estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. After placing your order, you will see both shipping and delivery date estimates in the order confirmation e-mail.
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The Content of this website, and the site as a whole, is intended solely for personal, noncommercial use by the users of our site. You may download, print and store selected portions of the Content, provided you (1) only use these copies of the Content for your own personal, non—commercial use, (2) do not copy or post the Content on any network computer or broadcast the Content in any media, and (3) do not modify or alter the Content in any way, or delete or change any copyright or trademark notice.
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Filed under Uncategorized
Team Newington’s Special Pricing
Clients and colleagues of Team Newington, get your special FDB pricing right here! For a limited time, you'll receive any single binder purchased for 15% off standard single-binder pricing. That's right: Team Newington members get the 100+ volume discount price of $32.99 (plus priority shipping and handling) per individual binder purchased. We're pleased to offer Team Newington the most comprehesive financial information management resource for such a great price, making it an even more ideal investment in your financial management, security and piece of mind for well under $40. Click the logo below now to take advantage of this great offer.
Filed under Uncategorized
Financial Fear: Advisors and Managers Call your Clients
I recognized a cycle I see frequently with Financial Advisors and Investment Managers. More often than not, they are only looking at their customers as numbers. And that vision leads to advisors and managers closing their eyes off to opportunities.
It goes with the territory. My personal observation is that when a human is very good with numbers and calculations, usually, the same brain does not lean to the interpersonal relationship building side.
Well, that’s all fine and good. Except it’s not really all fine and good. And especially right now in our economy, it is bad and doesn’t serve anyone.
Every talking head on TV and on the radio spouts on and on about the “financial woes” of the nation. And people are scared. The last thing they need or want is a financial human who doesn’t want to talk with them about the numbers, or who can only talk with them in numbers speak. The only thing holding our country, region, county, city, community together is our relationships (in good times and bad.) When we feel supported, we make better decisions and continue using our advisors and managers. When fear is pervasive, we retract – and that means one day you’re in business, the next day you’re not.
You may be technically the best financial advisor or investment manager on the face of this earth. If you don’t communicate with your clients on a level they understand, they will leave you to find someone who will communicate with them. There is no getting around it, you, personally, as the service provider, need to make contact with them.
If you are a highly numbers focused human, here are some comfortable ways to talk with your clients so they feel how good you are and the value you provide:
- Send out a newsletter: there are services that will create this for you so you don’t even have to touch it.
- Set aside 15 minutes a day and write a hand written note to 3 clients.
- Take 10 minutes a day and call a client to ask, “Got any questions? I’m here if you do.”
- Present them with a gift they see value in at their next face to face appointment
Investing a little bit of time in talking with your clients right now will keep you in the black and bring in the referrals. Everyone remembers the person that supported them during the crisis.
Filed under Uncategorized
Are you a Baby Boomer? Or are you a Boomer’s kid?
It was so exciting when the troops came back after World War II that you could practically hear the babies being conceived for at least 2 years! And now, that amazing generation is around 60 years old.
What’s the big deal? So they are sixty. So what? Well, traditionally, people “retired” from hard labor jobs in their sixties. They stopped working the hard job, and rested, traveled, puttered around the house until they died. Which was not far off for folks only 30 years ago.
With the advancement of science, medical technology, and a pile of other factors, humans are living longer. So while you could retire at 60 and probably live to 70/75, now people are living until 90, 95, 100+. This is amazing! This is wonderful! And it also brings up the answer to the “what’s the big deal?” question.
If you’re a boomer, there is high probablility you’re going to live longer.
- Do you have enough money to keep you in the manner to which you’ve been accustomed?
- Are you going to keep working? Do you want to keep working?
- What kind of health care do you need now as you age? what will you need later?
- Who is going to take care of you as you get older? Your kids? Your family? Friends?
- Where are you going to live? Stay in the big house? Downsize? Live with the kids?
If you’re a boomer’s kid, in general your parents are going to live longer.
Society in the past has seen families live close together. Now, our society and culture has changed so that families are spread to the four courners of the country and earth. What expectations do you have for taking care of your parents? Do they expect you to take care of them? Will you stop what you’re doing to take care of them?
- Have they been supporting you physically? Financially? Do you expect that to continue?
- If something happens to them, how will you know what to do to help them?
- Are you going to be the one to help them?
- What happens to them if they can’t live alone anymore? Where will they live?
- Who is going to pay for it all? You? Them? The government?
I highly suggest that both boomers and boomer’s children have a very blunt and open conversation about aging and what expectations are as both groups age. Start by asking and answering the above questions. And if you’re not sure what other questions you need to ask, use a tool like the Financial Documents Binder to provoke questions and answers. Find a financial advisor, an accountant, an insurance agent to talk with you about what is available and what you need to care for yourself and loved ones as you age. Having the conversation is the starting point to ensuring you get exactly what you want as you get older. And if you don’t know what you want, now is the time to figure it out.
Filed under death, estate planning, Financial Advisors, illness, Investment Managers
Insurance and Financial Advisors – people vote with their feet
In industries where there are a lot of competitors, every one starts to look the same. One Insurance Agent is the same as another. Each Financial Advisor I talk with swears their firm has “the best advising products and tools, bar none.” Here’s the big secret: they all have amazing products and client management tools. They’d be out of business if they didn’t.
You can be a representative from State Farm, Prudential, Met Life, Allstate, Ameriprise, Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones, Smith Barney et al. and frankly, you are all the same. There is even a uniform: navy blue or black suit with a white shirt and a striped tie for men. Women, navy blue or black suit with a cream colored blouse and navy or black shoes. Even corporate from IBM doesn’t wear that uniform anymore (okay, that depends on where you live in the country.)
What are you doing differently that is going to keep me with you? Like many people, I vote with my feet. You’ll never know I’m upset or frustrated, I’ll just be gone. And I’ll take all of my referrals and friends with me. So what is special about you that will keep me 1) loyal and 2) referring you?
Here are some ideas:
- casual office environment – Hawaiian shirt Fridays
- regular newsletter/email updates
- special gifts sent on birthdays and major family occasions
- regular calls “just because”
- hand written notecards “just because”
- buy me lunch “just because”
- crazy themed client appreciation parties
- use of new technology in the practice – video, twitter, facebook – for keeping in touch.
- invitations to volunteer together at local charitable events (not attend – volunteer!)
- you know exactly where everything is in your office?
GREAT example of Financial Advisors with Awesome Customer Service
This is an example of a Financial Advisory firm with outstanding consistent customer service.
Are you currently doing this type of outreach?
