Thursday, December 4, 2008
Preparing For The Second Leg
Until the tour resumes, please feel free to submit questions to NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors on the tour website by clicking on Virtual Tour. You can post a financial question and an advisor will post a response within a couple of days.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Bill Cleveland, CFP Shares His Thoughts From Columbia, SC
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Video Logs from Today's Stop in Columbia, SC
Eddie Kramer, CFP
Laura Scharr, CFP
Wrapping Up The First Leg In Columbia, SC
Here are some photos from the stop today. We will have some new video later!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Video Logging From Atlanta!
As always, these videos can be found on the tour's YouTube Channel!
Bobbie Munroe, CFP
Helga Cuthbert, CFP
Jeff Bernier, CFP
Mark Gibbs, CFP
Photos From Atlanta!
More pictures to come later!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Here Come's Your Money Bus - Atlanta!
To learn more about the tour schedule while we are in Atlanta, or to learn about upcoming stops, visit the tour schedule page at www.YourMoneyBus.com. Simply go to the "Tour Schedule" page or just click HERE.
We'll see you in Atlanta!
Your Money Bus on WBTV (CBS) in Charlotte
Click the photo to go to the story.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Some New Video Log Posts From Charlotte!
Jay Eich, CFP
John Gugle, CFP
The Bus Is Now In Charlotte. Photographic Proof!
Video Log Entries From The Richmond Stop
David Marotta, CFP
Ed Hoppe, CFP
Marshall Groom, CFP
Matt Illian, CFP
Wrap Up From Richmond
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A Couple of Video Log Posts From YouTube
The following are two new posts - one from Washington, DC and the other from New York City. A special thanks go out to Blaine and Paul for taking the time to participate!
Next Up...Richmond, VA
10:00 am to 3:00 pm - Free advice event at the The Byrd Theatre in Carytown (2908 W. Cary Street, Richmond, VA). Bring your financial questions and sit down and chat with a financial advisor to get your answers. Be sure to also pick-up a handy toolkit full of information on debt reduction and saving.
6:30 to 8:00 pm - Symposium on "Understanding Debt, Saving and Your Financial Well-Being" at the University of Richmond. The event is free and open to the public and will cover financial literacy, debt reduction and saving strategies. The symposium will be held in the Jepson Alumni Center, University of Richmond, VA.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Great Final Photo From Harrisburg
Also, if you have not had a chance to read the article about the stop in The Patriot-News, click HERE.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
More Thoughts From Harrisburg, PA
Mike Helveston, a NAPFA Registered Advisor, manned the bus today in
Big Success at the Harrisburg, PA Bus Tour Stop!
NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor Alan Campbell, CFP joined a team of volunteers today at the tour stop in Harrisburg, PA. The bus was located at Strawberry Square, a popular shopping destination right across the street from the State Capitol Building. Although Governor Rendell did not stop by for some advice, several state employees did. Here are some of the questions Alan answered today:
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Your Money Bus Attracts Media in Albany
NBC reporter Abigail Bleck interviewed Cynthia Zalewsky, CFP regarding how a consumer would go about securing an auto loan in this environment and basic car buying and financing tips. There was an auto show going on during our event so the topic was one of relevance.
ABC reporter Demetra Ganias also interviewed Cynthia Zalewsky, CFP on how we have become a nation of financial illiteracy. We discussed the lack of inclusion of finances in the education curriculum at every grade level of our school system. We also discussed the culture of consumerism and with it the acceptance of excessive leveraging ,that has evolved in America and its effects which we are now experiencing. Getting back to the basics of budgeting, saving, reducing debt and managing your financial house is what is important. The behavior change needs to start at this level.
Questions From Albany
Today in
Another man had a question about whether or not it was a good time to be buying municipal bonds. Interest rates in the municipal bond market are fairly high right now, typically over 5% which is good for tax free income. They are usually safer than similar corporate bonds, since municipalities tend to not default on their debts.
Cynthia Zalewsky CFP, another NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor at Saratoga Investment Solutions Inc. was manning the bus in
She spoke with a gentleman inquiring about whether he should own bonds. We discussed the viability of quality municipal bonds with his taxable money and Treasury Inflation Protected bonds for his tax deferred accounts.
A woman stopped by wondering what asset classes she should be in today given the current market conditions. I recommended changing her current deferral percentages so that she is deferring more to the stock market via a total stock market index fund and a small cap index fund. We also discussed a TIPS fund available to her in her deferred compensation plan.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Hellooooooo Albany, NY!
To learn more about the event simply visit the Tour Schedule section of the Your Money Bus website at http://yourmoneybus.com/Tour.html.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Bus is En Route to Albany, NY
To learn more about the event simply visit the Tour Schedule section of the Your Money Bus website at http://yourmoneybus.com/Tour.html or just click HERE.
In the meantime, be sure to get out and vote on November 4th!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Images From Portland, ME.
The next photo is from the SkyCam of Monument Square in Portland on the WMTW 8 (local ABC affiliate) website. The bus is right there behind the statue!
Thoughts From Portland, ME
It’s great to join the bus tour for the day and answer financial questions for the people who have passed by. The most important question and the burning question that I got today is: What I should I do now? Although there are many financial techniques that can be used in these times, the most important is to stick to your knitting and be consistent with your investment strategy. Short term comfort may feel good, but it can cost you a fortune in the long term.
Helping People in Portland, ME
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thoughts From The Manchester Stop.
NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor Faye Doria had some interesting meetings with folks who came by the bus stop in Manchester, NH on October 28th. Here is what she experienced:
My first engagement was with someone who had a variety of questions. One was asking about doing a Roth IRA instead of his 401k, since he thought tax rates would be higher in the future. Since he doesn’t have an employer match on his 401k, I thought he could do the Roth IRA first, but probably should still be saving something in his 401k. Since he’s in a profession where he changes jobs often, he was worried about leaving a lot of small 401ks behind. He did establish a Traditional IRA, and I told him it would be easy to do a 401k rollover each time he left a job now that he has a place to roll to. So he’s going to rethink not adding to his 401k.
Another person was trying to decide when and how to get back into stocks or mutual funds after pulling everything out of the stock market to invest in real estate. We talked about being more diversified, and moving back into mutual funds in baby steps. Since she doesn’t have anything in retirement accounts, I thought that was the place to start for the tax deductions. And it would also be easy to dollar-cost-average into these new investments.
People seem to have come with some specific questions. I’m always impressed with the number of “average” people who pay attention and make really good financial decisions. I think the media spends too much time sensationalizing every issue, and not enough time pointing out what is best for average people. I’m always pleased to see people who are serious about their finances, even if they wish they had done some things differently.
Another advisor had the following to share:
I spoke with several people who had come a considerable distance to visit us on the bus. They were concerned about whether or not their retirement plans were impaired and whether they should continue to invest in their 401(k).
Some who have been recently laid off are planning to use their home equity loan to get through. They wanted to know if this was a good idea.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Next Up...Manchester, NH!
The bus is en route right now for Manchester, NH where it will be tomorrow (October 27th) doing a free advice event at the Center of New Hampshire. To learn more about the event simply click HERE to visit the Tour Schedule section of the Your Money Bus website.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Cold Day In Providence, But The Your Money Bus Stop Was A Success!
From The Your Money Bus Stop in Providence, RI!
NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor Angela Thomson was gracious enough to represent the NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation at the bus stop in Providence, RI. The setting of the stop was top notch as the bus was located outside of Burnside Park next to Kennedy Plaza. Besides having the chance to help local residents, Angela was also featured with the bus my local media.
Here are some of Angela's thoughts on the tour stop:
I was at the
They were all appreciative of the handouts and interested in Kiplinger’s magazine.
We had some great TV coverage from ABC – 6. They said the spot would air at noontime so, hopefully we will get a large turnout after that.
I think this is such a worthy project, I just wish it were warmer.
Regards,
Angela Thomson