Ms. Morrison Speaks Money

Archive for April, 2009

For all of you who are concerned about the spread of swine flu, I was able to find face (dust) masks at Home Depot.  Drug Fair, Shop Rite& CVS were all sold out.  Then it dawned on me to call a hardware store, since these masks are often used when wood working, and sure enough, right there in aisle 7 of my HD, in the paint section, were all types of masks.

I bought some basic ones, and then a couple that allow for venting, which keeps one cooler, they say. While I don’t tend to panic in these circumstances, I am a planner.  So, IF I would need one of these, and any one of my friends or family need masks too, I have a supply.  Presuming we all escape this viral strain, I’ll use them while sanding my next project, or simply return them.

I would advise calling any store you are intending to purchase masks from, as many are sold out, and you surely don’t want to be wasting your two most valuable assets–time and health on dry runs.  So, do your homework, and be prepared yet continue to live your lives.

Good luck and great health to all of you!

Ms. Morrison

Posted by Debra in Celebrating Life | 2 Comments

I will be hosting a free call tonight, April 28th, check it out, and please get yourself registered. You cannot afford to miss this information!

http://www.msmorrisonspeaks.com/money_tips/

Posted by Debra in Miscellaneous | 2 Comments

Hi everyone!  Just back from entertaining three of my aunts whom I grew up with in Western PA as well as my Mom, my sister, and my cousin (daughter of one aunt in attendance), at my Florida condo.  It’s a tiny little condo, mind you, yet we all made do, sleeping on the 3 beds, plus blow up mattresses and I chose to sleep on the chaise lounge on the deck, my favorite place!  I had suggestions of tourist attractions, yet at the end of the day, they simply wanted to sit on the beach, eat out, and take in some wonderfully discounted shopping.  (Ok, we also frequented Steak-n-Shake a lot, too!)

It all started the week before Easter, when I got a call from a long-time client–she’d been with me for over 20 years–saying that she was diagnosed with cancer.  Wow…how shocking was that news?  I felt sickened and began praying for her and her family immediately.  The very next day, another of my over 20 yr clients called me to say she had been diagnosed with cancer!  Successive days, I heard news of significant health challenges to two wonderful women, whom are more than clients, they are my friends, and moreover, I consider them family.  I went to bed that night saddened, yet determined to help them in any way I could.

I got up the next day with what I called a “harebrained idea”.  I would use my American Express points to fly my aunts down to Florida, and we would just kick up our heels and have fun for a long week-end.  But would they come, I wondered?  I mustered my courage and called my 88-yr old aunt, who has long been adventuresome, and she loved the idea.  “I’ll pull my suitcase out and start packing!” she gushed.  I was tickled pink!  I then phoned each one of them, and gained their acceptance and went about planning our little family reunion vacation.

Here we are at the beach, just enjoying the ocean, and each day’s entertainment–various toddlers who would tempt the receding water levels and then scurry back up to dry sand when the next wave hit!  It was downright hilarious to watch the varying levels of fear in these little kids.  Yet, one-by-one, they all faced down their fears, and eventually, they all went into the water, with plenty of reserve at first, then almost scaring their parents with their apparent abandon.

I began to muse how we mature women face down our fears, in much the same way as these toddlers did; trust and verify.  The kids needed to trust their parents that no real harm would come their way, and then they needed to cautiously step into the water, a toe at a time, to verify that “it was ok, after all”.

I am asking you mature women to trust the messages of your fee-only financial planners, and me, of course, in saying that it’s not too late to learn about our money.  In fact, it’s a downright necessity, so why not come aboard on this learning journey with me.  I’ll make it fun and empowering for you, just like our little Morrison Aunt reunion on the beach.

Another highlight was that my aunt Janet, 88-yrs young, was a Wave in the Navy as a young woman.  I knew she loved the water, so I took her down to the water’s edge, steadied her as we got accustomed to the tide receding, taking the sand out from under our feet, and then I coached her onto a boogie-surf board I’d taken down, and she lay down on the board and hung onto both sides, and I guided her as she rode a couple waves.  It was so exciting, and she had such a grin on her face.  I’ll never forget it!  Nor will she.  We posed for everyone to take our picture, and I said, “once a wave, always a wave”!   

I’m not able to offer you all a free wave ride, yet I am offering you a free call tomorrow evening, Tues, April 28th at 8pm Eastern Standard Time, to give more helpful information about discerning what’s noise and what’s important financial information these days, and what action we may need to take, and MUCH more.  I’ll also be outlining what we’ll be offering on our upcoming 6-week teleseminar series, beginning on Tuesday, May 5th, also at 8pm EST.  Commit to joining us, will you?

Posted by Debra in Debra's Travels | 1 Comment

Well the only good thing about a stock market decline is that we owe LESS taxes on the earnings…ahem, I mean on the lack-of-earnings.  In fact, it gets better.  We can (and should) take up to $3,000 of losses over and above those which offset our capital gains, as a tax loss.

For example, that means that if you had $1,000 in capital gains in 2008, and you also happened to have $1,000 in capital losses last year, that loss counterbalanced that gain, resulting in no taxes owed.  If you had that same $1,000 in capital gains and $5,000, for example, in capital losses  (you needed to have sold out your loss positions which in investment speak is “realized losses”, versus just seeing the value go down on paper) you could have offset the $1,000 in capital gains and then taken an additional $3,000 in capital losses against both your Federal and State income tax returns, thereby offsetting even ordinary income.

Currently the annual limit that one can take over and above offsetting equal dollar gains, is $3,000., yet if you had more than that, like $1,000 more in our example above, you can carry those unused losses forward on your Federal Income Tax return for use in future years.  (I don’t know of any states that allow unlimited capital loss carryforward though, so any 2008 unused losses do expire, relative to your state income tax return.)  So, that’s a bit of tax trivia; i.e., salve perhaps on the wounds of recent portfolio losses.

While some of you will as a matter of principle, wait till tonight, and then begrudgingly deliver your income tax returns to the post office that stays open the latest, others of us will file at least one extension, if not two.  Yet, April 15th typically evokes some emotion, not much of it pleasant.

Well, all the more reason to treat yourself to something for nothin’.  Yes, here are some links to a couple sites’ advertisements for today’s freebies:

http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106920/18-Deals-That-Offer-Some-Tax-Day-Relief

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2009-04-13-restaurants-tax-day-discounts_N.htm

What mature woman doesn’t love a deal.  Now we can feel good again, even for a day, right?  No, as you all know, I say we can feel good every day, despite the chaos that swirls around us.  It’s up to us what we focus on.  I’ll leave you today with this Winston Churchhill quote, which I really find fitting:

“We are still masters of our fate.  We are still captains of our souls.”

With so much piracy present today–literally off the coasts of Africa, and metaphorically with our news media preying on our minds–it is indeed incumbent upon us to captain our minds to focus on our well-being, and on the well-being of our family and friends–both those we’ve met and those we have yet to meet.

Let’s all practice random acts of kindness, starting with ourselves.  We Can Do It Women!

Posted by Debra in Investing | No Comments

Posted by Debra in Miscellaneous | No Comments

Here I am on the right, with Abby Carter, esteemed author of Alchemy of Loss, a brilliant book depicting Abby’s loss of her husband Aaron Dack in the World Trade Center tradegy on September 11th, 2001 and her many victories in living through her pain, and that of her children.  Somehow Abby adeptly weaves humor into the book such that it is not only readable, everyone I’ve given a copy to describes it as an absolute page turner, often reading it in one sitting, because of it’s power and passion.

Abby received the Woman of Strength award last night at the Yale Club in New York City, from the organization Tuesday’s Children.  I was delighted to attend this ceremony and honor Abby.  (I also bought yet more copies of Abby’s book, which she kindly autographed.)  Her award, which she’s holding really resembled an Oscar, or what I’ve seen on television as such.  It really felt heavy.  I immediately drew an analogy of the heaviness of Abby’s loss, yet she’s put one foot in front of the other, as soon as the afternoon of September 11, and has accomplished so much since 2001, especially in raising her two children in a way that astonishes anyone who knows her.  She was fearful, yes, yet she held her fear in a way that propelled her forward, into the next day, and then the next.  Financially she was fearful at the beginning, yet she listened and learned and now is quite remarkable in her mastery of her money.

She is a marvel, and is a fine example of what women can do in the face of adversity.  Congratulations Abby!

She joins me in my mantra, We Can Do It Women!

Posted by Debra in Celebrating Life | No Comments

Many women fear becoming a bag lady in this troubled economy and are searching for ways to spend less to better ensure their money lasts as long as they do.Because we cannot control the economy or the stock and bond markets’ rise or fall, we may be tempted to live our lives as if this current state of contraction would last our lifetimes.  Surely it will not.

What we can control then is how we respond to our fears and how we take care of ourselves during times of economic turmoil. Becoming more vigilant about how we invest and what we spend our money on can help us build prosperity or at least conserve principal, even in times of uncertainty.  Additionally, we can also choose to control how we react to negative financial news and stories of economic distress that are reported hourly on the major news networks and radio.  For one, we can stop tuning in. Removing this negativity from our lives will allow us to concentrate on our hobbies and activities and our relationships–all of which can bring us joy and peace.

Having a positive outlook is not the same as ignoring the problems going on around you. It is simply a tool that you can use to limit the paralyzing grip that fear may otherwise exert over you.

When you stop allowing fear to control you and start managing your fear by 1) putting it into proper context, and 2) remembering how resourceful you’ve been and how resourceful you are as a mature woman, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.  You’ve already overcome many fears and seemingly unsurmountable odds, and yes, you can do it again.

I invite you to ask HOW questions to formulate a strategy of living amidst fear.  How will I handle my fear at 2pm; how will I handle fear if it occurs at 2am, how will I manage my mind and emotions when faced with uncertainty.  The best source for these answers, of course, is to reflect back on how we’ve done this in the past.  Yes, we’ve all had successes in the past, and we can learn from ourselves, as well as those around us who have shared their victories.

Remember my past posts on risk, reward, trust, and fear and use the information I’ve shared to stop your fear in its tracks.  We’ve all done it before, and we can all do it again.  Yes, We Can Do It Women!

Posted by Debra in Bag Lady Fears | No Comments