Rick Kahler's Financial Awakenings

I’ve done a lot of pioneering work in the field of uniting traditional financial planning with psychology. I am convinced that ten or twenty years from now, the best financial planning firms will offer an integrated service consisting of traditional financial planning, financial coaching, and financial therapy.

Right now, that is a pipe dream. Very few universities or colleges offer degrees where there is exposure to both disciplines. I am aware of only one or two universities that offer financial degrees which require a substantial amount of counseling education. I am aware of no university that offers a financial counseling degree or a psychology degree of any type that requires a substantial amount of financial planning courses.

You can imagine my excitement, then, when I received an invitation to attend a symposium of 30 academics representing around ten universities, financial psychologists in private practice, and financial planners. Continue Reading »

Kara McGuire, writer for the Star Tribune, interviewed Rick about Scrooge and what we really can learn from him.  Rick gives several examples of how we can learn from Ebenezer Scrooge’s experiences and talks about money scripts and how to identify them in one’s own spending and saving habits. You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Rick’s advice on giving up on credit cards was picked up by the Associated Press in an article that talks about retirement resolutions for 2009. Read the entire article by clicking here.

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Financial New Year’s resolutions are a common phenomenon this time of year—especially for anyone who overdid the holiday spending and who knows the new year is going to bring a new batch of credit card bills. Probably one of the most common financial resolutions is: “I’m going to make a budget and stick to it.”

In light of the current economy, making a fresh financial start is likely to be a wise move. Here are my suggestions for five financial New Year’s resolutions to help you manage well in the coming year: Continue Reading »

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At this time of year, the idea of giving gifts to children tends to bring up images of colorfully wrapped toys, electronic games, and attempts to decipher instructions for “some assembly required.”

For some parents, however, the idea of giving to children is related instead to tax laws, trusts, and dividing assets. As part of their long-term legacy planning, older couples with a high net worth sometimes want to consider ways to pass some of their assets to children during their lifetimes instead of as part of their estate. Continue Reading »

It’s the season for giving—not only to family and friends, but to those in need. This time of year, we are surrounded by solicitations for toys and gifts for the poor, for donations to charities, and for help in all kinds of good works.

We can’t say yes to every request. So how do we decide who is genuinely in need? How do we know when our giving is helpful and when it might merely foster dependence? Continue Reading »

In the most recent bad news from Wall Street, Bernard Madoff, former NASDAQ Stock Market chairman and founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested and charged with securities fraud.

What did he do? He allegedly collected money to invest from clients, made up false statements to show that they were doing well, and used new clients’ money to pay interest and withdrawals to existing clients. This is known as a Ponzi scheme and is estimated to involve more than a $50 billion loss for his investors.

His clients didn’t see this coming. Could they have? Let’s look at three key safety tips that would have prevented this from happening. Continue Reading »

Is this ever going to end? Are you more confused than ever? We feel your anxiety. And we are inviting all of our clients to join us in an open discussion about the market, the credit crisis, the economy, the safety of money markets. 

On January 15, 2009, at 3:00pm, KFG will host a “Town Hall Meeting” to address your concerns. We will try to answer your questions and we certainly will listen to your concerns.  We plan to cover the economic outlook for the next year, two years and five years, discuss how behavioral finance has influenced the current situation and our own actions, and have a discussion on saving more, spending less and still having fun.

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Well, if you were listening to South Dakota Public Radio Monday at 11:40 am expecting to hear Rick, you were once again disappointed.  The station bumped him due to the amount of people calling in for the previous interview. 

Fortunately, they have recorded an interview with Rick and radio host Paul Guggenheimer that they say will be aired on the “Dakota MidDay” show tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 11:40am.  Of course, we can’t make any promises!  Rick did say the interview took an interesting twist when talking about his book “The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge,” so listen if you can! SDPR is at 89.3 FM on your dial.

The KFG office will be closed Friday, December 26, 2008, but will resume normal business hours starting Monday December 29.  Happy Holidays, everyone!