In the August 2010 issue of Wealth Manager magazine, Kahler Financial Group is honored as one of the top financial planning firms in the nation. This is the sixth year we’ve received this honor.

The survey, which ranks firms by the size of the average client’s assets, ranked Kahler Financial Group as the largest financial planning firm in a seven-state area. Those states include: South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Iowa, and Nebraska.

I am proud of our team here at KFG for providing a high level of service to our clients. Once again, we wish to thank you for your continued business and trust. As important as this news is to us, we realize that it would not be possible without our clients.

There is much to be considered with your valuables under the new tax code.  Mary Pilon  from The Wall Street Journal discusses the many tax issues that could arise when settling estates and different ways to handle them.  She writes, “under current law, heirs of 2010 estates who sell assets at any point in the future could owe capital-gains taxes measured from the original owner’s purchase price.”  She also talks about insuring valuables and interviews Rick on a personal issue with his own collectibles.  Read the article here.

Marie Swift of Researchmag.com has found many reasons why it’s important for financial advisers to have a blog.  She says “digital communications, done well, can strengthen your connection with existing clients and generate a more proficient referral system to attract new clients.”  She also has some interesting facts about Rick’s blog and the cool things that are offered on it.  Read the entire article here.

Here is a little primer for all the politicians and economists who are having a tough time figuring out how to get Americans working again.

The one word that best sums up the difference between being an employee and an owner of a small business is “risk.” If you own the business, you are always last in line to receive your paycheck. If the business fails, of course, employees will lose their jobs, but that is the extent of their risk. Owners, however, stand to lose not only their jobs but everything they own, including their homes and retirement savings.

Why do owners put themselves at such risk? In general, it’s to create better lives for themselves and their families and become financially independent. One universal law is that the more risk a person takes, the more opportunity there is for gain or loss. This especially applies to opening one’s own business. Out of every four businesses started, only one survives for more than five years.

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Paul and Teena were new clients.  “You know, our marriage is great except for one area, money.  Whenever we talk about money we get into a fight, so we just don’t talk about it.”

Understanding money is a 21st century survival skill.  Having a good relationship with money is necessary for a successful coupleship.

Join us for a workshop that will explore many different patterns of how each partner relates to money and is impacted by their history around money. The Love, Money, and Marriage workshop will help participants connect with the deeper issues that drive their financial decisions.  This workshop will:

• Explore you and your partner’s emotions behind financial decisions
• Explore your coupleship’s money triggers
• Help learn more about your partner’s dynamics around money
• Explore generational patterns around finances
• Create balanced self-care around coupleship finances
• Identify each other’s beliefs and feelings about money
• Learn to build/create trust as a couple around money
• Recognize self-defeating money patterns in the coupleship
• Explore addictive patterns associated with financial interactions

We will hold the workshop at a retreat setting in the Black Hills, near Angostura Lake. The program will start on a Thursday evening, September 9th, and run through Sunday, September 12th. The cost is $2,950 per couple, which includes food and lodging.  You can register for the workshop by clicking here.

“Amid all the chaos and anxiety wrought by the tumultuous stock market and murky economic outlook, a small but growing number of advisers are enlisting the help of therapists — not for themselves but for their clients.”  Lisa Shidler from Investment News magazine interviewed Rick along with several other advisors and psychologists who collaborate with each other to help clients resolve tough money decisions quicker. 

She writes that, “a therapist can also help advisers avoid awkward conversations with clients about circumstances that are simply beyond their expertise.  Read more on what Rick has to say here.

As I cleared our dinner table the other night, I scraped some of my uneaten veggies into the trash. I immediately heard my mother saying, “There are starving kids in India that would give their right arms to eat what you are throwing away!”

She had a point. Affluence inherently breeds a certain level of waste. So do negligence and inefficiency. I could easily have avoided wasting those veggies by reducing the amount I originally scooped onto my plate. When I dumped them into the trash, I was also wasting more than food. I was literally “throwing money away.”

As a financial planner, I regularly consult with people who have been throwing real money into the trash on a daily basis. Here are the top areas where people waste money and what they should do instead:

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He’s back by popular demand!  On July 22nd, we are pleased that George Frear, of First Western Insurance in Rapid City, will give us our annual update on auto, homeowners, and umbrella insurance.  This type of insurance, called property/casualty, is possibly more neglected than any other area of insurance, and not understanding it creates confusion and coverage problems when not understood.

Be sure to join us for this informative presentation. George’s teleclass last year was extremely helpful and useful to many of our clients, so you won’t want to miss this year’s presentation.  We will offer it via a teleconference on Thursday, July 22, 2010, at 2 pm MDT/4 pm EDT.  Click here to register.  The podcast of the session will be available after the teleclass takes place.

Business owners might find it tempting to cut retirement plan contributions when reviewing their 2011 budget, but it’s probably a good idea to look at all the options before making that hasty move.

In his interview with Karin Price Mueller from Entrepreneur Connect,  Rick says, “While eliminating a retirement plan or simply not offering one may seem like a smart move, having a plan will help your business save money (in the form of tax deductions for your contribution) and headaches (by retaining valuable workers).”  Read more about the benefits of offering a retirement plan and what type of  to choose here.

Where do you go to find information on the swiftly changing health care act?  Kiplinger recently posted a great article with lots of links to helpful websites.  Check it out here.