This is the last call for our “Love, Money, and Couples” workshop, to be held April 12th – 15th at the brand new Terra Sancta Retreat Center in the foothills of the Black Hills. We currently have one spot for a couple remaining. This is the only workshop of this type scheduled for this year.

Many couples agree one of the most problematic areas of their coupleship is the topic of money. I can’t tell you the number of couples that have told me, “Our relationship is great in every department, except money. We just can’t talk too long about money before getting into an argument.”

If this statement is true for you and your partner, we have a unique opportunity for you. Dave Jetson and I have partnered together to offer a most unique experience for couples to deal with money issues. The”Love, Couples and Money” workshop will help couples better understand their relationship as individuals and as a couple around money. To our knowledge it’s the only workshop of it’s kind in the U.S.

This workshop starts at 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 12th and ends at noon on Sunday, April 15th. The cost is a very reasonable $3,950 per couple that includes meals and lodging!

Make an investment in your coupleship that will pay big dividends for years to come. Join with couples coming from around the US for an experience that may change for the better how your coupleship works around money.

“Something you keep on buying that just isn’t worth your hard-earned dollars.”

That’s Kristin Colella’s definition of a “money-waster” in her article published March 23 in the online magazine MainStreet.

Colella cited Rick’s recommendation: “Some of the best money a consumer can spend is for a subscription to Consumer Reports.”

Here’s a link to the entire article, How to Spot a Money Waster.

Have you ever seen a Super Bowl ad touting how much money you could save if you bought something second-hand? Of course not. There’s not a lot of encouragement in our culture to buy used stuff. Even the one exception, a used home, is described as “existing.”

Buying used just isn’t cool—that is, unless you’re a wealth builder. Many of them look upon buying used as more of a badge of honor than an embarrassment.

Certainly, there are many items that are best purchased new. Toothbrushes, toilet paper, and underwear come to mind. Yet there’s one thing that’s almost always better to buy used—a vehicle.

Let’s look at a few common myths around buying a new car.

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Investment News this week published its list of the top 15 financial advisers that other financial advisers should follow on Twitter. Rick was one of the 15. The list, created by financial planner Michael Kitces,  highlighted those who are “using Twitter the right way.”

Here is the  link to follow Rick on Twitter.

Some of the attacks on Mitt Romney as a Presidential candidate have focused on his tenure with the private equity firm Bain Capital. Critics and rivals have denounced Romney as “profiteering off the backs of fired workers,” and running a “vulture capital” rather than a “venture capital” fund. A PAC supporting Gingrich produced a documentary about Bain which tries hard to leave viewers with the idea that capitalism isn’t evil, but private equity firms are.

Some of this negativity may come from a lack of understanding as to what “private equity” really means. Here’s my explanation.

First, equity just means “common stock.” Whether equity is public or private depends on whether the company lists its shares on a public exchange, like the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, or is privately held. Continue Reading »

Guest Post From Kathleen Fox

Lingering in the shower the other morning, thinking deep thoughts as a way of postponing the inevitable moment of shutting off the nice warm water and stepping out into the cold bathroom, I started pondering ways to make cuts in the budget.

Not my budget. Other peoples’ budgets. It’s so much easier to be frugal with somebody else’s money. Not quite as much fun as spending somebody else’s money, but close.

Anyway, it occurred to me that one of the reasons it’s so hard to reduce spending is the way we react emotionally to being told what we “should” or “must” do.

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Last week we explored how you could use a reverse mortgage to produce an income for life while allowing you to live in your home until your death or you move out. We also considered the possibility of using a reverse mortgage to refinance an existing mortgage, thus eliminating a house payment and possibly creating additional monthly income.

This week we will look at a few more creative ways to use reverse mortgages, as suggested by financial planner Michael Kitces.

While most of us think of a reverse mortgage as a way to unlock equity in a current home without having to sell it, Kitces points out that another use for a reverse mortgage is buying a new home. While the buyer will need a larger than normal down payment due to the lower lump sum limits of a reverse mortgage, this technique can be used to increase cash flow while downsizing a home.

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Guest Post from Tom Simmons

With few exceptions, when the law forms a part of a fictional narrative, the dynamic tension turns on a very human element. In Law and Order TV episodes, the conflict is between justice and an unsympathetic defendant. In a John Grisham novel, we turn the pages to see if the right side wins.

But the rule of law in our country is supposed to be blind to emotional sympathies. The law is intended to apply to everyone equally, without regard to their social status, the color of their skin, or their faith. The law limiting drivers to 35 miles per hour on LaCrosse Street in Rapid City applies in the same fashion to a poor dark-skinned Muslim with marginal English skills as it does to Governor Dennis Daugaard. In theory at least, both would receive the same exact penalty for driving 42 in a 35-mile per hour zone.

The blindfolded lady holding the scales of justice is the visual image suggesting the impartiality of the law.

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Like most financial planners, I recommend not thinking of your home as a part of your investment portfolio or a source of retirement income. One possible exception to this rule is a reverse mortgage.

Lenders which are FHA-approved can offer Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, or HECM‘s. These are insured by the U.S. government and allow homeowners age 62 and older to borrow against the equity in their homes. When the homeowner dies or moves out, the property is sold to repay the loan. Any equity left over belongs to the owners or their heirs. Any outstanding loan balance must be forgiven by the lender.

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“The first step of every financial plan must address what we believe about money, because what we believe about money will impact what we do for and with money.”

This is the opening sentence of a column by Tim Maurer published online March 1 in Forbes. He talks about the importance of identifying our money scripts and includes some money script exercises. They are based on The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge, which he describes as a must-read.

Maurer is the co-author with Jim Stovall of a recent book titled The Ultimate Financial Plan: Balancing Money and Life.

Read the entire article here.