Creating a comprehensive financial plan for clients is just part of what differentiates us. Investable assets are not just numbers on a page. They represent hopes and dreams. The best financial advice is that which is tailored for the individual, advice that creates a better life for you and those you love. So when we meet with you we take into account all of these issues all the while looking at the big picture and the tax consequences of your decisions. This is what custom comprehensive planning is all about. And we will be here when you need us. There will be no automated response to any of your questions or calls. We are here to serve you. Call or stop by our office to set up an appointment or to learn more about how we can help.
Team Intro
Creating a comprehensive financial plan for clients is just part of what differentiates us. Investable assets are not just numbers on a page. They represent hopes and dreams. The best financial advice is that which is tailored for the individual, advice that creates a better life for you and those you love. So when we meet with you we take into account all of these issues all the while looking at the big picture and the tax consequences of your decisions. This is what custom comprehensive planning is all about. And we will be here when you need us. There will be no automated response to any of your questions or calls. We are here to serve you. Call or stop by our office to set up an appointment or to learn more about how we can help.
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We are proud to be part of Thrivent, a company with a long heritage of financial strength and fiscal stability. For more than 120 years, Thrivent has helped people build their financial futures and live more generous lives. Today, Thrivent is a Fortune 500 company, offering a full range of expert financial solutions, serving more than 2.4 million clients, as well as the communities in which they live and work.
News and insights
Commentary September 2024
Labor Day is already upon us, a day that was begun in the late nineteenth century to recognize the contributions workers make to our country’s strength. Appropriately enough it now acts as the unofficial end of summer, reminding everyone it is time to stop thinking about vacation and get back to work and school.
We all mark time in our own way. When I was growing up, January 1st was never the true start of a new year. January 1st merely marked a day that came in the middle of winter and depressingly signaled the end of the holiday season and the end of winter break.
The real start of my year began with the start of the new school year, which back then was always after Labor Day. My mom would have taken me shopping and I was outfitted with new folders (crisp, clean, and colorful), new notebooks (different color covers for different subjects, each page blank and ready for all the new learning I was going to achieve), new pencils (each sharpened and ready), and a pack of new writing paper that would be divided up and go into each new folder. I remember the wonderful feeling of the beginning of things, the feeling of starting afresh.
The cynical among us might say it was all an illusion. That in a month or so the folders would be filled with the same old worksheets and would no longer look crisp and clean. The notebooks would look as if they had been through a war and half the pencils would be lost. And the “new” school year would bear a distressing resemblance to the previous school year.
That is not the way it felt to me, nor is it the way I choose to remember it. I rejoice there is a time of year when the air turns crisp, a time when you feel energized just stepping outdoors, and the promise of new beginnings beckons us. And that is what I wish for all of you.
So often, favorite sayings are repeated to the point that we become deaf to the blinding truth they convey. Yet, every day really IS an opportunity for a new beginning. We can get so caught up in our daily routines we lose our awareness of that stunning fact. A new year, a new outlook on life, begins whenever you decide to embrace it.
When we meet with you, we often discuss life’s milestones, all the different beginnings and all the changes. We want to make sure your today’s and tomorrow’s are protected. And for those, who are already a client of the Maar Financial Group, an awareness of that reality informed through the creation of your custom financial plan. Because we take the time to get to know our clients so well, we also attempt to take into account their dreams of future possibilities. But to paraphrase, “the future is a mysterious place; they do things different there.”
So, it may well be that what you thought you wanted years ago has changed. You have new goals, dreams, the tantalizing thoughts of “what if….” This happens more than you might think, and when it does, we delight in taking part in the planning that can make a dream a reality.
When Labor Day rolls around, there is still a part of me that feels the promise of all those wonderful new school supplies and recalls the autumn air filled with the smell of fallen leaves, apples, wood smoke all combined, a heady brew that somehow held the promise of tomorrow. May you feel that same mystery and magic. Each dawn really does promise a new day, an opportunity to begin whatever you wish. We will be there to help you get there whenever you are ready and wherever your dreams may lead you. Happy Autumn!
Commentary July 2024
Under the cover of darkness on April 18, 1776, Paul Revere set out on his midnight ride with other patriot riders towards Concord, MA to warn the colonists of the approaching British troops. The British intended to capture and destroy military supplies being stored by the Massachusetts militia and did not anticipate any resistance from the colonists. Because of Revere and William Dawes’ warning, when the British arrived at Concord, the militia was waiting for them. Shots were exchanged and war began, the war we call The War of Independence.
I find it impossible to write a commentary for the month of July and not be thinking about July 4th, the commemoration of that declaration of our independence from Great Britain. We are forever grateful to all those who came before and, thanks to their bravery, we can celebrate this day together as one nation.
Throughout our lives, each of us experiences moments of independence and dependence that are just as monumental to us personally. We are born into the ultimate state of dependence and spend the first years of our lives helplessly reliant on our caregivers. Parents and children alike hold fast to those moments of incremental independence: a baby’s first words and steps, a child’s first day of school and first bike, and a teenager’s first job and newly acquired driver’s license. These moments represent transitions in our life stages away from dependence and towards independence. To be independent is to no longer be controlled or coerced by anyone or anything else. One can stand on their own and has freedom of decision making and movement.
One of the primary things we do with clients is prepare them for retirement, which when you think about it, is a type of declaration of independence. When you are part of the workforce you are tied, in many ways, to those who pay you for your time and skills. Most of us cannot sever the tie to our jobs whenever we choose without seeking another means of employment.
Yet, when you retire, the goal is to be financially independent. That does not mean you are cut off from all sources of income. You may be receiving Social Security checks or distribution from a pension fund. That is money you have already earned. The legal obligation is on the payor—not the recipient. So, yes you are financially independent, which sounds great, but as the colonists in 1776 soon discovered, independence carries with it new types of problems and responsibilities.
Through hard work and planning you have prepared for this moment--that shift of responsibility. Now it is all on you and it can feel overwhelming. How much can you safely spend each year? How much should be kept for emergencies? What about special plans, such as travel? And maybe most important: what can be done to help your savings grow? That growth will provide answers to those previous questions.
But here’s the thing. This doesn’t have to be something you do alone. “Depend on” means a relationship of trust, nurturance, and guidance. Everyone’s situation is, to one degree or another, unique. That calls for support that comes from those experienced and skilled in dealing with all that “independence” demands. That is exactly the support we here at the Maar Financial Group provide. We help you arrive at answers to all your questions and anticipate ones maybe you haven’t thought of yet.
July 4th is a day of celebration and fireworks. Enjoy every bit of it. But it is just one day. We will help you get ready for July 5th and all the days awaiting you.
Commentary May 2024
Over the years I’ve been doing these commentaries we have discussed many things, but rarely do I bring up anything I consider personal. Not because of an unwillingness to share, but more because this isn’t a personal diary—I see it as a forum to discuss economics and the market. This month I’ve decided to write from a more personal place and for those of you who might be reading this and don’t know me, this may serve as a bit of a personal introduction.
Last month our family had to say goodbye to Oliver, our twelve-year-old miniature poodle. Many of you know what this was like. We didn’t lose a pet; we lost a family member. For most animals that share our homes and lives, their life spans do not mesh with ours, and sadly the price of loving a pet is one of eventual loss.
Ollie’s loss prompted many reminiscences and thoughts. Strangely, one thing I found myself thinking about was how I began my practice twenty-eight years ago. Back then I primarily provided life insurance services and, yes, I know the cliched image of life insurance salespeople. I think I’ve heard most of the jokes. But it didn’t bother me, because I understood through my training that we were helping people “to mitigate loss,” which, according to Webster, is defined as “to make less severe or to alleviate.”
I was young and blessed enough that I personally had little direct experience with loss. I am older now, and of course, that is no longer the case. I find now that mitigate is not the best word to describe the value of insurance. Yes, insurance can reduce the risk of financial loss, but it does little to make the pain of the real loss less severe or alleviate it.
When we discuss insurance, what we are really discussing is mortality which is why many people are reluctant to even discuss life insurance. It is as if by discussing the issue, we are somehow opening a door most people would rather leave firmly closed. I understand that better today.
I also understand that I was right in believing in what I sold. As the years have gone by, many of my clients have relied on their insurance policies. No, it did nothing to make the true loss less painful. But it gave people fewer things to have to worry about. It helped people have the tools to begin to overcome their loss. I once heard the placement of life insurance described as “helping people in the battle of life.” That is not the way I see it. If life is a battle, then there is only one way that war will end at some point.
Instead, I embraced the idea that I was helping people “experience the possibilities of life.” And so, as my practice grew, it was natural for me to add other services to my business. Investment planning, college saving, retirement planning—all of it was ultimately about increasing the possibilities of life.
If you think I am using the story of Oliver to make a point about my practice, then I have done a poor job of explaining my thoughts and emotions. The work I do is a big part of who I am and all these thoughts ran together. And who I am was taken aback by how much the loss of this little fellow hurt. Over the years, I’ve also have learned that the only thing that really mitigates the pain is time; and sometimes, even then, it only dulls the edges.
I also know that in the upcoming weeks and months I will find myself once again discussing the importance of life insurance with clients. I better understand its limitations—what it can and cannot do. But what it can do, it does well. It is a valuable service, and I will do all I can to help people understand that. We can only mitigate so much. But we must do what we can.
Godspeed Oliver.
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