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I have a new addition to the shelf here in the office. It's a little late but I finally put the nativity scene up on the shelf here in the office. If you join me for a zoom see if you can spot the figures. It's great to work for a company where small things like this are in the fabric of the company's culture.
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We had a packed house for Robin Mueller at Acquaviva Winery in Maple Park. The crowd really enjoyed his presentation and Acquaviva and their staff did a fantastic job.
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It's #GivingTuesday, a day to support those organizations that create an impact in our communities and beyond. One of the organizations I'm supporting today is #FellowshipofChristianAthletes of #MetroChicago. This awesome organization makes a lasting difference for so many young men and women across the country and I'm honored that we get to partner with them. One additional shout out for #Thrivent. As a company one of the ways we practice #generosity is that they'll match up to $20,000 in donations made by our employees each year to eligible 501c3 organizations.
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November is #LongTermCare Awareness month and is now almost over. Check out this interesting article relative to this topic: Long-Term Care Insurance 101 – Life Happens I want to share a personal story about the importance of planning for an extended care event in your family. A few years back I had a set of aging relatives on each side of my family. One side of the family planned. Their plan included extended care insurance as a part of that plan. While both the husband and wife needed care, they were able to keep their farm in the family and pass it down for future generations. The other side of the family had no plan. Despite good savings, retirement savings, and social security, the second of the spouses ended up on Medicaid just before passing. It was a slow slide into financial oblivion. Besides handing their legacy over to care professionals and the heartache from losing people who'd always been generous to their Church and other causes in life, there wre other costs. I saw the toll this situation took first-hand. The burden placed on other family members responsible for the caretaking of finances became almost a full-time job. Extended care insurance may or may not be a part of your plan. However, I urge you to consider this as an option in your financial planning endeavors. If you feel you need a resource as you or your parents age, my team at Thrivent would happy to assist. If requested, a licensed insurance agent/producer may contact you and financial solutions, including insurance may be solicited. See thrivent.com/social for additional disclosures. Jude Wilbers 573-645-0495 jude.wilbers@thrivent.com
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The week after Thanksgiving in 2014 I was headed to Minneapolis for four and a half days of training at the Thrivent home office. I was ready to launch a new career, living in a new state (or at least new part of a state I'd lived in before), with a kid on the way. I was walking away from a career that I'd dreamed of since I was a kid. You can see my last headshot in broadcast new below. 8 years later all I can say is thank you. Thank you for helping me bet on myself. Thank you for investing in me and giving me the tools and the leaders to help me grow to where I am today. Thank you for allowing me to live a life of tangible impact on others while providing my family both with income and my time. It's been a great run so far. I'm excited to see what the next 25 years holds. If you're considering this field, look at Thrivent, for the right people, at the right time, it can be a life changing experience.
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I've heard about #DadsOfSteele for years from Chris Johnson. It was great to finally hear first hand from their founder David Steele about his vision and the why behind the organization.
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I was talking with a person exploring the career this past week and the topic came to support and Thrivent supports those becoming #financialadvisors. They were borderline shocked to see all of the infrastructure that we surround our newest teammates with. When we say, you're in business for yourself but not by yourself, we mean it. - Are you and advisor early in your career who was promised loads of support that wasn't delivered after saying Yes? - Are you looking to transition careers but want the feel of a team whether you're in a formal one or not? Let's explore the career together and see if Thrivent makes sense for the next step in your journey. Jude.Wilbers@thrivent.com 573-645-0495
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Thankful for a beautiful day on the course at The Hawk CC yesterday with this group supporting a great cause. Even if we finished 2 shots out of first, I'll take a 15 birdie round any day of the week! #LiveGenerously #ThriventCares
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It's always a special day when Marketing maven Amy Clark stops by the office for the day to work with our advisors.
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Have you ever wondered what happens to your life insurance after you pass away? I've had the privilege and responsibility to sit with hundreds of grieving families in my time with Thrivent so let me shed a little light on this not so fun but very important subject. #LifeInsuranceAwarenessMonth I can only speak to what happens at Thrivent but the first thing is someone needs to let Thrivent (our home office team or an advisor team) know of the loved ones passing. Next our home office creates something called a claim kit regarding the beneficiaries of any policies or accounts held here. The beneficiaries advisor or a local Thrivent advisor if they don't have one, receives this information and reaches out to each beneficiary individually. They connect, talk about what's being inherited and the options on how to receive the funds. Any necessary paperwork is completed and if there are additional steps to take from there we gain agreement on what that looks like. There are a few common misconceptions/missteps I see that would be helpful to know - most financial institutions will require at least a copy of the death certificate but may require a hard copy - each named beneficiary can act independently and does not need to include other beneficiaries in their decision making process nor disclose what they are inheriting - if the funds are going to a trust the process looks a little different and there will be other things that need to be brought to the meeting and additional steps to be done beforehand - only keep the financial documents you need, keep them in a safe place, and keep them together. I often see grieving spouses/kids/etc. who come in with 20 years of documents from a handful of institutions, not sure what's active, what's not, what's duplicate, and it adds a lot of stress and complication to an already stressful and potentially complex situation. I hope this helps and feel free to share your thoughts below. #LIAM
Fact: Being human has a 100% mortality rate That being said there COULD be a chance that you have a need for #lifeinsurance. One of the biggest fears I hear is that consumers fear being sold or over purchasing coverage or type. Let's set type aside for today the type of life insurance. If you or you and your significant other are considering your life insurance need I can give you a quick acronym to begin your conversation. L (iabilities) - what lump sums do you want to pay off I (ncome) - what percentage and for how long do you want your income replaced F (inal expenses) - funeral, burial etc. E (xtras) - charitable gifting, kids education, scholarship endowment There's a lot more that can go into this conversation and I'd encourage you to talk to a professional about what that looks like. #LIAM
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Why in the world am I taking a picture with a 1990 Donruss Ozzie Smith baseball card? Through the early stages of the pandemic I reengaged with an old hobby of collecting baseball cards. My kids enjoy it and it's a silly little past time we have fun with together. One baseball writer, Ryan Fagan of the Sporting News has cultivated an online cult following specifically talking about the cards of the late 80's and early 90's. (My hey day of collecting) His twitter brought out the idea of a wallet card to carry with, show the wear and tear and feature in fun and silly places. This Ozzie card is going to be my #walletcard for year. As a big Cardinals fan and a kid of the 90's I thought this guy would be a perfect companion. Most of these posts will be Instagram only but heading into a holiday weekend I wanted to share something light hearted. Have a fun and safe #LaborDay weekend.
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September is Life Insurance Awareness month. You'll see a number of posts from me throughout the month on this topic sharing my experiences. Ultimately the most succinct thing I can say; make sure you have a intentional/purposeful amount (we'll get to that later) and that your beneficiaries are correct. I look forward to sharing more this important topic this month.
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One of the things I love the most about #Thrivent is how we invest in each other. Another week, another one of our best advisors investing time in our new advisor group. I was super thankful to have Jenny McAdams demystify what can be a really hard thing to talk about, long term care insurance. #IworkatThrivent #LiveGenerously #Zoom #SmallGroup . If requested, a licensed insurance agent/producer may contact you and financial solutions, including insurance may be solicited.
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It was great to get a group of our advisors together last Friday for training, fellowship, and fun. A big shout out to Engagement Leader Jon Tuck and Advisor Todd Baker for sharing their unique experience and perspectives with the group. I wish I had picture of a few spirited games of Top Golf to cap off the day but we had too much fun and forgot to take a group picture. #wintogether #skillbuilders #livegenerously #ThrowbackThursday
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Happy first day of school to all those parents sending their little one's back to the classroom! Eli was pumped to start second grade! Rory gets her big day in a couple of weeks.
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I had a great time last week playing in the Loras College basketball alumni golf outing last week at Klein Creek. It was a great chance to give back to our Duhawk athletics programs and have a great time. Sorry to Coach Chris Martin for the subpar (pun intended picture) but we were having too much fun on the course to get a picture of the foursome. If you love Loras College it's a great opportunity and I'd encourage you to take part next summer. My group was four former Loras athletes but none of us played basketball there, so you don't even have to be a hooper to give back! #ThrowbackThursday
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It's hard to believe Friday was already the last day for our our 2022 summer #interns. Their final task was to present their capstone project to a team of market developers at our Downers Grove office. They each put together a business plan for their future practices. Great work and a great summer for these three.
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Cool painting right? Maybe, but not for everyone. The Bull and the Bear is a common phrase used to refer to market cycles. This we were discussing whether this visual could actual discourage some potential clients and if so what kind of visuals could be used to replace it. I know it can be dangerous asking social media for opinions but I'd love to hear it. What visuals do you feel represents the marketplace? An image that inspires confidence and clarity in your financial strategy and the goals they support. Feel free to share below.
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Looking for a new career path where your skills as an educator can shine? Consider joining Thrivent as a financial advisor. We’re looking for purpose-driven people who love guiding others toward their goals. Register for our June 23 webinar to explore this rewarding career path. We’ll focus specifically on how you can transfer your skills and experience while continuing to make a difference in the lives of others. Sign up today: thriventcareers.com/june23-webinar (No products will be sold.)