How The Center Spends the Holidays

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

Once Halloween passes, the shift in the atmosphere is palpable, the holiday season approaches! Families gather together after time apart or spend special time together. No matter what holiday you and your family celebrate together, this time of year is filled with traditions. Whether it’s decorating your house, eating certain kinds of food, traveling, baking, or singing, holiday traditions bring people together and help foster cherished memories. The Center team is no different. We have holiday traditions we share with our families each year. Here are some of our favorites:

Sandy Adams keeps her family on the same traditions path that she and her brother shared as children. No Christmas decorations are put up until AFTER Sandy’s birthday on the 14th of December, that’s when the season can officially begin in her household! Her kids exchange presents on Christmas Eve, just as Sandy and her brother did growing up.

Do you love Christmas cookies? How about 600 of them?! Jennie Bauder and her family (kids included!) hone their baking skills each year and make a varied sort of delicious cookies to give as gifts to extended families, teachers, neighbors, and the mailman.

Speaking of cookies, Melissa Parkins and her family have a cookie-decorating contest each year. Nothing like a good ‘ol competition to start off the Holiday! Her family also celebrates Christmas Eve with a Mexican twist, including enchiladas galore!

Jennie Bauder

Melissa Parkins

Gerri Harmer and her extended family have taken Christmas celebration to a whole new level! They get together mid-Summer and celebrate Christmas in July - and they love it! Gerri shares, “Our family has grown so large we can’t fit in the house and weather always tends to be an issue for those that travel.  Our family has a great sense of humor so Christmas in July was perfect for us. We hang out at the lake with travelers camping nearby arriving by car or boat.” This year they even had t-shirts made.

Kimberly Wyman describes her tradition with her children as including, “Grabbing a hot chocolate with the kids and preparing our holiday gift list! Beyond gifts for grandmas and grandpas, our list includes baking cookies for fire fighters and police officers, toys for local families, tamale baskets for families in Guatemala & live stock for Ethiopian families. Involving the children and fostering a love of giving worldwide is a passion of ours.”

Gerri Harmer

Kimberly Wyman

Partner Matt Chope, and girlfriend Kim Schultes, started a new tradition this year during Thanksgiving. They donned red noses and makeup and joined the Clown Corps in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in downtown Detroit.

New member to our team, Clare Lilek, describes her family tradition: “Every Christmas, since moving from our hometown of Chicago, my family and I travel back to Chicago to see our extended family. On Christmas Eve we go to church at Holy Name Cathedral, have dinner at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab (it’s amazing!), and spend the rest of the evening watching a movie in our hotel. It’s wonderful!”

Matt Chope

Clare Lilek

For your viewing enjoyment, Raya Chope and her family get together each year and sing Christmas songs and carols in both English AND German! Raya claims in her family, there’s never a dull moment. From the video, that seems about right!

What are some of the traditions that you and your family will share together this holiday season? Whatever your traditions, all of us here at The Center wish you and your family a Happy Holiday!

Veterans Day Tribute to Those Who Served

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

The Veterans Day holiday offers us all an opportunity to say “thank you” to those who served our country. This year, we wanted to include a personal tribute to some special veterans who are close to our hearts. From WWII through Korea and Vietnam, relatives of our Center team have bravely answered the call of duty. For this, we are grateful, today and always.

The Value of Knowing Where You’re Going

Contributed by: Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD

Recently one of the most quotable fellas of our time, Yogi Berra, passed away. It is impressive how much meaning can be captured in a short sentence like, “You can observe a lot by just watching” or “It ain’t over till it’s over.” One of my favorite quotes is from Roy E. Disney, brother of Walt Disney who is credited as saying, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.” If you have been to our web site and visited my profile, you have seen a play on the quote that I use:

"When your vision is clear, your decisions are easy."

 I know, you’re thinking: Sir, I knew Roy E. Disney and you are no Roy E. Disney.  However, whenever faced with a challenging issue, whether it is personal or business related, I find it helpful and even therapeutic to go back to vision or values as Roy suggests.

The Center developed a set of values years ago to help us make decisions and we not only talk about them but strive to live them each day. Recently during an All Staff meeting we reviewed and discussed our values, what they meant to us, and how we could embrace them even more.

Our values are more than words; they serve to guide us in our everyday actions. Everything that we do is about our clients and our team with values leading the way. Our Center values include:

• Congruence between Words & Deeds

• Compassionate and Effective Leadership

• Passion for Excellence

• Strong Work Ethic

• Professionalism & Competence

• Balanced Life

• Commitment to the Financial Planning Process

• Continuous Learning and Personal Growth

At our meeting recently we dug into the meaning behind a few of these values:

Compassionate & Effective Leadership

We are compassionate leaders to our clients, to our communities, and to our families.  Leadership isn’t bestowed by position or title – one can exhibit compassionate and effective leadership regardless of role or “boss” title.

Passion for Excellence

One team member shared, “It is all encompassing.”  A passion for excellence means you act with integrity, continuously learn, have strong work ethic, etc.

We also talked about giving future space to consider other values such as Service to Others/Servant Leadership and Intellectual Curiosity.

Without a strong set of values and vision of what’s important in your life – you might just live out one of Yogi’s classic observations:

“If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.”

Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD is the Managing Partner and Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. and is a contributor to national media and publications such as Forbes and The Wall Street Journal and has appeared on Good Morning America Weekend Edition and WDIV Channel 4. A leader in his profession, Tim served on the National Board of Directors for the 28,000 member Financial Planning Association™ (FPA®), mentored many CFP® practitioners and is a frequent speaker to organizations and businesses on various financial planning topics.

The Story Behind #ILookLikeaCFP

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

How do we close the gender divide in the field of financial planning? It’s a question we ask ourselves frequently here at Center for Financial Planning. Maybe it’s because there’s that sticky 23% statistic – the percentage of Certified Financial Planners who are female – that just won’t seem to budge. Maybe we tend to talk about it at The Center because 2 of our 3 founders were women. That was back in the ‘80s when the gender divide was even greater.

Inspired by the #ILookLikeAnEngineer social trend, we decided it was time to act locally and think globally. We’re not just fighting stereotypes, we want to see real change in the ranks … from the number of young women applying to financial planning programs to the number of female partners at firms large and small. We’re joining the mission of the CFP Board’s Women’s Initiative:

WIN‘s mission is to identify why relatively few women choose to become part of the financial planning profession, to make recommendations for encouraging and supporting women to pursue careers in financial planning, and to undertake efforts and campaigns to address the “feminine famine” in financial planning.

And with just a blank piece of paper, a sharpie, the camera in your phone and an Internet connection, you can be part of the movement. If you’re a female CFP, make your sign and share it with #ILookLikeaCFP. It is time for change.

How do we close the gender divide in the field of financial planning? It's a question we ask ourselves frequently here at Center for Financial Planning. Maybe it's because there's that sticky 23% statistic - the percentage of Certified Financial Planners who are female - that just won't seem to budge.

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Any opinions are those of Center for Financial Planning, Inc. and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse the opinions or services of CFP Board's Women’s Initiative. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website's users and/or members.

Part 8 – A Year of Lessons on Money Matters for your Children and Grandchildren

Contributed by: Matthew E. Chope, CFP®

What motivates you? You might get out of bed in the morning and go to work because you want shelter, nutrition and safety. You might do it because you love your job and can’t wait to get to the office. Understanding what incentivizes you can help you accomplish what is most important and help you prioritize to do the hardest things first.  These are important – yet sometimes overlooked – lessons to share with your children, whether they are tackling tough assignments in school or facing obstacles at the beginning of their career.

Rewards = Results

Try figuring out how to motivate yourself to get results suggests Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corporation. He calls it the “reward and punishment super response tendency” in his book On Success.  Great employers have managed this for their key employees; but you can do this for yourself.  When you achieve the results you want, reward yourself.

Early in my career, at age 25 I needed to make calls to people I did not know and ask them to considering doing financial planning with me.  This was a difficult task, but I knew it was necessary to build a business.  At the time I enjoyed coffee so it became my reward. If I made my calls each day and achieved the results I needed to succeed, the next morning I treated myself to a coffee.  At the end of the week, if I meet my weekly goal, I bought myself a Twix candy bar to enjoy. Your personal rewards may be different, but they should be motivating. And expect them to evolve over time. Maybe that Twix becomes a vacation if you reach your quarterly goal or new car if you meet your annual goal.

Setting Your Priorities

If you have 5 projects or jobs and one is going to be the most difficult (but also the most important), where do you begin? I suggest if you are having a difficult time in a certain aspect of your business, begin by tackling a portion of the problem first.  Then go to something that’s easier and come back to the subject that is troubling before ending your day. Back to me at age 25, I didn’t like making calls to people I didn’t know but needed to make 20 a day.  I found if I started by doing the difficult part – I wasn’t looking at that list all day. 

If you can determine what motivates you to accomplish your daily tasks, you can reach your work goals. As a bonus, linking incentives to challenging tasks and prioritizing your time can also lead to personal growth and accomplishment.

Matthew E. Chope, CFP ® is a Partner and Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Matt has been quoted in various investment professional newspapers and magazines. He is active in the community and his profession and helps local corporations and nonprofits in the areas of strategic planning and money and business management decisions. In 2012 and 2013, Matt was named to the Five Star Wealth Managers list in Detroit Hour magazine.

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Five Star Award is based on advisor being credentialed as an investment advisory representative (IAR), a FINRA registered representative, a CPA or a licensed attorney, including education and professional designations, actively employed in the industry for five years, favorable regulatory and complaint history review, fulfillment of firm review based on internal firm standards, accepting new clients, one- and five-year client retention rates, non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered, number of client households served.

The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Matthew Chope, CFP® and not necessarily those of Raymond James.

6 Ways to Get Healthy AND Spend Less

Contributed by: Gerri Harmer

If you could choose one of these items in retirement, which would you pick?

1. A vacation home

2. Shiny red convertible

3. Good health

A younger version of yourself would have probably gone for option 1 or 2. But many of us find when we get to retirement, our priorities change.  Without good health, all the other choices are irrelevant if you can’t enjoy them. Many of us dream of living a very active lifestyle when we retire with some money in our pockets.  Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could have all the options? Wouldn’t it be even more amazing if it only took adapting just a few new habits to improve our long-term health?

Here are 6 ways to lean into better health while spending less:

1.     Start giving up that bad habit.  Most things that are bad for your health are bad for your wallet.  Smoking, junk food, fast food and pop can all be eliminated, adding money to your bottom line.

2.     Go outside.  Breathe the air and get fit by walking, gardening or bike riding.  Better yet, head to the park to toss a Frisbee, join in on a sport, or hit a trail. No need to pay fees for gym memberships during the summer.

3.     Buy local or grow your own.  Farmers markets usually have a great variety of organic fruits and vegetables.  You support your community and pay a fraction of the grocery store prices.  Better yet, start your own garden and save even more.

4.     Sleep 15 minutes more.  Give your body a little more time to repair itself.  Go to bed early or prep for your morning the night before so you can sleep an extra 15 minutes. 

5.     Drink water.  Experts recommend drinking 8 glasses a day. Before you allow yourself even a drop of anything else, drink a glass of water first. You’ll be surprised how much energy you gain while flushing all the bad stuff. Water is one of the least expensive beverage options especially when it comes from your filtered fridge instead of a bottle.

6.     Sit with nature.  Reset your stress levels by simply listening to the birds, taking in the scenery or feeling the breeze on your face.  It costs nothing and gives you peace and calm.

It might be difficult to change radically overnight, but leaning toward better habits may lead to a smoother, more permanent change in your health. And it doesn’t hurt that you’ll be saving money along the way!

Gerri Harmer is a Client Service Manager at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

The Center Celebrates a 30-Year History

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

From our start in 1985 through today, Center for Financial Planning has grown and changed. We dig back into our history with founders Estelle Wade, Marilyn Gunther and Dan Boyce. Their vision of serving clients has grown over the past 3 decades and we couldn’t be prouder of all we’ve achieved. Join our founders and current partners traveling through The Center’s history … back when our offices looked much different and Tim Wyman had more hair. A lot has changed, but some things we like just the way they are.

From our start in 1985 through today, Center for Financial Planning has grown and changed. We dig back into our history with founders Estelle Wade, Marilyn Gunther and Dan Boyce. Their vision of serving clients has grown over the past 3 decades and we couldn't be prouder of all we've achieved.

Center Team Members Participate in Money Smart Week

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

April is Financial Literacy Month and when it comes to financial literacy, knowing how to manage your money is a big part. That’s why the “Money Smart Week” public awareness campaign was created by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 2002. This year it falls on April 18 – 25th. The goal is to help consumers better manage their personal finances. This is achieved through the collaboration and coordinated effort of hundreds of organizations across the country, including local organizations like our Financial Planning Association of Michigan. Other involved include local libraries and corporations that are dedicated to promoting financial literacy (like the Center for Financial Planning!).

Programming is offered to all demographics and income levels and covers all facets of personal finance. Melissa Joy, CFP® and Sandy Adams, CFP® are again volunteering at their local libraries where they will be offering presentations to the public on financial planning topics. To find an event to attend in your neighborhood, click here: Money Smart Week®.

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Links are being provided for information purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website's users and/or members.

Slightly Off-Center: What is the one thing you cannot do without?

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

There’s a lot you know about our team at The Center … but we’ve dug up answers to some questions you might have never thought to ask.

My water bottle – take that thing everywhere –Jennifer Hackmann

Coffee/Caffeine –Matt Trujillo

Iced Tea –Melissa Joy

The gym or working out – I’m not an exercise fanatic by any means but I have to be active at least a few times a week or I just don’t feel like myself –Nick Defenthaler

Tastebuds the True Winners at our Guac Off!

Our stomachs were rumbling as we prepared to dip our chips at The Center’s 1st ever Guac Off! The competition sprouted out of a friendly conversation in our Center Café and four team members took the challenge of creating an award-winning guacamole. Sandy Adams, Angela Palacios, Melissa Parkins, and Matt Trujillo all started with a simple avocado and mixed and mashed up top-secret recipes.

Each contender lined up a bowl on the café counter and the rest of the office eagerly piled up on chips. The lucky judges included the rest of The Center team members willing to dip a chip!  Everyone enjoyed scraping the bowls clean of the glorious green! Judge Gerri Harmer said the tasty competition was, “The best job I’ve ever had.”

Our victor, Angie Palacios said her recipe was inspired by a weekend getaway to Sante Fe, New Mexico.  “It was there I finally learned how to make great guacamole when we ordered it tableside at a restaurant,” Angela remembers.  “While I do add lots of different vegetables and spices, it all has to start with a few perfectly ripened avocados!”

I just make it by taste so I don’t have any measurements. I think that day I had to work with:

Ingredients:

8 ripe avocados (the kind that are very small and come in bags of 4 taste the best – a tip I picked up from Marilynn Levin)

Juice of 2 limes

½ bunch of cilantro chopped

2 or 3 roma tomatoes chopped

¼ cup of chopped onion (I’m guessing I had red but can’t remember)

1 package of “Great Guacamole” mix

Salt to taste if needed

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and cover with saran wrap pressed down to touch the guacamole and let it rest for 30-60 minutes