Leadership Oakland Day of Service Experience is Truly Humbling

Contributed by: Sandra Adams, CFP®

Imagine decorating six houses all in one day! On Saturday, May 16th, I joined my 25 fellow Leadership Oakland classmates, former Leadership Oakland Alumni, and friends, along with employees and volunteers from Humble Design, a Pontiac-based 501c3 nonprofit organization. Together we helped fully furnish and decorate 6 existing homes for Grace Centers of Hope. The day was filled with home decorating, spring lawn clean up, and ended with a park celebration with volunteers and the families that were moved into the homes from former homelessness.  The day was particularly special as we helped Humble Designs move their 500th family into a home!

Humble Design started in 2009 and assists families in need who are transitioning out of homeless and domestic abuse shelters by providing furnishings and design services in their new place of residence.  They use donated furniture and in kind goods to turn bare rooms into a fully furnished and decorated home.  Many of their clients leave the shelter with just the clothes on their back and do not have the means to furnish their new space.  That’s where Humble Design steps in, turning the house into a livable, comfortable home.

Grace Centers of Hope is a non-profit Christian organization committed to positively changing the lives of the homeless, addicted, and unwanted through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, personal accountability, life skills education, and work-related programs. The foundation of change is the local church which encourages residents to become strong in faith and independence while it lovingly promotes a sense of belonging within a community that truly can be called “home”.

The day was filled with hard work, camaraderie, emotion and deep fulfillment as we witnessed the true joy and gratefulness of the families seeing the homes designed just for them for the first time. It was truly a HUMBLING experience!

Sandra Adams, CFP® is a Partner and Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Sandy specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and is a frequent speaker on related topics. In 2012-2014 Sandy has been named to the Five Star Wealth Managers list in Detroit Hour magazine. In addition to her frequent contributions to Money Centered, she is regularly quoted in national media publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine and Journal of Financial Planning.

---

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.

Raymond James is not affiliated with any of the organizations/charities mentioned. 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.

The Secret to Our 30-year Success

Contributed by: Timothy Wyman, CFP®, JD

So where were you in 1985? You may have been in high school or college. You may not have even been born yet. Like our Center founders, you may have been starting your own business or career and sought out a financial planner to help in financing higher education for your kids and planning for a successful retirement. It was in the mid-80s that Center for Financial Planning got started.

Our 3 Secrets to Success

A professional services firm can’t survive, let alone thrive, over 30 years without at least three key ingredients:

1. The loyalty and support of clients. Many of The Center’s clients have been with us from the start. Our success is based of their continued relationships and the introductions they’ve made to others we can help.
2. The loyalty and hard work of our staff. It has been said that great performance can never come without great people and culture.  Our current staff is filled with a deep bench of top-notch technicians.
3. The hard work, vision and generosity of founding partners Estelle Wade (retired 2003), Marilyn Gunther (retired 2014), and Dan Boyce (retiring at the end of 2015).

Building a sustainable business requires lots of hours. Not 9-5 and no weekends kind of hours. There were sacrifices, and rewards, and I am sure our founders would agree that their success was in large part due to the support of at least 3 special people - their spouses: Gene Wade, Ron Gunther, and Sue Boyce.

Building a Foundation

Estelle, Marilyn and Dan didn’t set out to create a company. Financial planning was more like a calling. You see, in 1985, much like today, financial advice was often the pretense to selling a high commissioned investment or insurance product.  Our founders saw a new & better way to help people achieve their financial goals. The new (back then) process was called financial planning – and they quickly experienced that the financial planning process had the power to improve lives and make a difference for people. So, The Center really started with a purpose – a calling – to make a difference in people’s lives.

Estelle, Marilyn and Dan also lead by example. They always put clients’ interests first. They were always first to lend a hand around the office, no matter the task. And they were always committed to lifetime learning and personal growth. Our founders also invested in people and relationships – both clients and team members. The three are some of the most generous folks I have ever met with their time, talent, and financially. Over the years they have mentored folks both inside The Center as well as outside.  They had the foresight to begin transitioning leadership to others such as current partners Matt Chope, Sandy Adams, Laurie Renchik, Melissa Joy and me as long as 10 years ago. The foundation they provided has given our current team a platform to take The Center to new heights and further strengthen the firm for the next 30 years.

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.

---

Any opinions are those of Timothy Wyman, CFP® and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Investing involves risk and investors may incur a profit or a loss. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

The Art and Science of Happiness

Contributed by: Angela Palacios, CFP®

In 1988 Bobby McFerrin inspired us to “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” As I’m sure many agree, this is far easier said than done.  During the Raymond James National Conference I had the privilege to attend a session on happiness taught by Dr. Fred Luskin from Stanford University.  This session was a very abbreviated, but no less inspiring, version of his popular course offered at Stanford University.  We can all use a little more happiness in life even if we aren’t unhappy and Dr. Luskin offers some tools to help us do so.

Manage your drive to achieve

“Happiness is wanting what you have” said Dr. Luskin.

Don’t waste all of your time pining for more or something different than you already have. You can strive for more, but take time to appreciate what you do have.

Savor moments of success and love

Too often we ruin these moments by immediately picking up our phone to check email or text messages. Stop and just enjoy the moment briefly before moving on to the next item on the list.

Take time to show gratitude

Think about what you are grateful for and share that with someone.   We don’t have to wait until it is November to post these things on Facebook or share with someone; try to do this every day.

Give your brain the opportunity to see the happiness

Mediate, take breaks and relax.  It is ok to have a lot to do. “In every life we have some trouble, When you worry you make it double.”  Train yourself to just be ok with having a lot to do and temper your drive to get it all done at once.

Dr. Luskin teaches us not to focus on what has gone wrong, but instead what makes people happy and why.  So while we all can’t attend a class at Stanford, an easy first step is try generating your own list of activities and experiences that rejuvenate you and keep it handy to help you manage your daily stress.  This small step can go a long way in increasing our mood, health, productivity and overall happiness.

Angela Palacios, CFP® is the Portfolio Manager at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Angela specializes in Investment and Macro economic research. She is a frequent contributor to Money Centered as well asinvestment updates at The Center.

---

Raymond James is not affiliated with Dr. Fred Luskin

Where’s Waldo? Or Where’s Wyman?

Contributed by: Center for Financial Planning, Inc.

If you have emailed Tim Wyman in the last couple of days you may have received his “out of office” reply. Tim is out for a bit on a scheduled medical leave of absence.  Fortunately we have a dedicated team that is ready to help if needed. For service items please feel free to contact Client Service Associate, Jennie Bauder, via our main telephone line (248) 948-7900 or at Jennifer.Bauder@CenterFinPlan.com. For financial planning questions please feel free to contact Certified Financial Planner™  Matthew.Trujillo@CenterFinPlan.com and for general operations/business items please contact Melissa.Joy@CenteFinPlan.com.

If you’d like to know the story behind Tim’s medical leave, click here to watch the Fox 2 News interview with the Wymans.

We are always here to help so please feel free to call or email as needed.

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 Back from RJ Conference with Ideas for the Future

Though the sun was shining brightly over the pool outside our Las Vegas hotel, our team turned a blind eye each morning and dove into work. Of The Center’s 18 employees, 17 of us made the trip to the Raymond James National Conference for Professional Development. We make it a point every year to get as many hands on deck as possible. Not just for the learning opportunities, but because it’s a great chance for us to do some off-site team building. This year we went with a mission: Find take-aways we could put into action for our clients. In this video, we share just a few:

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

Slightly Off-Center: Most famous person you’ve met?

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.

Danny Devito –Jennifer Hackmann

Oprah Winfrey –Matt Trujillo

Tim Allen (before he was famous though) –Nancy Sechrist

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting anyone incredibly famous but I have met Gordie Howe a few times and being such a big hockey fan, that was pretty cool to me –Nick Defenthaler

Most famous person you met? I met George W. Bush recently.  Regardless of political perspective, it was a pleasure and honor to meet a former US President –Tim Wyman

Possibilities Conference Offers Insights on Aging

Contributed by: Melissa Parkins

I recently attended the Branch Possibilities Conference at the Raymond James home office in St. Petersburg, Florida. The theme this year was "Working with Aging Clients". I had high hopes of receiving quality information that I could bring back to our office, like many others have been able to do in past years. My time there exceeded my expectations. Not only did I have a great time away from the office (and in some warm and humid weather!), I met a lot of interesting and intelligent people, got to collaborate with other RJ associates and learned more than I expected to about opportunities at Raymond James, including new technology, that we hope to share with clients in coming months.

My top takeaways:

• I heard a lot about the work RJ has been doing regarding future quality of life. Their research was used by many different presenters at the conference. One of the main themes revisited throughout the entire conference was the three questions that can be used to predict future quality of life: Who will change my light bulbs? How will I get an ice cream cone? Who will I have lunch with? For more on how the answers to these questions can provide valuable insight on housing and quality of life issues, take a look at this blog by Sandy Adams, CFP®. These are three simple and innovative questions that clients, families and planners should be discussing to assess preparedness for long life in retirement.
• The value of debt, especially for an aging client, was another hot topic. I learned of the new lending options available for all clients based on securities through Raymond James bank (lines of credit, mortgages, etc.).  These new lending opportunities open up planning options for clients of all ages that weren’t present in the past.  We look forward to conversations with clients about these opportunities during meetings in the coming months.
• Social Security continues to be a hot topic as it relates to retirement income strategies.  We talk a lot about this with clients as they prepare for retirement.  The presentations at the conference connected a lot of dots for me personally, and we look forward to continuing to put Social Security strategies to work for our clients in the context of their lifelong retirement income planning.

---

This material is being provided for information purposes only and is not a complete description, nor is it a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Melissa Parkins, Registered Client Service Associate and not necessarily those of Raymond James. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but Raymond James does not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete.

Slightly Off-Center: What is the first thing you do when you wake up/start your day?

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.

Drink a big glass of water –Angela Palacios

I think of 3 things I’m grateful for –Dan Boyce

Say Thank You for this day! –Gerri Harmer

Hit the snooze button for 10 more minutes –Jennifer Hackmann

Take a hot shower –Matt Trujillo

Go to the gym and workout –Matt Chope

Snuggle with my kids –Melissa Joy

Head to the coffee maker, of course! –Nancy Sechrist

Feed my dog and let him out – he is basically is the center of our household right now! –Nick Defenthaler

Cuddle with my puppies! –Melissa Parkins