2 Fish and 5 Loaves

Everyday we get the opportunity to do good in the world, some days we get a chance to right a wrong and occasionally we get to help change some one's life for the better.

This summer the people of Bloomfield, Indiana will get to do some good, right a wrong and change a bunch of lives!  This summer we will join a growing effort to feed the children of families that live under the constant threat of hunger.  The churches, organizations and individuals of Bloomfield are stepping up to take responsibility for making sure our children get the nutrition they need!

Each year 20 million school children get free or reduced lunches in their schools but during the summer, even though the need still exists they don't have that resource.  The USDA offers a free lunch program during the summer but it takes volunteers to serve those meals and resources to prepare them.  Starting the week after school gets out, the people of Bloomfield will start a free lunch program to feed children Monday through Friday and give them a place to go for safe fun and care.

This program will help expand the Bag buddy lunch program that Tulip Church runs during the school year, which sends a bag of food home with kids to supplement their food for the weekend.  Plus the new program will augment the long standing Soup on Saturday program run by the churches of Bloomfield on a rotating basis.  Using this platform we will be better able to promote the existing food programs (such as the food pantry operated by the Baptist Church).

So, if you live in the area and you want to spend a couple of hours this summer to volunteer in the Bloomfield Hunger Project, just send me an email HERE.  We'll let you know what needs to be done and how to get started.  No one should go hungry in Bloomfield Indiana and we want to make sure they don't ... there are lots of ways to help so email me today and sign up.

Like our Facebook page Bloomfield Hunger Project and join us this summer!

J

Getting Mixed Signals?

Ever notice how the guy with no money is an expert on making more money?  Sure he is, just ask him.  The fellow with the crappyest car is knows exactly what you need to do in order to get your car working better.  I mean, live is confusiong enough with all the experts on TV and the web giving out conflicting advice ... go left , go right, stay straight, buy, sell, hold ... take the stock market today, one radio expert tells you to buy gold to preserve your principle and get out of stocks so the market doesn't devalue your cash, the next will tell you to buy all the under valued stock you can so when the market rebounds you'll bring home the bacon.


How do you know who to trust? Good question, here's my advice; if they don't know what you want to accomplish with your money then don't trust them.  A good advisor will ask more questions than you want to answer but that is part of the process, if they don't ask you a lot of questions then how do they know what you need.  If they don't know you, how can they give you advice on financing?  Find someone that you trust and talk to them about what your goals are, and let them help you explore your options.  Don't be afraid to say that you want to think about it, because if the advisor has your best interest at heart he will want you to think about it.  Don't be afraid of scheduling a second meeting, if you want to think about it set up the next meeting at the end of the 1st one.  If you're anything like me you won't give it another though unless you have a deadline.  Finally, if you are married involve your spouse, have them go to the meeting with you, they may not trust the advisor like you do or they may have different concerns than you do.  If you are not married then take your mom or dad or if you are older yourself take your kids.

I don't listen to the radio and TV "experts" because well 'they don't know my life' and they don't ask me any questions.  I also don't take cooking advice from a plumber or plumbing advice from a chef ... be sure the people you are listening to are advisors or agents not the guy in line at Walmart or your friend with the minimum wage job and no money for lunch.  Those folks have a lot to say but it's nothing you want to listen to.

Investing is tough because everyone is different in how they handle the stress of risk, and in what they want to accomplish with their money so there is no magic path that everyone can take, just a lot of paths leading in the direction you want, so follow the guide that makes you feel the safest.

J

Let me ask you questions about what you want your money to do!

What would grandpa do if he won the lottery?

You know it's funny to think about what would grandpa do with $650 million dollars.  But most of us have a different perspective on the matter.  Each of us are in a different place in life; young with a family, single, middle aged with college aged children, empty nesters, or grand parents.  Plus we all have different goals; fun life style, secure future, leaving a legacy for the grand kids.

Very few people have any experience with that much money let alone getting it all at once so finding experts to guide you is important and I mean more than one. 

Some advisers will have a plan for all your money but you are far better off having a couple of different advisers and spreading it around so that you can get more than one opinion and get the advantage of multiple perspectives on your money.  Even if you don't win the lottery you should discuss your financial goals with at least two different insurance agents or financial advisers, even agents that offer financial advising differ in their approach from financial advisers so take advantage of the opposing views. 

For example you might have a $10,000 CD and want to leave as much money as you can for the children, the advisor might say take the CD and roll it into a higher yield variable annuity that will grow with the market and the agent might say that advantage of the tax benefits from a single premium life policy and use the $10,000 to buy a $30,000 death benefit.  Each will bring a different perspective to you and give you a clearer path toward your goals.

Good luck on the lottery and call if you win.

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