Start the Year Right: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Tax Planning with Generosity Wealth Management

“Play by the rules, but be ferocious.” – Phil Knight

As we welcome the start of another promising year, it’s not just about making resolutions but also about making wise decisions—especially when it comes to our finances. That’s why Generosity Wealth Management is stepping in to shed light on a crucial part of your financial journey: tax planning.

In our latest video, we invite you behind the scenes with Michael Brady as he guides you through the early stirrings of the tax season. Discover the critical steps you should take now to ensure a smoother, more beneficial tax return process. From understanding the significance of your 1099s to preparing your documentation, this video is your first step towards fiscal responsibility in 2024.

But that’s not all. Generosity Wealth Management goes the extra mile by offering an exclusive opportunity. Once your taxes are filed, we invite you to share your return with us. Utilizing advanced Optical Character Recognition technology, our team will meticulously analyze your documents, helping you strategize and make informed tax decisions for the upcoming year.

And if you’re not yet a client? Consider this your invitation. Share your completed tax return with us, and let’s explore how our savvy tax planning can set the stage for a prosperous year. Your financial well-being is our priority, and it starts with making smart moves today.

Dive into our video now and take the first step towards a financially secure future.

Transcript

Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, full-service financial services firm headquartered here in Boulder, Colorado.

Today, I want to talk about taxes. First, I want to talk about the logistics of it before we talk strategy. The logistics, especially for my clients, are that the first 1099s will start going out around February 1. Whether you get them electronically or they mail them, the first ones go out around February 1, and then every two weeks, if you haven’t gotten it they send out another draft copy. If you’re confused by anything that I’ve said so far just send me an email. My email is up on the screen and Felicia and I will walk you through or even compile on your behalf what you need and send it to you or your CPA as a package. We want the tax document collection to be a stress free event. If you’ve got three, four, ten accounts with me it doesn’t matter with different registrations. We’ll tell you, Hey, I have these different ten accounts. You should be receiving three or four, and here they are. Or we might say you need three or four documents. Two of them are ready, and two of them are still waiting. Because of complex reporting requirements, some 1099s don’t go out to clients until February or March, which is kind of irritating because you want to get your packet together and get it into your CPA, but that’s the reality. Many 1099s are done right at the beginning of February, and then there are a few stragglers that for whatever reason sometimes clients haven’t received them going forward even into March. Be patient, don’t get frustrated. Give me an call or send me an email and Felicia and I will get you hooked up to tell you what the status is.

The second thing I wanted to talk about is this really cool report that I have and I’d love to offer it to all my clients as well as people who are not my clients but are watching this particular newsletter. Once you get your 2023 taxes done I will provide you with a link so that you can upload it to me and I will have this optical character recognition, or OCR, and it will convert that into my computer into this wonderful little spreadsheet. It will tell me everything about your tax returns and even some areas that we could have a conversation for tax planning within the year 2024. What I like at the end of that conversation is I’ll go over it with you once I have your tax return for 2023 and say hey listen, let’s understand what the present situation is and then we have two or three or four different avenues for looking at hey, maybe we can save some taxes here or we could do a conversion over here, et cetera. Just so we can have the conversation as 2024 unfolds. Please take me up on that. It is free and I’d love to talk with you, I’ll talk with your CPA, your tax preparer so that we’re all on the same page.

Most people’s single biggest expense is taxes, but they don’t understand their taxes. They don’t under what options they might have before them, and that’s what I want to do is help you so you can have that conversation with your CPA or we can loop in your CPA and have that conversation together.

That’s it for today’s video. I just wanted to let you know 1099s are coming down the pipeline. They’re going to arrive in February and March. If you have any questions send me an email or Felicia and we’ll get you hooked up. If you’ve got your 2022 we can do it immediately. We can look at what your 2022 taxes were, but definitely when you get your 2023 done send it to me so that we can have a really good conversation and do some tax planning.

Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Have a wonderful day. Thanks. Bye-bye.

End of 2023 Financial Market Review: Reflection and Readiness

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

In 2023, the financial markets underwent a significant transformation, moving away from the volatile, stimulus-driven landscape of the post-pandemic era. This year was marked by remarkable economic resilience and recovery, characterized by easing inflation and a robust job market, diverging from the prior year’s instability.

Despite early concerns of an imminent recession, both the U.S. and global economies displayed strong growth. The U.S. economy, buoyed by consumer spending and a persistently low unemployment rate below 4%, coupled with a global economic uptick of 2.8% in the first half, showcased recovery strength. These gains were partly fueled by diminishing supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions from the pandemic.

Inflation, while starting the year at higher levels, showed a declining trend, with the U.S. CPI dropping from 6.4% to 3.1% by November. This downward trajectory is expected to continue, aiming for the Federal Reserve’s target of around 2% by mid-2024. However, global core inflation remains a concern, likely staying above 3% into 2024.

The stock market in 2023 witnessed a shift in leadership, expanding beyond the tech sector. The energy and industrial sectors outperformed, signaling a move towards a more diversified and balanced market. The bond market experienced modest gains, as reflected in the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index, reminding investors of the inverse relationship between bond prices and interest rates.

Looking ahead to 2024, the economic growth is expected to moderate, necessitating a diversified investment approach and vigilant monitoring of inflationary trends. Central bank policies will be crucial in shaping the market, emphasizing the importance of staying informed and adapting strategies accordingly. With both positive and negative factors at play, it’s vital to maintain a forward-looking perspective and seek tailored guidance for individual financial situations.

Here’s what Generosity Wealth Management founder, Michael Brady, has to say:

Transcript

Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, full-service financial services firm headquartered here in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a lot more fun to make today’s video than it was this time last year because 2022 was a dumpster fire. Unmanaged stock markets and unmanaged bond indexes are both down over 10 percent, depending on which one you want to look at. Nothing was good, and it felt that way. You know what? That’s not the situation we’re seeing ourselves in for 2023.

Let’s go back just a few years as a little bit of a multiyear view of the world. So, 2020 was a positive year, with lots of money dumped into the economy because of the COVID shutdown. In 2021, we still had supply issues, but we dumped lots of money in and 2021 was a positive year for the unmanaged indexes. In 2022, we had supply issues and lots of money inflation, so 2022 was a bad year. Just horrible. In 2023, the first and second quarters were good. The third quarter was not good for the unmanaged indexes. This fourth quarter has been just a roaring great quarter. For 2023, we’re looking positive, depending on the indexes. It’s definitely double-digits. The unmanaged bond indexes are still single digits, and we’re clawing our way back from what was given up in 2022.

You have to remember that with unmanaged bond indexes, when interest rates go up, bonds go down. The bond indexes go down in general, and of course it’s the flip. When the interest rates go down from the Fed, the unmanaged bond indexes will hopefully go up and should go up. That’s why there’s that inverse relationship.

As we’re looking at 2024, we should be optimistic because it feels like the markets, most of your pundits, the media, and most of your major investors are expecting a 2024 decrease in interest rates after such a sharp increase in 2022. This is good for the unmanaged bond indexes and for the stock indexes, and hopefully that will also correlate to people being a lot happier as we have a positive 2024.

Let’s not forget that we have a pretty volatile situation going in with a sitting president who is running for reelection and a former president who, if he’s the candidate, may run again. Nonetheless, we’re going to have two candidates for the presidency in a very sharply divided country. As always, there’s lots going on in the world, whether that’s the Middle East or Ukraine. Hopefully, in 2024, we don’t have any issues with China that we’ve all been talking about.

If you’re looking for something to be pessimistic about, you know what? I’ve got something for you. If you’re looking for things to be optimistic about, hey, I’ve got that too. We’ve got the interest rates. We’ve got an economy that’s chugging along. We’ve got companies that have made themselves more profitable by increasing the profit margin. If you’re looking for stuff that’s going to be positive, there is lots to be positive about as well.

Three out of four years historically, as we go back 100 years, the unmanaged stock market indexes have been positive. We had a negative year in 2022, and 2023 has been positive. Hopefully, 2024 will continue, but I have to say that humility is a big part of everything that I’m about. Generosity, humility—and why do I say humility? For the first part of my life, I wasn’t as humble as I should have been. But with some experience, I realized that you never know everything. There’s lots going on that you miss. You do the best that you can, and the future is also inherently unknown, so what can we do to navigate inherently unknown waters going forward? That’s what we’re doing here today.

Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Let’s have a great 2024. Thank you for being my client in 2023.

Insurance and Your Financial Plan

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” ― Stephen Covey

Growing wealth is a journey; like any expedition, it’s essential to be prepared for the unexpected. While we often discuss strategies to expand your financial horizons, in this video we’re shifting our focus to a cornerstone of wealth preservation: insurance. It’s the metaphorical shield in your financial armor, ensuring that the wealth you’ve tirelessly built is protected against catastrophic events. Join us as we delve into the often-overlooked world of insurance and discover how it plays a pivotal role in safeguarding your legacy and the future of your loved ones.

Should you require specialized referrals tailored to your distinct insurance needs, please feel free to reach out. It would be my pleasure to connect you with professionals best suited to address your unique circumstances and ensure you receive the most beneficial guidance.

Transcript

Hi there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, full-service financial services firm headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

Today I want to do something a little bit different. I’ve been talking about investments so much and so much has happened in the world. I wanted to take a slight detour and talk about keeping our money, and part of that might be insurance. Now, you’ve heard me say before that 80% of reaching your goals is clearly defining them and having a plan for how to get there and having a plan to overcome those speedbumps that might derail you from reaching those goals. That could be the loss of your spouse, the loss of the ability to work, a long-term health issue, loss of your house. There’s a lot of issues that could derail you from reaching your financial goals.

The first thing someone might say is well, I have enough money to self-insure which is absolutely a possibility. You can self-insure your car as long as it’s paid off that if I crash it and it’s only worth $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 I have enough money I can go and buy a new one. That is a legitimate choice that you can make. You’re taking the risk upon yourself instead of transferring that risk to a pool of people for a particular premium. Everybody is paying that premium goes into a pool and if you have a triggering event then that pool pays out to you. That’s essentially what insurance is. The reason why I bring this up is one thing that the Marshall fires have shown us which of course for those who are not here in Colorado or the Boulder area was a devastating fire in the first couple of days of 2022 and it went through subdivisions. Not up in the mountains but it went through subdivisions and was just devastating. There were about 1,000 homes that were destroyed. A lot of people found that they were underinsured and that’s going to be a huge catastrophic event for them in their lives. It’s important and that’s what we call property and casualty insurance. I don’t do that. I don’t have that license. That is a specialty, but if you need somebody let me know. If you want to really ensure that you’ve got enough coverage, let me know and I can refer someone to you. I have a whole book of professional referrals that I feel comfortable with.

Another type of insurance is life insurance. What if you die? Is your family going to be taken care of? The income that they expected, especially if you have little kids, but even if you’re not. If you’re older, the income that you thought you were going to bring in because of your employment has now gone away. What other expenses does the other surviving family members have because of your passing. So, life insurance is absolutely essential, and there’s a whole video that I could do on the different types of life insurance. Just know that it’s absolutely essential in many situations. Talk to me if you feel that’s something that causes you to stay up at night.

Disability insurance. What if you lost your job? Would you be able to make your monthly expenses? You might have some with your current employer. Do you fully understand it? Most of the time employers provided disability insurance is taxable so you’ve got to look at it not of oh, I’m going to get $5,000 a month. It’s $5,000 before taxes. You’ve got to pay taxes so would that be enough to cover your expenses. You can actually buy personal policies to complement what you have at your company.

Long-term care. We’re all getting older every day and so many of us may need long-term care help in the future. Now is the time to plan for it. That’s something else I can advise on.

There’s a ton of different risks out there. I mean there’s a risk of getting out of bed in the morning and go to the grocery store. We assume that risk but we can mitigate it, of course, by being smart about how we drive, about how quickly we drive, by putting our seatbelt on or airbags, get a good car but the risk doesn’t go away. All of the things that I’ve talked about doesn’t mean that the risk goes away. It just means that we mitigate it by transferring that risk to a pool and at least being financially more secure, have a backdrop if a particular event does happen.

Insurance is important. I think we need to think about it. It’s not very sexy. If you’re at the neighborhood barbecue it’s not the topic that people like to talk about. They would rather talk about some stock buy or sell that they made. Of course they’re a genius. Or they like to talk about the big TV that they just bought. But, what’s going to impact your life, a catastrophic event, is something that maybe you could have transferred that risk to somebody else.

Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Have a wonderful day. Thanks. Bye-bye.

Investment Planning & Management

“Money, like emotions, is something you must control to keep your life on the right track.” ― Natasha Munson

Knowing whether you have an investor or trader mindset is a really important aspect of ensuring that you are satisfied with your financial plan and goals. Discover the fundamental principles that underpin effective investment planning. In the latest GWM video, we explore the importance of setting clear financial goals, understanding risk tolerance, and crafting a well-defined investment strategy tailored to your unique circumstances. Financial growth and security can really only happen when you know yourself fully. Take a watch and let us know what you think!

Transcript

Hi, there. Mike Brady with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, financial services firm here in Boulder, Colorado.

Today I want to talk about investment management and planning. One of the first questions to start with is are you a trader or are you an investor.

Before I really talk about that and how that flows out into our planning, there’s this great book called A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Stowell, who is this famous economist. He’s now in his 90s, and what he said is when you have a disagreement with somebody whether it’s political, religious, it doesn’t really matter, you’ve got to think of it like a tree. You’ve got a tree. You look at my hands and the root of the tree is here and then branches come out. There are all these decisions – a decision matrix. If you’re disagreeing way up here at the top level, the top leaves you’ve got to go back down the tree, down the limbs to where you might have had a conflict division, where you might disagree. We agreed all the way up to here and now we disagree and that disagreement from a philosophical point of view then has repercussions all the way out here like that.

I think of the same process when it comes to investment management and planning. Are you a trader or are you an investor? Very key. An investor is someone who purchases something, purchases an investment, assumes the investment will be greater in the future and knows that there will be ups and downs along the way, but makes very few changes to that along the way.

A trader, on the other hand, is very actively managing saying wow, I want to buy this stock, that stock, this mutual fund. They want to time the market, they believe that now is the time that the market is going down so I want to move over to cash. Very actively managing it. That is a trader and a trader mindset. A lot of the uncomfortable, the displeasure, in the future is when you say that you’re an investor, you’ve set things up like an investor but then you have a trader mindset. That might be your tendency and your bias.

Once you decide whether you’re a trader or you’re an investor, then you have to decide do I take individual business risk or do I not. That means individual stocks. Do you buy a certain company and be very specific to it or do you buy that broad sector, do you buy the broad market? You could by in the automotive sector and be very heavy in that versus an individual automotive stock. Or do you buy the market as a whole, the S&P 500, the international unmanaged stock market index. It’s really a philosophy of in addition to market risk do you take individual business risk.

That is a very key ingredient and once you’ve decided that, then the question is how do you do that? Do you do that through the various ways like mutual funds? Do you do it through separately managed accounts? Do you do it through ETFs, all of which require a very detailed video to describe some of the pros and cons in each. All of them can be not necessarily good or bad. It’s just a preference. What’s better, a sports car or a truck? Well, neither of them. It depends on what the purpose is. It depends on the individual as well. It’s the same way with your particular investments.

One of the most important decisions as well is are you a believer in mathematics, the CAPM, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, meaning that “hey, I can figure out where the value of this and market is or this particular stock and that’s what it’s either overvalued or undervalued”, or are you more of a behavioral finance person believing that the market is filled with human beings who are emotional and sometimes make irrational decisions. That’s a very key decision to ask yourself and to think about. And of course to talk with your financial advisor to say “hey, what do you think? What’s your philosophy on all of these various aspects?” They are important to craft a portfolio that you’re going to be happy with.

The most important thing is that not that every single day, month, quarter or year is happy for you, but that you’re able to survive it. I think of it like a marriage. When you get married you know that there’s going to be some disagreements and not every single day is going to be sunshine and roses. But, of course, there’s more days that are good than are bad and that you know hey, I can weather this and this is for the long-term good and I’m a better person because I’m mashed up with this other individual in this thing we call marriage. It’s no different with investments. You’ve got to stick with what the plan is that you’ve got and that’s where good investment management comes into play.

Warren Buffett says that bear markets transfers money from the impatient to the patient. Whether you’re a trader or an investor, whether or not you believe in individual business risk or individual market risk or how these things come together. The most important thing is to be patient because even if you’re a trader buying and selling and doing all this other stuff there is a streak that’s going to happen at some point that is not in your favor and you’ve got to weather that as well.

I believe in taking individual market risk but not business risk. I believe in a more passive approach being an investor and not a trader. I believe in many other things that help, but I guide that with my clients.

If you want to talk about investment management and planning and the thought process behind it I’m always happy to talk about my philosophy and how it might work for you. If you’re my existing client or if you’re not how it might fit with your individual situation. Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Thanks.

Goal Setting

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” –Lawrence J. Peter

Goal setting is a fundamental aspect of wealth management, playing a pivotal role in financial success. It serves as a guiding force, providing direction and purpose to individuals and their financial decisions. By setting clear and specific goals, individuals can define their aspirations, identify the steps required to achieve them and maintain focus throughout their wealth-building journey.

Goal setting in wealth management offers key advantages like helping individuals prioritize their financial objectives, ensuring that limited resources are allocated efficiently. Whether it’s saving for retirement, purchasing a home, funding education, or building an investment portfolio, well-defined goals allow for informed decision-making and resource allocation.

Ultimately, goal setting in wealth management is vital for individuals to align their financial choices with their long-term aspirations. By setting goals, individuals can establish a roadmap for success, make informed decisions, stay motivated, and navigate the complexities of managing wealth effectively. Whether aiming for financial independence, legacy planning, or specific lifestyle goals, goal setting serves as a cornerstone in achieving financial well-being and living generously.

Transcript

Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive full service financial services firm here in Boulder, Colorado.

Today I want to talk about the importance of setting goals. You’re going to say Mike, I hear this all the time, quit nagging. You and society is always saying set goals. All I can say is my experience with clients and those that have clearly defined goals, we write them down and we move towards them. We increase that probability of reaching those goals. That’s just it. Over 30 years that which you hear all the time about goals whether it’s a fitness goal or whether or not it’s other goals in your life, it applies to your financial goals as well. So, 80 percent is just a number that I’ve anecdotally through experience have come up with of reaching your goals as clearly defining them and having a plan in order to get there.

I remember a client who was really worried about retirement and I helped her with her goals such as this is how much you’ve got to save every year and we reviewed it every single year. That was how she reached her particular goals is by being very intentional about it versus being well, I hope this all works out or being lucky or accidental that you actually reach the goal. There is being intentional and there is the well I sure hope this all works out. I’m definitely a fan – and you can sleep better at night if you know what the steps are, the small steps there are in order to get to that goal.

Now, if you’re saying to yourself Mike, I’m really bad at goalsetting. I really hate this. Fortunately, I do it all the time. This is bread and butter for what I do on a weekly and a monthly basis as I’m interacting with clients. I say hey, what are we trying to get to whether it’s short-term goals like buy a house. Maybe it’s your first house. Buy a car. Put your kids through school. Retire. Make sure that you’ve got enough funds for any long-term care needs that you might have. Pass on the maximum amount to the next generation. There’s lots of different goals that we can come up with and how do your investments complement the goals that you’ve come up with.

Anyway, setting goals is very important. I do it all the time working with clients. You don’t have to be the expert. Hopefully, I’m the expert that you can rely on.

Mike Brady, Generosity Wealth Management, 303-747-6455. Thanks.

Being Proactive with special guest Chris Schipske

It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.
― George Eliot

80 percent of reaching your financial goals is clearly defining them and having a plan for how to get there, proactively discussing any speed bumps, big or small. One of the speed bumps that I’ve identified personally, is dying prematurely.

While it may be difficult to think about your own mortality, it is essential. For me, it is not just my personal life that would be impacted, but my clients’ as well. Financial planning is deeply personal, so ensuring that there is someone who can step up in the untimely event of my incapacitation or death is critical.

In this video I chat with fellow financial advisor, Chris Schipske of Columbia, Maryland. Chris would act as my successor in the event of my death, which I hope doesn’t happen for many decades.

Listen for more on the importance of planning ahead.

Transcript

Hi clients and friends.  Mike Brady here with Generosity Wealth Management, a comprehensive, financial services firm headquartered right here in Boulder, Colorado.

Today I have a special guest with me, Chris Schipske.  The reason for my video today is I practice what I preach.  I’m always telling you that it’s my believe that 80 percent of reaching your financial goals is clearly defining them and having a plan for how to get there, and to proactively discuss the speed bumps, life’s speed bumps, that happen whether they’re small or whether they’re big.  As I was looking at my life over the last – I’ve actually been thinking about this for many years – I realized that one of the speed bumps is that if I die prematurely.  I have to tell you that I’m in excellent shape.  I’m very proud of this and I work really hard.  I hope to be your financial advisor for at least the next 20 years, if not longer because I absolutely love what I’m doing.  It’s been 30 years now, almost 30 years I’ve been meeting with clients and I hope to do this for another 20 years.  But, this is where it involves you.  If I was to die, I want to make sure that you’re well taken care of and I also want my wife to have someone that she would trust and could go to.

I’ve known Chris Schipske for the last ten years, if not a little bit longer.  About a year-and-a-half ago I reached out to Chris and said, “Chris, you and I have been friends and colleagues for many years and I’ve told my wife that I would like her to talk with you if I was to die.”  Hopefully that doesn’t happen for many decades.  You and I are together at the old folks home and in our 90s.  But, god forbid it happened I would want her to come to you.  I trust you so much, Chris, that I want to offer you to my clients as well. If I was to die I would want you to, without a lot of disruption, be able to come in here – and I know you would because you’ve been doing this for almost as long as I have, for decades, and you would see how my clients are.  Hopefully, in the coming years as you come out to Colorado – I know you have Colorado clients.  We have some clients in common, but you’ll get to know some of my clients as well.  They know that, once again, if I was to die I have someone that they could rely on.  So Chris, would you mind just sharing a few things about yourself because it feels like I’m doing all the talking.  So, go right ahead Chris.

Sure, sure.  Mike, first of all thank you so much.  It’s really nice to be able to get together with you on occasion.  I remember the days when we could get together in person and that was a lot nicer and hopefully we’ll get back to that.  It seems like COVID-19 is starting to wane a little bit and maybe we’ll be able to get back to some sense of normalcy.  You mentioned and you’re right.  It’s nice to find someone who thinks like you, maybe gets your jokes a little bit.  Over the years we’ve bonded like that and found each other in that business sense that we could trust each other.  I really truly appreciate the trust that you put in me.  Like you said earlier, my name is Chris Schipske.  I’m right out side of Baltimore, Maryland and it’s where I call home.  A little town called Columbia, Maryland.  I’m married and I have two daughters.  I’ve been doing this for over 20 years now so I’m ready to step in if needed, but I hope it’s not needed.  I want to stress that.  If needed, yes, I’m here ready for you and your clients and your wife.

Like you mentioned, I am a CPA as well as a CFP so I have a very active tax practice as well as an active investment advisory practice here in the Maryland area.  We do span across the country and I’ve got some clients over there in Colorado.  We’ve talked that I’m going to be making my way out there more and more when hopefully COVID allows that sort of thing.  I’m looking forward to it.

Well, thank you Chris.  For everyone who’s listening Chris actually has a very successful business there right outside of Baltimore.  He’s got a tax practice, a financial planning and wealth management just like I do, with many staff which is great.  He and I have slightly different business models.  Currently as you know I don’t have a lot of staff.  That’s by design.  I have a very deep relationship with a small number of clients.  What I like about Chris, and this has been my experience and the clients that we have in common is he has a very deep relationship with those clients as well.  He really spends the time in order to understand what’s important to the individual client and how to meet those needs.  Now he is in Baltimore, but frankly one thing that the last year-and-a-half has shown us is that Zoom works great.  He comes out to Colorado quite often and is going to continue that as we continue to work together.  Frankly, we increased the number of clients that we’re working with together whether it’s on the financial planning side or whether or not he’s handling the CPA work, the tax and all this advanced and sophisticated estate planning from a tax point of view.  I’m doing the financial planning, et cetera, so it’s not a problem.

I want to offer Chris as someone that is trusted for me and I want to let you know that you’ve got to practice what you preach which is I would be a hypocrite if I said you need to be prepared for the loss of your spouse, the loss of your ability to work, all of these really bad things that can happen and that can derail you from reaching your goals if I, too, didn’t take a very serious look and say what could derail my family?  What could derail my clients?  Which would be me leaving you in the lurch.  I don’t want to do that.

So, thank you Chris.  Thank you clients and we’ll give a little bit more information on Chris in the link.  I’ll also put your website on there and we’ll have you back here as a guest periodically over the coming years.

Sounds good, Michael.  Thanks. Absolutely.  Thank you Chris and thank you clients.  You have a wonderful day.  Bye-bye.