http://startsmartadvisor.com Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:13:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en  In the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to speak in front of a handful of audiences mostly made up of women. In reviewing the evaluations, the comments written at the bottom of the page were all somewhat related. Essentially they said, “I didn’t know a simple change could ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/can-you-see-the-forest-through-the-trees While attending a women's conference in Ontario, California, I had the luxury, yes, the luxury, of meeting Chellie Campbell. Here is a woman who has provided financial stress reduction workshops for over 20 years to business owners. She is also the author of two books and is wildly successful. This ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/the-impact-of-attitude    Was ringing in the New Year something special for you this year? Did any resolutions resonate with you? I sat down the Monday before New Year’s Day to ponder what I wanted out of 2010. With that in mind, I tried to come up resolutions for this year and realized ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/forget-new-year%e2%80%99s-resolutions-and-vow-to-%e2%80%98get-real%e2%80%99 With the New Year rung in, resolutions abound. We promise ourselves to do this and to not do that while so much of what we choose to do involves our money and our health. Self-sabotage is generally the main culprit when attempting to achieve goals. It rears its ugly head ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/brown-bag-or-bust When I teach my personal finance or investment classes, stories are the medium to drive the lesson into those hard-headed students of mine. I’ll make up names to protect the innocent and share as many personal stories as possible to bring the reality of a given situation into focus. So ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/the-real-purpose-of-an-e-fund 2009 had two significant events that nearly derailed me—I lost my beautiful and inspirational mother to cancer, and had a terrible car accident that left me quite injured. At one point, I questioned everything. Was I successful? Was I truly making a contribution to my clients and my community? If ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/living-your-dream-is-your-choice This past Friday I was so fortunate to spend a couple hours with some of my favorite clients. It was a joy to finally have some good news on the portfolio returns to report to them, and needless to say, they were quite relieved. But that wasn’t the highlight. The highlight ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/the-value-of-creating-relationships Happy July 4th! Today is our nation's independence day, the day we proclaimed ourselves free as a country. I love this day. It's always full of celebration. Whether it be hot dogs and hamburgers or wine and cheese, we always finish with fireworks. When I watch those fireworks, I think ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/independence-day-%e2%80%a6are-you-experiencing-financial-freedom "One out of every two people will need long-term care at some point in their lifetime. And over 70% of those over 65 will require long-term care,” (http://budurl.com/hfl9). With stats like that and the senior population growing, long-term care insurance is no longer an option--it’s a necessity. In this article, ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/long-term-care-insurance-why-its-so-important With the passing of so many celebrities recently, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, David Carradine, and Karl Malden, there's been much more talk about proper estate planning or the lack of it. How does one take care of their estate when they’re a celebrity? How are they able to keep everything ... http://startsmartadvisor.com/estate-planning-celebrity-style