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June 2012 | Vol 3, Issue 6 
Serving up financial planning and investment advice with a dash of fun!
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Make this YOUR year for Fiscal Fitness!
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Greetings!
|  Only a dad could give these instructions on how to diaper a baby: "Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again."
Happy Fathers' Day to all of the special guys in our lives. For you who are blessed to have your Dads around, I hope you're able have a great day together. If you no longer have your Dad around (like me), take some time to enjoy the memories! |
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Fund Find(s) of the Month:
They've Got the Whole World in Their Hands
|  Do you know the difference between an International fund and a Global fund? Many think the two terms are interchangeable - but they're not. An international fund consists of securities from all countries except for the investor's home country (the United States, in our case). You can use "foreign" fund interchangeably with "international" fund.
A global fund (also called a "world" fund) invests in companies located anywhere in the world, including the investor's own country.
read more...
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planning is all about.
Email or call us at 270/247.0555 and set up a "no-strings attached" review. By phone or in person - it's up to you! ~~~~~~
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Tip of the Month: Sudden Money - or Suddenly Poor?
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 | | Will & David |
What does your retirement hold? If that's a topic you'd rather not face...well, you should probably read our June article. It is the result of a collaboration between David Snowball, editor of Mutual Fund Observer, Junior Yearwood, a Trinidad-based researcher, and yours truly. David and Junior asked for a "professional" opinion on the online retirement calculators they were reviewing, which turned out to be a lot of fun. All this talk of retirement planning led to the conclusion that we may have more in common with our great-grandparents than we realize. Is that such a good thing? Maybe not this time.
By the way, if David Snowball sounds familiar, it's because we borrow from MFO heavily (with permission) for our "Fund Finds". Here he and his son, Will, are on a trip to England.
read more...
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(Almost) Famous Recipes of the Month: Breakfast in Bed , Part Deux
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 Last month, we served up a delicious Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake for Mother's Day. Daddies, you were patient, you were thoughtful, you helped clean the cinnamon off the floor and the batter off the counters. You deserve something especially suitable before you open up that new necktie on your day of days.
Here's what we've got in mind:- made-from-scratch Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins. You may think you've had homemade muffins before, but I'm about to spill the beans: your muffins came from Duncan Hines. Or Betty Crocker. You've probably never had a genuine made-from-scratch blueberry muffin with fat pieces of fruit bursting from hot, crumbly, buttery breakfast cakes. mmmmmm.
It's the perfect time to find fresh blueberries at your local farmers' market so give them a try for your man on Fathers' Day. Cross my heart they're as easy to make as those boxes with little tins of BB-sized berries - and you'll even save a little "dough". (Yes, I realize muffins aren't made from dough, but even I knew better than to try to get away with "save a little batter".)
Now don't feel bad if you've been faking your muffins, Moms, because I've got a confession that will make you feel a lot better about the whole situation: my mother used Duncan Hines, too.
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Recommended Resources
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Our parents taught us to share. It's a good thing. "Recommended Resources" is our little cubby dedicated to favorite finds we want to share with you. Look for websites, books, articles, and more Finance, Food, and Fun. If you'd like to share your fav's or have problems you'd like to assign to our crack team of problem solvers, email us or post them on Facebook. We'll reply in this column.
Your June Recommended Resources:
Financial success all begins with the money...follow the money, right? We recommend the good old envelope system to our clients who want to really get serious about budgeting and money management. (In fact, I made up my own version of the envelope system 30 years ago. It worked fantastically, then Dave Ramsey stole my idea and the rest is history. Sigh.) Trouble is, the envelope system can be kind of cumbersome unless you are really committed and willing to devote the time to making it work.
Along comes Mvelopes, a virtual envelope system for the rest of humanity. I guess I could have thought of it first, but I didn't want another idea poached. Mvelopes has a free and a "pay-for" version with more bells and whistles. Their video training is easy to follow and the concept is a logical extension of the paper version, with some cool reports thrown in. A new book, The Behavior Gap demonstrates the do's and don'ts of investing using pictures that can be drawn on the back of a cocktail napkin. I love it because, above all, I'm a behavior manager. Control your behavior and you're well on your way to a secure retirement. This is a great place to start. Top of page
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Last night, Ben Stein was interviewed on TV and he said something that made me hit "pause" and run for a pen and paper. Ben Stein said, "Businesses are now sitting on the largest cash horde ever since records have been kept." Here's what that means (at least to me and excuse my French): we've had a crappy month in the stock market ONLY IF you have to sell in the near future. Otherwise, it's been a FABULOUS month. That's because businesses WILL HAVE to begin investing in the economy again. The only question is "When?" Always remember that if you get scared out of the market, you have to be right TWICE: when you get out and when you buy back in. Just stop listening to all of the paid talking heads arguing with each other at CNBC and stay calm.
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One of our prize winners!
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Patience is one of the most valuable qualities we can nurture. Michelle and I recently gave away stress balls and held prize drawings at the Mayfield Schools' Teacher Appreciation Day. We have begun a specialty giving financial and investment advice to school employees and the response has been tremendous! Here is Melanie Avent, one of our prize winners. You can find the other winners, including our Kindle winner, on our Facebook page!
This month's video is Risk Part II, the followup to last month's video - and you know that means it's CONTEST TIME! Here's our question: From 1926 - 2000, what ratio of return did equities earn to bonds? The answer is in the video and the first person who emails us or posts the correct answer on FACEBOOK wins a $10 Amazon gift certificate!!!  | |
Click the picture to see this month's video
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Big hugs from both of us! 
Johanna Fox Turner has worked in the financial services industry as a CPA for over 30 years and owns two businesses, Fox & Company, CPA, Inc. and Milestones Financial Planning, LLC. You can learn more by downloading her resume' from the Milestones Financial Planning website. |
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Milestones Financial Planning, LLC
907 Paris Road
Mayfield, KY 42066
270/247.0555 (phone)
270/247.2080 (fax)
800/991.2721 (toll-free)
advisor@milestonesfp.com
http://milestonesfp.com
� Milestones Financial Planning, LLC
All rights reserved
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