Almost everything that we encounter in life - from filling out paperwork at the DMV to washing our clothes - comes complete with instructions. Everything, that is, except money itself. For that, we have to rely on experience (often a cruel teacher) along with what our family/friends/co-workers might tell us. All of this is far from perfect, of course.

In the broadest terms, money provides us a means to accomplish things; to fix things; to avoid things. Just because we have money does not mean we know how to properly employ it towards these objectives. Most people don't know how to do this and many never learn how, despite trying all of their lives.

Money has no emotion, but we do. We mix emotion and money, and the outcome is often not what we imagined. It is difficult, if not impossible, to be truly dispassionate about our money because of all the emotions wrapped up in it. Our parents told us to do this with money; our spouse told us to do that. We are confused.

We come complete with hard wiring from the factory (DNA) that can be difficult to re-program. One of the best steps investors can take is to understand their natural tendencies -both good and not so good. Are we savers? Are we spenders? Are we gamblers? Our 30 years of experience tell us that "financial DNA" is real, and changing aspects of this can be frustrating.

Our role is to engage, clarify and provide objective advice about financial choices. Money impacts almost everything we do and it is much more than just investments. The reason investments and insurance products litter the financial landscape is that it is through these often complicated vehicles that the sales/marketing costs of the organizations (brokers, banks, etc.) are paid. Most people have too many of these expensive products and instead really need impartial advice. That is what we do. We are happy to visit with your friends, family or colleagues. Don't keep us a secret.