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| 2nd Quarter 2011 | Vol 3, Issue 2 |
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| Greetings! |
 It has been a busy first quarter of 2011 for The PARAGON Team. Tax time, as we work to help clients get their tax information organized and to their tax professionals, is always a busy time of year. But that hasn't meant a lack of good times and other interesting events for us. As you'll see in this quarter's newsletter, we're enjoying helping clients plan for and live their retirement dreams - including travels to great places like Australia. We're helping clients find, plan for, and utilize various resources for kids or grandkids' college. And we've even done a little playing in the mud along the way. "Mud?" you say. Yep, check out the "Paragon's Mudders" team playing in the mud at the MS Mud Run - below.
All of us at PARAGON wish you a continued happy and healthy 2011.
Sincerely,
Jon, Michelle, Mike, and Karen
"The PARAGON Team" |
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Strategies for College Funding - Not Just Saving For It Jon Castle, CFP®, ChFC® | |
It seems that sending one's children or grandchildren to college to get a higher education is a very common financial goal - but strangely enough, one that few financial advisors, radio, or television money gurus discuss in much depth.
Sure - there are a couple of account "types" that are designed to be tax free or tax advantaged for college - but in my experience, these are rarely used to their full potential and usually offer little real advantage for most people. In addition, many of these "college" accounts are more hype than real value - and most of them come with hefty fees.
How can parents or grandparents make the most of resources for this goal? How can savvy savers increase the odds of qualifying for financial aid - even for those who might normally think "I make too much money to qualify"? |
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Client Travel Inspirations
PARAGON is pleased to bring back a newsletter favorite - with a new twist: "Client Travel Inspirations." This column highlights PARAGON clients and their travel adventures. One of the most common goals we hear in retirement planning is, "I want to travel!" With such a common desire, we thought maybe everyone could benefit from hearing the travel fun, tips, and do and don't suggestions from others taking those trips-of-a-lifetime. We hope you'll enjoy hearing about some of these fabulous life experiences that we get to interact with each day. | |
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURE
WITH SANDY AND DENNY SIMONSON
By: Sandy Simonson
The photo is all Oprah's fault. Denny's and my six days in Sydney, followed by a cruise around New Zealand, had been planned for almost a year. Our plans included seeing the Opera House, Sydney Zoo, The Rocks, Bondi Beach; basic tourist stuff. After watching Oprah's shows from Australia in which she and her entire audience did the climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we decided if they could do it, so could we. The day after arriving in Sydney, we purchased our only bargain there, a one week transit pass for $20 each, and headed off for the Bridge Climb. It was fantastic and well worth the money for both the climb and the official photos. We had completed a Bucket List item of an activity we didn't even realize was on our list. The Opera House is truly amazing. It was supposed to take 5 years to build at the cost of $7 million; it took 16 years and cost $102 million! The most incredible fact--it was totally paid for just 18 months after opening thanks to a lottery. The Sydney Botanical Gardens (admission is free) next to the Opera House features birds, trees and plants seen only in Australia as well as trees we recognized. There's much to see and do in Sydney; just be sure to bring plenty of money. We want very much to return to Australia to see the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. Aussies we met suggested we fly from place to place and that we needed to be retired so we have plenty of time. We talked to other travelers who'd chosen an Australian company that had made all their air and land transportation, tour and hotel reservations; all were pleased with their trips.
The second part of our trip was a 13 night cruise around New Zealand. We were unable to stop in Christchurch because of the earthquake that occurred just after we left Sydney. We couldn't go around New Zealand either because of a cyclone in the Milford Sound area. We did make six stops; five on the north island and one on the south island. We were able to choose to pay additional for shore excursions; at some stops we did tours and on others we went on our own. New Zealand is spectacular and made us want to watch "The Lord of the Rings" again to remind us how beautiful it is. In Wellington, the San Francisco style cable car is a funicular railway to the top of the Botanic Garden. The leisurely downhill walk passes flower gardens and trees and ends at Lady Norwood Rose Garden. We saw many butterflies and thought it too bad that hummingbirds are not found outside the Americas as they would have loved the flowers! Next time, we'll fly to New Zealand and rent a car and drive to see some of what we missed. We met several people who said they'd done bus tours in NZ and found them to be very, very good.
The entire trip was excellent and we are so glad we did it. The food, especially the seafood, was wonderful; I loved the New Zealand boysenberry ice cream and Australian whipped cream that is so rich it's yellow. Because flying to either Australia or New Zealand is a 14 hour nonstop from LAX, Aussies told us that from LAX, next time we should fly Qantas or Singapore airlines for excellent service, even in coach. Noted. Next time.
The PARAGON Team wishes to extend a big "thank you" to Sandy Simonson for taking the time and effort to author this article for us. Sandy has recently retired after a successful career as a nurse anesthetist. This article may be the start of another one of Sandy's retirement goals. In a recent e-mail she writes: "I thought that once I retired, I might re-dabble in writing." We think you're well on your way, Sandy! |
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Can I, Should I, Roll Money from a 401(k) to an IRA? Mike Carignan, CFP®, CRPC® | |
One of the most common retirement and investment planning questions we hear is "Can I roll money from my 401(k) to my IRA?" A follow-on question to that usually is, "Should I?"
Let's break through the clutter and talk about whether or not you CAN move money from an employer plan - 401(k), 403(b), TSA, 457, SEP, and other similar plans.
Then let's talk about whether or not you should, which generally involves some different considerations from whether or not you can.
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 " PARAGON'S MUDDERS" Get Dirty In Their First MS Mud Run
On Saturday, March 26th, Michelle Ash, Mike Carignan, along with five other Paragon friends, teamed up to form PARAGON'S MUDDERS, our first charity event team. The team took the run's slogan to heart and got dirty for a great cause as they spent 2-1/2 hours completing the 10k run with approximately 20 muddy obstacles. Jared Castle and Maria Castle, Jon's kids, ran the under age-13 kids' run, which traversed 3/4 of a mile and five kids' size obstacles. Collectively, the team members raised over $1,700 to help create a world free of MS (Multiple Sclerosis). Funds donated support research, as well as local programs to help those living with MS.
If this sounds like fun, be sure to mark your calendars for next year's event. Paragon's Mudders will be back again, and we'd love to have you join us! As the slogan goes, YOU'LL NEVER GET THIS DIRTY FOR ANYTHING THIS GOOD!
 | | Before the run.... |
 | | After the run... |
 | | Michelle walks a tightrope |
 | | Mike makes a splash |
 | | Jared shows off a cannonball water entry |
 | | Maria does the low-crawl |
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Social Security to Stop Mailing Annual Statements
Michelle Ash, CFP®, CDFA™ |
 We all know our federal government needs to tighten its belt. Apparently one of the ways they've decided to do so is by suspending the mailing of American's annual social security statements. According to a recent article, the Social Security Administration will not mail any statements for the next several months. Assuming they resume mailings in the future, they will likely only do so for Americans over the age of 60 who are not currently receiving benefits. The Social Security Administration indicates they hope to resume mailings sometime in the fall of 2011.
Younger workers can still retrieve their social security estimates, however. They just have to do it online. Statements retrieved online will be based on a worker's actual work history. To view more social security information or to log in, go to www.ssa.gov/estimator.
Source: http://money.msn.com/retirement/article.aspx?post=25a6ebe2-e5c2-403b-bcc1-4d946946b812>1=33013
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EMoney Online Wealth Management System - Check it Out!
Karen Rasmussen, Client Service Associate | |
Have you checked out our new Emoney online system yet? If not, you should!
Through our Emoney system, PARAGON's clients get all of the following capabilities:
- Aggregate all financial assets in one place with real-time balances
- A living financial plan that updates with your assets and situation
- Ability to set alerts when you achieve portfolio and other financial milestones
- Online storage vault to store all your important papers, accessible anywhere
- View all of your airline and hotel points program data aggregated & updated
- And MORE!
If you're not already taking advantage of the Emoney system, but want to, please contact our office for the rollout.
Stay tuned to future newsletters for further Emoney tips.
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| Upcoming Educational Events | |
Being better informed often allows you to make better financial decisions. That's why at PARAGON we try to offer several free or low-cost educational opportunities each year. Upcoming events in 2nd Quarter 2011 include:
1. Investor Education Series with Market Update
Thursday, June 23rd at 6:30 p.m. - 8:00p.m.
Held at UNF's University Center
Cost: FREE with RSVP
RSVP: Contact Karen at (904) 861-0093
2. Retirement Planning Today class through UNF's LearnJAX program
A 6-hour course examining many aspects of personal finance and how
they work together to create an integrated retirement plan.
Conducted over two Tuesday or two Thursday evenings
June 2 - 9 or Jun 7 - 14
6:30p.m. - 9:30p.m. each evening
Cost: $69 (to UNF)
To register, contact Karen at (904) 861-0093
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| Dollars and Sense |
 Identity Theft is unfortunately on the rise. Anyone who's suffered this theft can tell you it can be costly, and even if funds are recouped, dealing with it can be very time-consuming. If you've ever wondered why there wasn't a way to mitigate this loss, guess what - there is. Identity theft insurance coverage is now available from most major carriers. Some companies offer stand-alone policies, while others make it a rider on auto or other policies. Most policies offset both the losses from financial thefts, as well as pay funds to hire appropriate professionals to help clean up the problem.
While PARAGON doesn't handle P&C coverages, we would be pleased to discuss this financial topic with you further if you have questions. |
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PARAGON is still accepting clients who care deeply about the financial situation and are looking for assistance in managing it. If you know someone we may be able to help, please feel free to let them know about us. Thank you!
Investment advisory services provided by Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC, a registered investment advisor. |
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