Dear ,
Welcome to September 2013 issue of The Wealth Chronicle!
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Can Student Loans Wreck Your Retirement?
When you put a retirement plan together some of the things that you have to address are how to handle inflation, healthcare expenses, market volatility, and taxes. One derailer of a successful, happy retirement can actually happen many years earlier in your teens and early 20's - Student Debt.
A study was recently published that compared households with an average student loan debt of $53,000 to those who carried no such debt. The average lifetime wealth loss was $208,000 with $134,000 coming out of retirement savings. Not having that $134,000 can mean the difference from a comfortable retirement to one that is a struggle.
Last month I published an article about the rules and options for college funding. Saving as early as possible and taking advantage of plans like 529's are the best way to help pay for your child's education and ensure that the impact to their retirement due to student debt is minimized. | |
JACK ANDRAKA - PREPARE TO BE AMAZED
I recently came across a story I wanted to share about Jack Andraka, and what he accomplished in the field of Pancreatic cancer research and detection. What makes Jack's story so much amazing is that he is did it at 15 years old. Here is a video of a speech he gave at TED talk. It shows that anything can be accomplished. |
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Inventing a Low-Cost Test for Cancer at Age 15: Jack Andraka at TEDxMidAtlantic 2012 |
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SEPTEMBER IS LIFE INSURANCE AWARENESS
MONTH
Life Insurance Awareness Month is a month to put the spotlight on Life Insurance and how it can help prevent financial catastrophes for families. This year's spokesperson is Boomer Esiasion:
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Personal Finance and Investments LinkedIn Group
Would you like to learn more about finance and investments. Then I would like to invite you to join the new LinkedIn group I created to discuss Personal Finance and Investments. The purpose of the group is to share ideas, best practices, strategies, and challenges related to personal finance and investments. Feel free to post a question, join a discussion, or simply listen in.
Join Personal Finance and Investments Group
Hope to connect with you soon in the group!
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GUEST POST - DR. JASON TIRADO
The following is a guest post from Dr. Jason Tirado, a Hudson County Chiropractor that I wanted to share. Jason recalls a night that he ordered pizza from the local pizzeria and the importance of great customer service.
How to Stand out in a Crowded Marketplace
Good morning. A little cold here this morning in Northern New Jersey...I just finished taking my dog for an extra long walk.
I needed to do that because I had to walk off the pizza I ate late last night! Funny how when I was a kid I would eat 1 slice maybe two. Today at 47 it seems like two slices just isn't gonna do it anymore! For some reason my body craves two slices at a minimum, and it looks for a third! Is it me? Is it the Pizza?
So why am I talking about "Pizza"? It's because last night when I ordered take out delivery service, something happened that really made me take notice of the pizza place that I was ordering from.
What made me take notice of the Pizza shop was the level of service that they were giving me just over the phone, that I immediately became a raving fan, and decided that I needed to model my chiropractic office after what they were doing!
"So what was so amazing about the pizza?... or was it the level of service"
Well the service was so good that It didn't matter what the pizza taste like!
When I called to order they asked me for my phone number, they then pulled me up on from their database and greeted me by saying "Hello Dr. Tirado, would you like to have a large pie with pepperoni again and a liter of diet coke sent to your house at 6035 Blvd. East West New York NJ. (I'm using my office address for example purposes of course)
I was amazed that they had remembered my name my address and what I had ordered last...they had me on file...
They then asked me...
"Dr. Tirado if you don't have cash available would you like to put it on a credit card including a tip for the driver? (they did have a ten dollar limit). We could send you an electronic receipt to your email at drtirado@aol.com"
Wow...They had my email... the amazing service continued...
"Dr. Tirado for being a loyal customer we would like to send you a half dozen garlic knots on the house would that be ok?"
They knew my weakness... Garlic KNots and Freebies...But it didn't stop there...
When they delivered the pizza to my door, the driver arrived wearing a white shirt and a black tie, also wearing clean gloves... something you would expect a waiter to wear at a high end restaurant.
The excellent service didn't stop there...and this part really blew me away...
When they dropped off the pizza the delivery guy asked me the following using my first name!...
Dr. Tirado we are trying to minimize the amount of garbage that people accumulate, would you like us to take the pizza box for you and throw it away!
All I could say was wow... When was the last time you tried stuffing a pizza box in your kitchen garbage can and getting it to fit... It's harder than completing a "Rubix Cube"
I don't think I need to tell you how successful this pizza place is. It's the number one place in my town for obvious reasons. Sure they're a little more expensive... but I don't mind paying for it.
So the moral of this story is... what are you doing that's causing you to stand out in your business!
What level of service are you giving to your customers. Would you be wowed by your level of service if you were your own customer?
You and I can't afford to be the same as everyone else. We need to stand out from the crowd and be different.
Being good today isn't good enough. Being very good today still isn't good enough!
Being Excellent is the only thing that is acceptable to today's consumer.
Because being excellent is hard and it takes commitment everyday every week every year your in business. If it was easy, every business would be excellent!
But their not... and that's your advantage... because being excellent is a skill that not many businesses are willing to make. For example in my chiropractic office we have free Valet Parking for our patients because I know how difficult it is to find a parking spot on Blvd. East.
When you arrive we offer all patients coffee tea juice or cold water.
Most doctors office hand you a bevy of paper work to fill out when you first get there by an old women sitting behind a glass wall... We minimize our paper work to one simple sheet handed to you by a young attractive woman who greets you pleasantly when you arrive.
I'm not giving you these examples of my office to just shamelessly plug our services... only to give you a sample of how a simplechiropractic office can also be different than others and develop the skill of being excellent.
And if a pizza place and chiropractic office surrounded by other similar businesses offering similar services can stand out from others by being excellent and different so can your business.
Here's a great video I want you to watch on youtube (Preview) about the importance of standing out in a crowded market. It's by Seth Godin and he talks about the advantages of being different. It's called "How to Get Your Ideas to Spread" (Preview)
Jason Tirado D.C. USA Chiropractic 6035 Blvd. East West New York, NJ 07093 www.westnewyorkchiropractor.com www.usachiropracticblog.com 201-453-1555
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Please contact me if you have any questions about the articles above or about your personal or business finances.
Sincerely,
Marc Bautis Wealth Manager
office: 201-842-7655
cell: 201-221-6895
fax: 201-754-9760
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Disclaimer:The information contained in this newsletter is for information purposes only and may not be suitable for your specific financial situation. You should consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions relating to the information contained in this newsletter
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 | MEET MARC |
Marc Bautis is a Wealth Manager specializing in working with young families as well as retirees and those nearing retirement. He understands that everyone wants to not only protect their principal, but also be sure that their money lasts. He is committed and proud to deliver independent advice, always in the interest of his clients.
Marc is the creator of the Retirement Fitness Challenge™, a program designed to be sure his clients enjoy the retirement years as they have always envisioned them. Marc's program is designed to prevent outliving your money but also to minimize expenses during retirement and find the best time to start taking Social Security benefits. Marc is also the author of a recent book The Retirement Fitness Challenge: Shape Up Your Finances and Make Your Money Last a Lifetime, which is available on Amazon.com.
Marc is a graduate of Seton Hall University. He is a Bergen County native, from Lyndhurst, where much of his extended family still resides. He currently lives in Hasbrouck Heights with his wife Katie, new daughter Charlotte and Old English Bulldog, Winnie.
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