F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S , L L C
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www.MattsonFinancial.com
October 2017
Fall, Family, and Fun Preparing for the Next Season of Life
Are you ready? It’s time to make sure you are prepared for fall, family, and fun. You may be asking yourself, what exactly does “fall, family, and fun”mean? Well, over the years we have run into situations when a client didn’t have a plan in place — a legal plan — so we could effectively do our job as a financial advisor. Fall is the perfect time to ensure your legal plan is in place. You do it for your family. You do it so you can focus on more important things, like enjoying the time you have with family and friends during the upcoming holiday season. As a fiduciary and financial advisor, it’s our job to give you the best information and walk you through the best scenarios to help get you where you want to go as you approach retirement — or even if you are already into retirement. We are here for you. When it comes to your financial dreams, goals, and desires, we have the expertise and tools to help you grow your income and put it to work for you. These are only part of the overall picture. What happens to your financial dreams, goals, and desires when you are not well? All too often, people get sick or develop dementia without warning. Dementia has become a huge issue for retirees. Illness can sneak up on us and leave our loved ones trying to figure out what to do next. Unfortunately, we’ve seen it happen. We had a client who recently retired, and at that point, he began to draft a plan for the future. He was creating a plan for him and his family that would ensure income for years to come. However, as he was doing this, he became seriously ill and ended up in a coma.
Because he was going through the planning process and had not completed the necessary paperwork, everything came to a standstill. A major source of income was left untapped, and there was nothing the family could do. Assets were put on hold, and the family couldn’t pay bills. Short-term, all of his work was null and void until he could finish the paperwork. Now, I know what you’re going to say:“This isn’t going to happen to me.”As much as we want this to be true, we cannot predict the future. This scenario plays out every day around the country. Families are left without a source of income because there wasn’t a plan in place for the future. Dementia, for instance, can come on quickly or slowly, and it has the power to thwart all available planning tools we have. It’s an unfortunate reality. Let’s say a client does develop dementia. One day, the client calls us up because he heard craft beers were doing exceptionally well in Grand Rapids. He says sell everything and reinvest in nothing but craft beer. As a fiduciary, it’s up to us
to recommend a different course of action, but by law, we must fulfill the client’s request.
This is when a legal plan is necessary. When you have a legal plan in place, there is documentation stating how we are to handle this or any similar scenario. We can put your legal plan into action and give your family peace of mind knowing everything is taken care of. If you do have a legal plan in place, don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking you don’t have to revisit it. Be sure to review your plan and update as needed—particularly during times when you do have your health. This fall, while you’re enjoying your time with family and as you celebrate together and have fun, make sure your legal plan is complete. Make sure the paperwork is done and your financial advisor knows exactly what to do should the unforeseen occur. –Gary Mattson
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4 Ways You May Be Able to Prevent Dementia Before It Starts
Dr. James Levins of the National Institutes of Health made headlines when he announced, after 15 years of research, that “sitting is the new smoking.” Dr. Levine determined sitting for prolonged hours leads to obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, and can increase the likelihood of developing certain forms of cancer. To many people, the answer was clear: Just stand up! Standing desks have become all the rage as office workers everywhere switch from sitting in one place all day to standing in one place all day. And the benefits have been … almost imperceptible. While you do burn more calories standing than you do sitting, the fact remains you’re still not moving. Keeping your body in the same position for hours is what From the moment you wake up in the morning, it feels like a dense fog fills your head. When you drag yourself out of bed and go to make yourself a plate of eggs and toast, it suddenly seems like a much more complicated task than before. You lose track of time, and the smell of smoke enters your nostrils. Frantically turning the burner off, it occurs to you that you can’t remember the day of the week. According to Time Magazine, 47 million people around the world live with some type of dementia. Typically, as we age, we’re told that all we can do is hope for the best and bide our time until there’s a cure, but recent
research by the Alzheimer’s Research Center paints a different picture. A set of simple lifestyle changes may be the key to staving off cognitive decline as we get older. Regular exercise has been shown to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 50 percent, according to Help Guide, and it can even slow the onset of already-present cognitive decline. Walk or swim for about 150 minutes each week, along with two to three sessions of moderate resistance training, as well as balance and coordination exercises. Check out eldergym.com for more info on staying active as you age.
Heart-healthy eating may also protect the brain. Limit your intake of sugar and saturated fats and eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Replace butter and margarine with olive or canola oil. Two diets that have been linked to heart health are the DASH diet (dashdiet.org) and the Mediterranean diet. Frequent social engagement may help keep your brain sharp. Make efforts to speak face to face with someone you’re close to as often as you can. Try to make new friends, volunteer, join a club or social group, get to know your neighbors, or connect with people over social media.
HOW TO FIGHT THE NEGATIVE PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF YOUR DESK JOB
leads to all of those health risks Dr. Levins warns about, whether you sit or stand. It would be more accurate to say sedentary is the new smoking. Now, don’t think you can erase the damage from being sedentary at work by hitting the gym when you clock out. Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that, among individuals who spend most of their day in a sedentary position, those who engaged in regular physical activity were only 30 percent less likely to die from sedentary- related health problems than those who didn’t exercise at all.
them to remain confined to a desk. If switching to a career that keeps you up and moving all day isn’t a possibility, how can we cure our sedentary problems? The answer isn’t standing; it’s moving. Human beings are meant to be up and moving around! That’s why staying still all day hurts us so much. A desk job doesn’t have to destroy your health. If you need to send an IM or a brief email, walk over and deliver the message in person instead. Take phone calls while walking around or, better yet, conduct meetings while on a walk outside. Even periodic desk exercises can be beneficial. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you sit or stand. Make sure to move around at least once an hour to avoid serious damage to your health.
So, what are we supposed to do? Seventy percent of Americans have jobs that require
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TIPS FOR BUYING A CAR DURING RETIREMENT
Mental stimulation may also be important to brain health as we age. Study something new to you, such as a foreign language or a musical instrument. Make reading books and newspapers part of your regular routine. Try doing crossword or sudoku puzzles. It’s not difficult to find an activity you enjoy that will also help keep your brain active.
Maybe your decades-old car finally bit the dust. Maybe your ride got totaled by a teenager on a smartphone. Or maybe you just want a new set of wheels. There are a lot of reasons why you may find yourself looking to buy a car, and there are a lot of questions to answer before you do. The first question is, did you plan for this expense? The average American buys a new car every seven to 10 years, so if you plan on 20 years of retirement, you need to factor in at least two car purchases during that time — and possibly more. The second question is the biggest one: Where’s the money going to come from? Most people, including most retired people, will finance their new car and trade in the old one. This is a good option for people with steady retirement income, such as those drawing a pension. But it might be harder to get a loan if your income is less consistent, say, if you liquidate investment assets every month to pay the bills. Third, could you just pay cash? Most of us don’t have buckets of the stuff lying around, but you can always tap into an IRA or other account for the money to buy a car. Try to do half in December and half in January to split the tax penalty between two years. You could also sell off two cars and use the money they generate to buy one, which will cut down on other car-related expenses as well. The last question is, what are the hidden costs? Maintenance and repairs are just par for the course, but they don’t tell you that as you age, your insurance premiums could go up, especially after that texting teenager T-boned you. Your retirement planner should have a big-picture idea of what you should plan and watch out for when you buy a car.
LAUREL’S SAUSAGE AND BARLEY SOUP
Ingredients
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Cooking spray
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1 (141/2-ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped 1/4 cup uncooked quick-cooking barley 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach
6 ounces turkey breakfast sausage 21/2 cups frozen bell pepper stir-fry
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2 cups water
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Directions
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Remove from heat. 2. While sausage cooks, place stir-fry and 2 cups water in a blender; process until smooth. 3. Add stir-fry puree, tomatoes, and barley to sausage in pan. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in spinach; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts.
Recipe courtesy of CookingLight.com.
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F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S , L L C
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3226 28th Street SE Kentwood, MI 49512 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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Preparing for the Next Season of Life Can You Prevent Dementia Before It Starts? Can a Desk Job Be Part of a Healthy Lifestyle? Sausage and Barley Soup Buying a Car During Retirement
Is This the Most Bizarre Tragedy in History?
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**Reminder: If you have any changes to your financial situation, please notify us as soon as possible.
Investment advisory services are offered through Mattson Financial Services, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser in the state of Michigan. Insurance products and services are offered through Lakeview Financial Group, LLC. Mattson Financial Services, LLC, and Lakeview Financial Group, LLC are affiliated companies.
Is the Great Chicago Fire History’s Most Bizarre Tragedy?
By the time the last flame of the Great Chicago Fire fizzled out on October 10, 1871, 300 people were dead, a third of Chicago’s population was homeless, and 4 square miles of city were destroyed. Reflecting on the disaster begs the question: Was it the most bizarre tragedy ever? By October, 1871, Chicago only had 1 inch of rain all year, which is far less than the annual average of 35 inches. While the exact cause is unclear, historians commonly accept that a cow belonging to a Mrs. O’Leary started the fire in a barn on DeKoven Street by kicking over a lantern.
Firemen responded immediately, but a watchman sent them to the wrong place by mistake, giving the unusual Southwest winds time to send the fire roaring toward the heart of the city. Most of Chicago’s buildings were made of wood, and the newly developed tar on the rooftops was incredibly flammable. As the fire grew, the firefighters hoped the Chicago River would be a natural firebreak, but the city’s riverside had recently gained more lumber and coal yards, causing the fire to jump the river. As the air over the city overheated, it came into contact with cooler air, and a spinning fire tornado developed.
After the fire jumped the river, a burning piece of timber lodged on the roof of the city’s waterworks building, destroying it and halting the city’s water supply. By the time the fire died over a day later, 73 miles of roads and $4 billion (in 2017 dollars) of property were destroyed. All this came about because of a cow, a drought, a bad watchman, some short-lived building materials, and a literal fire tornado. Modern safeguards wouldn’t allow this to happen today, which is very fortunate. If the disaster happened the same way today, it wouldn’t displace 1,000 people; it would displace 1 million.
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