The Old Banana

Have you ever looked at a banana with spots and assumed that it was old, mushy and overly ripe inside? I usually don’t spend a lot of time talking about produce, but this is exactly what happened to me last week. A lone banana sat on my kitchen table and turned from bright green, AKA unripe, to yellow, AKA delicious, to neon yellow with dark spots, AKA too ripe/gross. I was pretty sure I had missed my window to enjoy it, so I let it sit there. Last Tuesday, I woke up late and didn’t have time for breakfast and took my inedible, geriatric banana with me to work. When I peeled back it’s tough, leathery exterior, I found that it was in perfect condition and tasty.

Here’s the infamous quote “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Since childhood, our parents, teachers and friends have given us this advice, but in the hustle of bustle of everyday life we often forget. Personally, there have been instances where I have judged solely on appearance. But I’ve learned through experience that a book’s cover can be misleading and we often miss the “fine print.” As in legal disclaimers and people alike, the fine print is only available if you take the time to read them. If I didn’t take the opportunity to read between the lines, I may have missed out on some of the most amazing relationships that have added and continue to add so much to my life.

When I was in boy scouts, one of our annual volunteering efforts was at the local convalescent home. Many of the elderly residents had no family and had been left alone in this world. We would do our annual visit during Christmas time. It didn’t take long for me to recognize, even as a child that they didn’t want presents, they just wanted your “presence.” They could care less about any gifts, but just wanted the opportunity to be listened to and heard. The first year, I assumed that I was about to be put into a room with a bunch of senile and irritable old people. This was hardly, the case. The majority of them had a youthful energy and had wisdom to share. Other times, I had assumed that teenagers are relatively simple and probably don’t know what’s important to them or have many goals, since I didn’t at that age. We need to learn to check our preconceived notions and judgments at the door. When you take the opportunity to learn about people, you may see an entirely different side than what you were expecting.

I have come to realize that there is beauty in nearly all people, if you open yourself up to it and stick around long enough to see it, you might also be blindsided and be amazed.

Wishing You Wealth in all its Greatest Forms,

Alex

Be Careful, It Might Be Contagious

I was thinking about my trip last year to New York. The flight out there was great, but on the return flight I had a two hour window to arrive in Chicago’s O’Hare airport to catch my flight back to Orange County. The plane out of La Guardia was delayed and I sat on the tarmac due to weather delays. Needless to say, I didn’t make it onto my connecting flight. United said that the rest of the flights were overbooked and would not be able to get me up in the air until morning. I opted to “sleep” in the airport. The airline wouldn’t provide me with a blanket or a pillow since I wasn’t on the plane and my luggage was headed to Orange County without me.

I watched the airport inhabitants turned from families to maintenance workers with mops and brooms. It was hard to find a quiet nook without the clang of rolling trash cans and vacuums. I settled on terminal 21. I laid there with my shoes on because as a child, I watched an ABC afterschool special, I feared that my shoes would be stolen like in a homeless shelter. I didn’t get much sleep and was pretty cranky until that morning.

In the morning, the first flight to Orange County was at 7:55am and I had a spot. As the time got closer to boarding, people started shifting about and looking at their cell phones and designer watches. As the boarding time came and went, people began to murmur. You could cut the tension in the air with a knige. Then one man turns to his wife and says “with how much we pay for plane tickets these days, you would think they would be able to look at a watch and take off on time.” Other people began complaining. Much like one domino falling in a row, you heard a chain of frustrated sighs across the terminal. At about 8:45am, they announced we would be boarding shortly. In anticipation, people stood up, crowded the doorway and began jockeying for position like horses approaching the finish line. Needless to say, people were now even more frustrated than before, because the contagious discontent washed over passengers like a tsunami. Being negative is contagious and spreads like cancer. Left untreated, it can be deadly.

As the time came to, those with small children were called to board. As my section was called I walked past the entrance and waiting to get to 17C. In first class was this toddler with headphones on watching a Disney movie on a portable DVD player. She smiled and giggled with carefree abandon. It was quite amazing to see passengers in front of me shift from disgruntled to happy at the sight and laughter of this young child. It served as a reminder that we are in fact contagious by association. We sometimes forget how much power we have to make someone’s day. The choice is yours, so choose wisely.

Wishing You Wealth in all its Greatest Forms,

Alex

A Reminder for the Way Forward

On a brisk Sunday morning, I woke up weary. The weather was the rare kind in California where you can actually see your own breath. The sun was shining after nearly a week of nonstop rain, ridiculously dubbed “Storm Watch 2010” by all major media outlets. As I stepped outside to feed the fish in the pond, I noticed that a snail seemed to be trapped on a cactus. All the other snails had probably already hidden themselves away before dawn. Snails are like vampires, they only come out under the guise of darkness.

There is a natural inclination to look down or judge those who move slowly. Whether, you are in line at the grocery store, in line at the bank or driving on the freeway. We think about all the things we could be doing if we just had more time. The reality is that if we had an extra 5 minutes, we would need 10 more and if we had 10, we would surely need an hour. We are always going to find time for those things that are important to us. For me, life sometimes moves at such a frantic pace that I fail to enjoy the moments since I am so caught up in accomplishing the goal, only to set another goal. I have to constantly remind myself to enjoy the moments that make up my days. Each moment can be a defining one.

Just like the snail, we sometimes end up in “sticky” situations. Often times, we have no idea how we got there and have no idea or plan of how we are going to get through it. I have learned time and time again that by committing yourself to making small strides in the right direction, that you not only figure it out, but might learn something along the way. I wouldn’t give up one mistake for another five years of life.

The snail slowly navigated all of those sharp cactus spines and was eventually rewarded with freedom two hours later. I think that is eleven months in snail years. We have eleven months left in 2010, so let's live and play full out.

Wishing You Wealth in all its Greatest Forms,

Alex

Should You Pay off Your Mortgage?

It's common that most people believe that you should pay off your mortgage before retirement. For many homeowners their mortgage is their largest expense. And it's also true that if they were able to eliminate their mortgage, that they would be able to reduce their need for income during their retirement years.

What people fail to see sometimes is that while paying off the mortgage does reduce expenses, it also eliminates a potential source of income. When you take funds from your savings and retirement accounts, you are removing funds from your capital base and compromising your ability to generate growth and income in your investment portfolio.

Paying off the mortgage definitely improves peace of mind, but sometimes the financial trade offs are just not worth it. Retirement accounts which are typically invested in mutual funds or other investments have the potential to grow at a much faster pace than real estate. In addition, once a home is paid off, it is difficult to tap the equity and reverse mortgages can be expensive.

Wishing You Wealth in all its Greatest Forms,

Alex

Problems with the Past

Not all financial planning works as it is supposed to. Since I have joined the profession, I have realized that every time I read an article, pick up a book or attend a seminar…some of the information is wrong. Keep in mind that this is not always the fault of the writer or financial advisor, but it’s because the advice is based on an experience that no longer exists.

The tools and techniques that most financial advisors use tend to be based on the millions of retirements that happened before they become planners or even went to college. Years ago, it was rare that most would be able to go to college or graduate degrees. Instead of having spent years in post secondary education, they started working early and worked for years and years. They were taught to live within their means, cut out debt and try to make due saving the little that they earned.

The key here is to make sure that the education that the financial advisor has is updated with today’s realities, including taxes and inflation. There was a great article on Marketwatch.com that discussed how over the last 10 years, many investors actually lost money in the stock market. This is not to say that one shouldn’t invest in the market, but to be aware that there is a need for newer thinking for many investors.

Wishing You Wealth in all its Greatest Forms,

Alex

Top 3 Bank Fees that Sting

It seems as if banks are on the offensive these days. The amount of interest they are earning on their deposits is way down, so the money has to come from somewhere. When you make a deposit at the bank, they lend out your money and get paid an interest rate and credit you a rate. For instance, they may receive 1.0% on your deposit and pay you 0.75% and they keep the difference…so in this scenario they are earning 0.25% on your money. Since rates are so low, savings accounts are paying very little and their income is way down.
For most banks, fee income is important during this economic downturn.

The top three fees that you should be aware of include:

1. Overdraft or Bounce Check. If you write a check for more money than you have in your account, you will be hit with this fee. This fee has been on a gradual rise and can range from $20-$30 per occurrence. The key is knowing what you have available in your account and balance your checking account regularly.

2. Bad Deposit Fee. If you try to deposit a check from someone and the check bounces, you are also charged a fee. It hardly seems fair, but only take checks from people who are good for the money.

3. ATM Fee. If you are using an ATM that doesn’t below to your bank, you are going to get charged to withdraw money. They always get me at the Orange County Fair, ball games and concerts. Make sure you get the money you will need before you head out or get used to paying to get at your money.

Wishing You Wealth in all its Greatest Forms,

Alex