Marc’s Musings

If you try to garden in any part of the country infested with deer you know what gyrations it takes to keep them out of your yard and especially your garden. Deer are lovers of young plants and can decimate your hard work in a single night unless you have taken steps to keep them out. This can take many forms and involve much time and money but I have found a way to slow these critters down and keep my plants protected that is easy and affordable. With a small investment of time and money you too can create this for your garden. Here is what I did.

My garden is a little different in that it is built above a retaining wall but you can create the same thing with any garden configuration.

Basic tools and items needed:

Table Saw

Power drill and ¼” bit

Sledge hammer

(3) 1″x6″x8′ treated deck boards $3.97 ea.

(9) 5′ metal fence posts (U-Post) $4.45 ea.

(1) 280′ roll of 50 pound test fishing line $3.36

(1) box 2″ wood screws $5.45

Take the deck boards and split them vertically into 3 individual posts 1 3/4″ wide. Space each post about 6 feet apart and push or bury at least a foot into the ground. Place the metal fence post next to the wood post and drive into the ground at least up to top of the triangular plate to secure it firmly into the ground. Beginning about 1 foot from the ground, drill a hole into the wooden stakes spacing them about one foot apart up to the top of the post. String the fishing line through the posts and tie it off making sure that it is tight to the feel. You may have to come back in a week or so and retighten the lines as they will stretch out slightly so make sure that you leave enough string on each end and tie a knot that can be undone without having to cut the line.

As you can see, my garden is built above a retaining wall so I chose to put the fence on only three sides. The deer will jump into the garden from the front however, so I used the posts without the fishing line in the front hoping that the deer would assume that there was line there also. If you are using a raised bed or conventional rectangular garden you could leave a single opening or create a gate system that allowed you to open a small portion to access your garden to tend and harvest.

My total cost for this fence was $60.77. Using this simple system has saved me from having to use more expensive and unsightly fencing systems. I hope it does the same for you.

As I look back on my life it seems obvious that I should have always been a teacher. I was on that track as a graduate student in Philosophy. What do you do with a degree in Philosophy? You teach…Philosophy!

Unfortunately for me, I woke up one day in 1975 and said to myself, “what could I do with a degree in Philosophy? Teach? Do I want to do that? I don’t think so.”

It seems simple enough until you realize, with a lifetime of experience, that you should have been a teacher.

I justify this decision by saying that I was a teacher for the last 22 years. I built my business by doing workshops at companies and adult education classes. I always liked getting up in front of people, even though I am private with most people.

As I have been making this transition from Financial Planner to Middle School Teacher I have begun to reflect on what I have to contribute.

1. I love people. I am genuinely interested in who you are.
   
2. I quickly adapt to my circumstances. I can assess and adjust to let people know that I am with them.
   
3. I know that every person is unique, important and worthy. Everyone wants to excel at something.
   
4. I know that people learn in different ways. Not everyone will understand.
   
5. I know that it is more important to learn how to learn than learn to remember. Know that you can acquire any skill, learn any language, and achieve any goal if you know how to learn.
   
6. I know that if I can reach just one child every year that I will have fulfilled on my destiny.
   

Like most of you, I want to make a difference. We all want to leave some kind of mark, some legacy, even if it is just with our family. We want to be remembered, as a way to keep ourselves alive a little longer.

If you’ve raised children you have already left a legacy. How will your children remember you? How will they relate to you? Whatever it is, you have left your imprint on them.

If you have built a business you have already left a legacy. How will the employees remember you? How will your customers remember you? How will your community remember you?

If you have worked in any profession that requires human contact you have left a legacy. How will you be remembered?

The larger personal goal, yet to be realized, is to know that you have made a difference, that you have made an impression, that you got through to someone, that you connect to people in a way that makes life better for you and them.

With your help I can accomplish this goal. I really would like your assistance in my endeavor by introducing me to any teachers or principals that you know in the Raleigh/Durham area. Any advice you have that you think would help me, please email me so we can set up a time to talk.

I know that I am needed and wanted out there and I look forward to stepping out.

Marc

Today I sold my securities business to Ameriprise Financial. I also had a talk tonight with the Raleigh Industrial Engineering Society.

It was an interesting day.

I have been working as a financial planner for almost 22 years. I started out because I was unemployed. I was laid off from a job as an office manager for Patsy Aiken Designs. Patsy’s husband Joel ran the office and had designed his own accounting program in Microsoft Access.

I had some experience with Access and felt that I could master his “simple” program. I was there 60 days and I don’t think I got one weeks payroll right the whole time. The Aiken’s laid me and two other people, they had hired at the same time as me, off due to limited resources. In other words, they couldn’t afford us and we did not produce any revenue. . . . . .

But I digress!

I got started in this industry by going to a job fair. I don’t remember where it was, but I met some people with a company called Waddell and Reed Financial Services. I remember meeting Steve Stringberg. He was the district manager of the Raleigh office. It was a day that changed my life.

I remember coming home and declaring to my then wife, Karin, that I got a job that day. She said “great, how much are they going to pay you?” I said “nothing, it’s straight commission!”

You could probably fill in the ending to that story.

But I persisted and somehow I managed to make a living at it.

Along the way I met some wonderful people. Some of them I did business with and feel that I honestly helped. Others were great moments to get to know another life traveler and share a little bit of myself.

I just love helping people. I get joy out of doing little things that say “I love you.” Making that physical and psychic connection, even if it is just for a moment, can make a great day out of an OK day.

The many people that I met in seminars, at trade shows and through referrals will always be important to me. They were the basis of my life during this last quarter century.

I don’t mean to sound too “New Age” but I see life as an adventure, something to be enjoyed. I see myself as someone who likes people and likes life and I want people to like me.

The hardest thing for me to get to, in order to make this sale, was the idea that I was letting my clients down. Somehow I was falling short on a promise that I made to some of them, that I would never leave them.

In order to feel that I had done my best I had to find a suitable home for them, and I know that I have with the two planners I found at Ameriprise Financial, David and Adam.

I know that they will be in good hands and that I have done my duty so I can free myself from my own obligation.

I hope, if you are one of those people, that you will give David and Adam an opportunity to share their knowledge with you.

I also shared some of my knowledge tonight with the Raleigh Chapter of the International Industrial Engineering Society.

It is always fun to share my knowledge with people. I did this for my friend Becky Krier. She reminded me, tonight, that we had met at Martin Brossman’s Artists, Healers and Teachers party a few years ago.

They had a small group but there were some good questions and they added some good thoughts along the way. It was an appropriate way to end a day filled with more deep emotion than I have felt in a long time.

So now is a new beginning. I am freeing myself so that I can move forward to what is next.

Some of you know that I am looking at becoming a teacher. This is something I should have been doing my whole adult life. I was on that path at one time in my life, but then, it didn’t feel right.

I am signed up for the NC teach program and am looking at Middle School Social Studies right now.

I am apprehensive but whenever I mention it to anyone they all say “oh, you would be great at that” so I guess I am on the right path.

If you can help me progress in this endeavor in any way, or you just want to share an idea with me, I would love to hear from you. I am truly on a new adventure and will welcome every fellow traveler along the way.

Marc

Wow! We keep asking ourselves, “Can it get any worse?”, and it appears that the answer to that is YES.

As I write this today at 10:00 am the Dow Jones is down over 200 points again and there doesn’t seem to be anything the government or business can do about it. The one consolation is that we will have a three day weekend for the markets with a banking holiday on Monday. It seems that progress can be made over days when the markets can’t react immediately.

I know that we will get through this as we have gotten through every other challenge our economy has faced over its history but when you are in it, it can really hurt. I know that we have all lost money and that it will take time to recover what is gone but there are a few things you can do right now to protect yourself.

First, you should already be in cash in your 401k plans. The market may fall still further and there will continue to be a lot of volatility until this credit crisis gets resolved. If you are concerned that you will miss some good days ahead know that you will also be missing some of the bad ones as well.

Next, you should look at some of the new investment vehicles out there that offer what are called “living benefits”. These plans, offered by insurance companies, guarantee a future income stream with a minimum return of 6 or 7% on your investment that you cannot outlive, even if your account value drops to zero. There are a number of good companies that offer these products and I would be happy to discuss them with you if you like.

If you are participating in plans where you are contributing on a monthly basis, do not stop. Even if you have moved the bulk of your 401k to cash your future investments should be invested in the market since you are buying shares at better and better prices. This will help when the market recovers as these shares that you bought on sale will recover faster.

Don’t pull your money out of the bank. No one has lost a dime yet and with the insured amounts lifted to $250,000 (there is even a proposal on the table to make this unlimited) your money is safe. The worst thing we could do to insure a depression would be for us to make it even harder for banks to make loans because there is less capital on deposit.

Talk to a professional about your money. I hear too many people say they don’t want to do anything for fear of doing the wrong thing. Doing nothing, however, may be the wrong thing. There are ways to protect your investments and provide future growth, so open those statements and then find out what you can do.

I know this is a scary time, but be assured that we will get through this and life will get better.

Let me know if I can help you.

Marc

Do you sometimes feel like you are connected to something bigger than yourself?

We often go through our days oblivious to anything outside of ourselves and content to ignore the life that is all around us but sometimes life forces us to notice what is always there.

Last weekend Sandy and I took a short trip to the beach (one of the great joys of living in Central North Carolina is the ability to be at the beach or in the mountains within 2 ½ to 3 hours) and I was once again confronted with the majesty, beauty and power that is our living planet.

As we climbed over the bridge on the dunes to the beach I was awe struck at what lay before me. This gigantic body of living ocean lapping up on the shore with the power of untold gallons of water, salt and sand. With every wave crashing on the shore I could feel the very planet inhaling and exhaling life and vitality.

It has been some time since we have been to the ocean so I am sure that the impact of being in the presence of this massive body of water would not have struck me so profoundly had it been a more mundane experience.

What I was left with was a profound feeling of connectedness both with the planet but also to every living person, animal and plant that was present around me. The feeling was so profound that you might even call it a religious experience, a deep gratitude for the senses to experience such beauty, power and grace and the profound sense of my connection to it all.

If you have never had the opportunity to feel a connection like this, I encourage you to take the time to get out in nature, put your mind on hold and just get present to the planet that is alive all around you.

Regardless of what we create as humans there is nothing to compare to what God has created for us. It is free and available at each and every moment of each and every day.

I hope you can take a minute today to experience a little and give thanks for life you have been given.

I am thankful for mine.

Marc

Last Sunday it happened. The Treasury Department took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage holders in the world. The combined mortgage holdings of these two giants is just north of $5.4 Trillion. That is a lot of money no matter what country you live in.

The good news is that the takeover will help to stabilize the markets that have been shaky for months, wondering if these two companies would survive the mortgage meltdown that is occurring here and around the world. The bad news is that it may make it more difficult to get a loan for a home or a business in the months ahead because the plan requires both entities to sharply reduce their mortgage holdings in the future.

The moves by Treasury and Congress a few months ago was designed to allow these companies to increase their lending in both dollars and the size of loans in order to provide some liquidity to the distressed mortgage markets. With the takeover and reduction in portfolios, money will now be exiting the markets instead.

There is also danger in the banking sector as most banks still have not disclosed the extent of the losses from bad mortgage loans on their books. I did notice in the paper this morning that mortgage rates dropped yesterday on the news of the takeover and may go still lower in the future but that is hollow news if the banks and lenders are still unwilling to make loans on any terms.

You see, banks can leverage every dollar deposited by ten times. If they have $1 million in assets they can lend out $10 million. For every dollar that a bank or lender writes off the books he must reduce his leverage or increase his deposits. Right now banks are in a squeeze and you and I are caught in the middle of it.

How did we get into this mess? The blame lies in two areas, from my perspective. First, Wall Street allowed the formation and sale of all of these loans as if they were all AAA credit worthy. Second, Congress took money, lots of it, from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to look the other way and make excuses for their risky actions and they are still making excuses today. It is probably high time that we start holding someone responsible for this mess since we, the taxpayers, will end up paying for all of it.

So what can you do? Stay liquid, keep your credit on solid ground and educate yourself about what your public representatives are actually doing.

We will come through this because we always do. We are the United States of America and we will survive and prosper but the time for taking undue risks is over and we should stand together in making the future more stable for future generations.

To your Prosperity

Marc

The children in our neighborhood will be heading back to school next week so I guess that signals the end of summer.

For me the signal for the end of summer is the waning produce from my garden. It has been a good summer and the garden produced some good crops of peas, beans, spinach, squash, peppers and tomatoes. I managed to freeze or can a lot of it and look forward to using it into the winter ahead.

Here is a picture of some of the squash.

Today I tilled the squash under and prepared the soil for a second crop of green beans. I hope to get one last good crop before it freezes so I can have some beans this winter.

I know that we will have many more days of warm weather ahead but it is always sad to see the end of the garden. It is a signal that things are changing, evolving and slowing down.

Life, however, never slows down. In fact, as we grow older it seems to move ever faster and we have to work at slowing it down. A garden, though, is a great way to slow time down because there is nothing you can do to make plants grow and produce any faster.

And when you are working in the garden you need to stop and take notice of every little aspect of it. What is new that you missed yesterday, what needs special attention, what needs to be harvested today? And if you have a particularly small crop (mine was a pepper called Tai Hot) that you need to get right down on to pick and that has hundreds of fruit, time can really slow down.

I’m lucky that my kids are grown and gone so that I can have the time to contemplate and work in my garden. If you have kids, especially young ones, your life is probably in a constant whirl of activity. I remember those days of after school activities and constant juggling of schedules to make it to the events.

But even if your life looks like this it might be a good idea to find something in your life to slow you down. To slow you down long enough to appreciate LIFE. Maybe it is yoga, or meditation, or a walk around the block or your garden.

With school back in session it might seem like things just got more hectic, that time just sped up a little more, but if you take some time to just consciously slow it down you might find that small piece of time where you can take notice of that most important thing just in front of you right now. A moment just to be present to life, your life and a chance to say “thank you”.

Here’s hoping that as your summer comes to a close you find a moment just for You.

Marc

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Have you ever wanted to make a difference? Have you heard of the concept of Pay it Forward?

There are a group of people with just such a mission and you can join them.

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We are in a recession! There, somebody said it.

Everyone who wants the world to continue to move forward without a glitch has been denying this for months but anyone who has shopped for groceries or filled up their car with gas lately knows that things are costing more. That in itself is not enough to signal a recession but for most of us there have not been any proportionate income increases to go along with these increased cost and for us this spells trouble.

Will things get worse before they get better? No one knows for sure, but when I read things like the article I found in Barron’s last week I tend to think that they just might get worse before they get better. The title is enough to shake you in your boots, “Yes, That’s $2 Trillion of Debt Related Losses”. It is an interview with Nouriel Roubini, an economist who has been predicting for two years most of the problems we are now experiencing. Here is some of what he said in the interview.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, you have a pretty good track record. How much more misery lies ahead?

“We are in the second inning of a severe, protracted recession, which started in the first quarter of this year and is going to last at least 18 months, through the middle of next year. A systemic banking crisis will go on for awhile, with hundreds of banks going belly up.”

So far, we have seen no recession in the technical sense: two consecutive quarters of negative growth in real GDP. Why not?

“Maybe the recession started in January; if you look at the data on gross domestic product on a monthly basis between February and April, GDP was falling. Saying this is not a recession is just a joke.”

How long will it take for the collapse in the banking sector to play out?

“It is happening in real time. Many smaller banks are going bust already. More than 200 subprime-mortgage lenders have gone bust in the past year alone. And many community banks will go bankrupt. Community banks usually finance everything: the homes, the stores, the downtown, the commercial real estate, the shopping center. If you are in a town or a municipality where there is a housing bust, the bank is gone. Of three dozen or so medium-sized regional banks, a good third are in distress. That includes the Wachovias and Washington Mutuals of the world. Half of this group might go bankrupt. Even some of the majors could end up technically insolvent, though they might be deemed too big to fail.”

My purpose is not to make you feel worse than you already do but to get you thinking about what you can do to stay ahead of all this. First, you should have some money in the bank (one that won’t fail, I hope). Having cash during a downturn can help you weather your own personal downturn and take advantage of opportunities that are sure to be there at the bottom.

Next, you should find new ways to conserve the resources you have. I have a garden and I freeze, can and dehydrate tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and cucumbers to see me through the winter. You can find ways to drive less or drive using less gas. Start buying store brands instead of name brand products (most of the store brands are made by the national brands anyway).

Lastly, you can find new sources of income. How much stuff do you have in that storage room or in the attic? Have a garage sale of put it on Craig’s List or EBay. Start a side business doing something you already know and like to do. Can you play an instrument? Give lessons. Are you a computer geek? Sell your skills to help people who need it. Are you a great cook? Find someone who wants to eat what you make. There are lots of ways to stay ahead if you just put your mind to it.

A recession doesn’t have to hurt a lot if you just stay ahead of it by being prepared and by taking action. Now is not the time to pull the covers over your head. Get up and start moving and you will be one of the survivors.

Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Marc

Are you interested in helping people succeed? Do you understand the concept of Pay it Forward?

There is a group of people who want to help you pay it forward to just 4 people and help end poverty
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Life is full of ups and downs and often we are judged by how we get through each of them. We are entering a time when you might be faced with your own struggles created by a lost job, high gas and food prices or some personal tragedy. Will you get through them to reach the next high or will you succumb to the feelings of defeat?

I ran across this little video today that is based on a poem written many years ago that puts life’s race into wonderful perspective. It says it all better than I ever could and I hope you appreciate its message.

Remember to keep getting up no matter what, for you can’t win if you don’t finish.

Marc

Are you Planning a cruise this year? Here are some great tips to help you pack right.

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 The Race: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It seems like only a few short years ago no one was worried about retirement. The stock market was roaring, home prices were rising and the economy was in solid shape. Everything looked rosy and many people were planning for an early retirement or at least one that carried no risk.

Today, though, things have changed. Every day you read a new headline that gives you pause; “Dancing Bears at Your Retirement Party“, “Americans Delay Retirement As Housing, Stocks Swoon“, “Savers Feel Pinch of Tight Credit“, “Sales of Triangle Homes Off Again“, “Government Benefit Programs in Trouble“, and the list goes on.

What is a baby boomer to do? We have been stashing money away as fast as we can into our homes and retirement plans, hoping for the market to drive prices ever upward only to find that what goes up does indeed come down. We are now faced with the prospect of working longer, saving even more and hoping that things turn around quickly.


We could just get depressed, resort to substance abuse or consider an early death but those options don’t seem all that appealing either. Perhaps the answer to our problems is a new President, one who promises change or a better life? That might indeed be the answer but I doubt it. Very few individuals can fix what is a fundamental flaw in a very complex system.

The biggest problems you will face in retirement are:

• How long you live?
  
• What your tax bracket will be?
  
• How well your portfolio performs?
  
• What government benefits will look like?
  

Under “how long you will live” falls one other factor that will affect everything else; how healthy will you be? Fidelity investments recently completed a study that projected that the average couple will need about $225,000 in retirement just to cover non-covered medical expenses. This could put a real crimp on a couple’s lifestyle. Also, longer life means your money must last as long as you do, so, your returns better be predictable.

What about your tax bracket? If you have all of your retirement savings in tax-deferred savings plans (IRAs, 401ks and annuities) you might be in for a real shock when it comes time to pull these dollars out. If you were counting on being in a lower tax bracket in retirement you may find that every 1% uptick in taxes will begin to eat away at the pool of dollars you have saved.

And what about your investment returns? Most projections of your assets lasting until the end of your life are based on returns of at least 5-6% per year, assuming you only withdraw 4% or less. If you experience returns of less than 5%, even negative returns, your assets will be expended much sooner than you expect. Can you predict with certainty that the market will perform the way you need it to once you get to retirement?

Government benefits are even a greater risk. The last article listed above gives you some of the stark statistics. Medicare will consume over half of all tax revenue by 2042, Medicaid is already dipping into its trust fund and Social Security will be out of money by 2041. All of this means your benefits will be reduced, you will have to wait longer and taxes will need to go up in order to prolong these programs.

Is there hope? Sure, but you will need to take action to make it happen. Now is the time to begin creating tax-free income sources that you can use in retirement. You also need to look for ways to guarantee your returns or find products that have more predictable returns. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up on market based returns though, as there are several products that can meet these criteria.

I don’t have the space here to get specific but I would be happy to speak with you directly if you would like to explore these for yourself. The important thing for you to do is educate yourself about what actions will impact your future retirement the most, both negatively and positively. Once you have this knowledge you can find ways to maximize your potential retirement income and protect your assets without giving up choice and control.

If you would like to explore these topics in greater detail I have put together a seminar that you can access via the internet that will explain in greater detail both the problems you face and the potential solutions you can access right now to put yourself in a position where you have choice and control over both your income and your tax bracket.

For more information please visit this website: http://www.ezmastery.com

If you know an insurance agent or financial planner that might be interested in this information to share with their clients please let them know about this website: http:synergia-bp.com

Hoping both you and your money survive,

Marc