Touching their Hearts
Trust is Trust
December 2017
TIME TO REVIEW YOUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY FOR THE
YEAR by Jason Witcher
A s the year draws to a close , it ’ s a good time to review
your progress toward your financial goals . But on what areas should you focus your attention ?
Of course , you may immediately think about whether your investments have done well . When evaluating the performance of their investments for a given year , many people mistakenly think their portfolios should have done just as well as a common market index , such as the Standard & Poor ’ s 500 . But the S & P 500 is essentially a measure of large-company , domestic stocks , and your portfolio probably doesn ’ t look like that – nor should it , because it ’ s important to own an investment mix that aligns with your goals , risk tolerance and return objectives . It ’ s this return objective that you should evaluate over time – not the return of an arbitrary benchmark that isn ’ t personalized to your goals and risk tolerance .
Your return objective will likely evolve . If you are starting out in your career , you may need your portfolio to be oriented primarily toward growth , which means it may need to be more heavily weighted toward stocks . But if you are retiring in a few years , you may need a
Dave Says
Touching their Hearts
more balanced allocation between stocks and bonds , which can address your needs for growth and income .
So , assuming you have created a long-term investment strategy that has a target rate of return for each year , you can review your progress accordingly . If you matched or exceeded that rate this past year , you ’ re staying on track , but if your return fell short of your desired target , you may need to make some changes . Before doing so , though , you need to understand just why your return was lower than anticipated .
For example , if you owned some stocks that underperformed due to unusual circumstances – and even events such as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma can affect the stock prices of some companies – you may not need to be overly concerned , especially if the fundamentals of the stocks are still sound . On the other hand , if you own some investments that have underperformed for several years , you may need to consider selling them and using the proceeds to explore new investment opportunities .
Investment performance isn ’ t the only thing you should consider when looking at your financial picture over this past year . What changed in your life ? Did you welcome a new child to your family ? If so , you may need to respond by increasing your
Dear Dave , What are some ways to teach pre-teens the value of giving versus getting during the holiday season ? Phil
Dear Phil , As a parent , one of the best things you can do is be a living , breathing example of the importance of giving and caring about others . There ’ s nothing wrong with having some stuff , but many of today ’ s marketing messages can lead kids to believe it ’ s all about them . And the sad truth is advertising firms are often more aggressive with life insurance coverage or opening a college savings account . Did you or your spouse change jobs ? You may now have access to a new employer-sponsored retirement account , such as a 401 ( k ), so you ’ ll need to decide how much money to put into the various investments within this plan . And one change certainly happened this past year : You moved one year closer to retirement . By itself , this may cause you to re-evaluate how much risk you ’ re willing to tolerate in your investment portfolio , especially if you are within a few years of your planned retirement .
Whether it is the performance of your portfolio or changes in your life , you will find that you always have some reasons to look back at your investment and financial strategies for one year – and to look ahead at moves you can make for the next .
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor .
Jason Witcher Financial Advisor
Edward Jones 1795 Parker Rd Se Suite
E110 Conyers , GA 30094
( 770 ) 648-6235 www . edwardjones . com This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones
Financial Advisor .
their teaching than parents are in theirs .
I would encourage you to find giving experiences in which you can participate as a family . Volunteering for a day at a homeless shelter is a wonderful example of giving that requires absolutely no money . Or maybe you could pull out your wallet and spend the day shopping for groceries and Christmas gifts for families who are financially less fortunate .
Make sure your kids are involved physically , mentally , and emotionally in the entire giving process . Let them experience the grateful , and sometimes ungrateful ,
The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently awarded Live Oak Elementary School a $ 4,000 grant to support youth literacy . This grant is part of more than $ 4 million the organization recently awarded to approximately 960 recipients . Awarded annually , youth literacy grants help support teachers , schools and nonprofit organizations throughout the 44 states that Dollar General serves .
According to Donna Edmiston , instructional coach at Live Oak Elementary School and writer of the grant , the funds were used to purchase guided reading books for the school .
“ With our demographics and poverty rate here , we knew we needed more books in the hand in trying to bring up our lexile levels and getting kids reading on grade level ,” Edmiston explained .
With the grant funds , Edmiston was able to purchase single copies for teachers to read to classes as well numerous copies of over a hundred different titles so there is one book for every two students in the classroom schoolwide .
“ There are teacher led choral reading books and also books for partner reading between the students ,” Edmiston said . “ That would be followed by lots of discussion and written prompts so the students are using the text to better their writing .”
Overall , as a result of the Edmiston ’ s Dollar General Literacy Foundation grant , the school
responses that go along with giving . With a little thought and planning , you can create some incredible teaching and family bonding experiences that will change everyone ’ s lives forever ! — Dave
Trust is Trust
Dear Dave , I have a medical condition , and I finally got an appointment with a specialist I ’ d like to see . The office requires credit card , debit card , or bank account information be kept on file . Having this kind of information out there with them makes me uncomfortable , but I really want to see this doctor . What should I do ? Chelsey
Dear Chelsey ,
If you ’ re uncomfortable with this practice of having your financial information , then you should also be uncomfortable with any medical opinions they would render . If you don ’ t feel they ’ re trustworthy enough to professionally handle something like a debit card or bank account number , then they ’ re not trustworthy enough to treat you — period .
I hope that wasn ’ t unclear . — Dave
* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions . He has authored seven best-selling books , including The Total Money Makeover . The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 13 million listeners each week on 585 radio stations and multiple digital platforms . Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey . com and on Twitter at @ DaveRamsey . com and on Twitter at @ DaveRamsey .
Need Health Insurance ?
Call “ The Insurance Guy ”
Group Insurance with Low Deductibles
“ I will help you find the health insurance plan that best meets your needs and budget .”
Neal Lange 770-929-1765 nlange @ NealLange . com www . neallange . com Serving Satisfied Clients Since 1984 .
Aetna * Humana * Blue Cross * Kaiser Permanente * United HealthCare * Cigna
Page 5
LIVE OAK ELEMENTARY RECEIVES GRANT FROM THE DOLLAR GENERAL LITERACY FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT YOUTH LITERACY will ultimately receive well over 2,000 new books for students to read .
“ Through our mission of Serving Others , we are excited to support literacy and education across the communities we call home ,” said Todd Vasos , Dollar General ’ s chief executive officer . “ We hope the Dollar General Literacy Foundation ’ s youth literacy grants help strengthen literacy programs , expand library collections , inspire a love of reading in students and make a distinct impact to enhance the lives of children .”
Since its inception in 1993 , the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $ 140 million in grants to nonprofit organizations , helping more than nine million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education as part of its commitment to helping increase the literacy skills for individuals of all ages .
“ We are so pleased with the hard work of our instructional coach , Donna Edmiston ,” said Ericka Anderson , principal of Live Oak Elementary School . “ We are also grateful for the generosity of the Dollar General Literacy foundation . The Dollar General grant will provide vital support as we build and extend our students ’ literacy skills . Our goal is for all students to engage in authentic reading experiences and this grant will enable our staff to extend students ’ reading fluency and comprehension .”
Ms . Donna Edmiston , instructional coach at Live Oak Elementary School .