Category: Wisdoms

  • Retirement Planning in Stages

    As you enter retirement, a lot of changes may occur. You need to determine how to generate current income from your existing savings while still trying to keep your money growing to meet your needs well into the future, when the cost of living is likely to be higher. You want to protect your assets…

  • Retirement: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

    It’s safe to say that your retirement will bear little resemblance to that of your grandparents—and even your parents. The world has changed so much in the past 20 years that even the savviest prognosticators couldn’t have predicted all changes in society and technology that have transformed our daily lives. We now know there is…

  • Sneaky Scams

    Work-at-home and make $500 dollars a day, lose 30 lbs. in one week, and the secrets of becoming financially secure for the price of shipping and handling all “risk free.” Hawai‘i’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns against offers that claim a “risk free” trial but takes your payment information up front. Many consumers allege that…

  • Is a Bargain Estate Plan Really a Bargain?

    The attorney’s ad tells you that you can get a “comprehensive estate plan” for $800. Does that sound too good to be true? It may be. Before you rush in, here are some questions to ask. If you get positive answers to every question, then maybe you have a real bargain on your hands.

  • How to Avoid Charity Fraud

    It may be hard to believe, but during natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes — and even the current COVID-19 pandemic — unscrupulous scammers set up fraudulent fundraising operations to take advantage of Good Samaritans who want to help.

  • Timeshares Pt. 2: Scam or Investment?

    It’s not uncommon to see advertisements promoting timeshares, as well as promotions for timeshare cancellation programs. The contradictory nature of these ads begs certain questions:..

  • Meaningful Estate Planning

    In medicine, there is cure and care; in finance, there is worth and value. In estate planning, there is wealth and meaning. Most people see the estate planner’s role as writing a document that transfers wealth at death. Just as significant is our role to communicate our client’s meaning clearly. This meaning is the foundation…

  • Preparing for Death… Now

    If nothing else, recent events have brought us face-to-face with mortality. Although none of us knows when death will overtake us or a loved one, we know that someday it is going to do exactly that. We can deny the inevitable, or we can prepare for it. By preparing for death, we can make that…

  • COVID-19 and The Market

    Historic market volatility has washed over the globe in recent weeks. The spread of COVID-19 (the disease caused by coronavirus) has precipitated a record drop in the stock market and a sharp plunge in bond yields, sending the U.S. into its first bear market in over a decade. People around the world are facing a…

  • SCAMMER Red Flags

    How do you know that you are the target of a scam? Here are some red flags that you should be aware of…

  • Timeshares: Scams or Investments?

    My wife loves free things. When we go to any expo at the Hawaii Convention Center or the Blaisdell, she’ll be the one hoarding free pens and reusable bags. So, I should not have been surprised when she stopped at a table run by a hotel chain that was offering a free dinner, six hours…

  • Siblingship

    Siblingship is the state of being related or interrelated, or a state of affairs existing between one of two or more individuals having one common parent. The term describes the unique, dynamic relationship existing between siblings. Siblings begin their relationship at a very young age. They experience joys and setbacks together — laugh and cry…