Hi Jim,
Please feel free to use the below article as is. For an interview or further comments from Chris Hobart on this and related topics, please reach out and I will be happy to coordinate.
Ashley
Ask Yourself 3 Questions To Help
Find A Financial Advisor You Can Trust
When it comes to financial planning, most Americans take a do-it-yourself approach.
In fact, various surveys and studies over the years have shown that anywhere from 60 to 70 percent or more don’t have a financial advisor.
But does that mean the remaining minority who do hire someone are more confident about what the future holds for them financially?
Maybe. But maybe not.
Most of those people say they don’t completely trust that their advisor is always acting in their best interests, according to a poll by the American Association of Individual Investors.
That distrust could even be part of the reason some people decide to forgo using an advisor at all.
“People see headlines about shady practices that exist in the financial word, and as a result they become leery of working with any financial advisor because they no longer know who to trust,” says Chris Hobart (www.hobartfinancialgroup.com), a financial professional and financial commentator.
It was the shady practices of one such advisor that put Hobart on the path to a career in financial services. His grandmother placed her trust in an advisor who “advised her right out of her life savings,” he says.
“I think it’s important for those of us in the industry to demand more of ourselves, because investors deserve more from us,” he says. “We must call out questionable practices when we see them.”
But what can the average person do to improve the odds that they are working with an advisor they can trust? Hobart suggests a few questions to ask yourself about the person you rely on to handle your finances:
Is your advisor honest when discussing how they are paid? Financial professionals are paid in a number of ways, but the financial industry hasn’t always been forthcoming about compensation, Hobart says. Some are paid on commission. Some charge fees. Some work based on a combination of commissions and fees. It’s important to know just what you are paying for the services. “Clients often are hesitant to ask how their advisors make money,” he says. “Don’t be. A trustworthy advisor will have an honest, open conversation with you about this.”
Does your advisor encourage questions? “Any good relationship is built on open, two-way communication,” Hobart says. “It’s your money. You deserve to know exactly how it’s being invested and why.” But a good advisor will do more than answer your questions, he says. They will also proactively provide information to your about your accounts, whether you ask or not.
Does your advisor know you? Everyone is different, with their own goals and dreams about the future. “The right financial plan for you isn’t the right plan for anyone else,” Hobart says. “Your advisor should offer personalized financial planning that fits your life, not cookie cutter advice that’s the same for everyone.”
“Now, more than ever, investors are demanding honesty from not only individual advisors but also larger financial institutions,” Hobart says. “There is no longer space within the industry for financial professionals who are motivated only by their own financial gains.”
About Chris Hobart
Chris Hobart (www.hobartfinancialgroup.com) is CEO and founder of Hobart Financial Group. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Hobart is a nationally-recognized financial commentator, an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR), and a licensed insurance agent. Senior Market Advisor Magazine named Hobart one of the nation’s top independent financial advisors. He’s been a featured guest on CNBC and Fox Business and a regular guest on WCNC’s “Charlotte Today.” Hobart has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Associated Press, MSN Money, The Charlotte Observer, Men’s Health, Kiplinger, Market Watch, The Street, The New York Times, USA Today and Forbes.
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Help Us Keep Kids Safe This Summer [New Report]
Summer is here and that means kids are spending more time outside exploring and less time inside the safe confines of their homes. Along with the added fun that summer brings comes the increased risk of abduction, drowning, bites, stings, etc.
“Over 40% of all Amber Alerts in 2018 occurred in the summer months between June and September,” according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
We at ASecureLife want to help parents prepare for the craziness that is summer vacation. We want to ensure that this summer is a period of fun family bonding, not chaos and potential tragedy. That is why we developed our 2019 Kids Summer Safety Guide.
Find the full guide here: https://www.asecurelife.com/kids-summer-safety-guide/
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Provoking World War III with Iran and a U.S. history of provocation
by J.P. Linstroth
1220 words
In the history of the United States and its history of interventionism, the recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman seem to be foreboding and ominous signs of what may come—an inevitable war with the Islamic Republic of Iran? To many who are watching the region closely, it is still unclear if Iran is behind such attacks. Moreover, and, thankfully, President Donald J. Trump backed away from bombing Iran after the Iranians allegedly and recently shot down a U.S. drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Even so, the bellicose rhetoric between President Trump (threatening Iran’s “obliteration”) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (calling Trump “mentally retarded”) have continued. Watching from the sidelines, everyone hopes diplomacy will prevail.
Let us examine U.S. interventionism past more closely. I know of four clear international instances where the United States intervened under dubious circumstances, initiating war.
The first happened just before the beginning of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). President James K. Polk sent American troops to the Rio Grande River under the command of Zachary Taylor. The Mexicans had believed that the border had been at the Nueces River, not the Rio Grande, the Nueces being significantly north of the Rio Grande. This move was provocative and incited Mexican forces to attack the U.S. Army at its fortifications on the Rio Grande in 1846. As the attacks on U.S. soldiers were reported by Taylor to Polk, the U.S. Congress promptly declared war on Mexico.
Yet, in understanding these incidents, we have to likewise understand the motivations of the historical actors. Polk strongly believed in the Manifest Destiny of the United States to conquer the territories west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Indeed, Polk initially sent U.S. Congressman John Slidell as U.S. envoy to Mexico to negotiate buying the territories of California and New Mexico from Mexico for about $30 million. (The California and New Mexico territories included present-day California and New Mexico plus Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Colorado.) But Mexican legislators balked at the offer and Mexican newspapers printed the offer as an insult to Mexican pride. The rejected buy simply became war of territorial conquest.
At the end of the 19thcentury was the Spanish-American War of 1898, when the United States made its debut as an imperialistic world power, seeking its own colonies despite rejecting empire with the American Revolution. Congress declared war on Spain after the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor. With no evidence, the U.S. blamed Spain and the war was on—not just for Cuba, but for other Spanish colonies, and the U.S. thus acquired Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.
However, in all likelihood, the ship exploded because of an accident, possibly, a spark from the furnace setting off munitions nearby. Or, a mine in Havana Harbor planted by Cuban rebels detonated the hull of the vessel. In total, 261 sailors lost their lives from the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine. Yet, the causes of the war had more to do with the sensationalism of newspapers at the time owned by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, called “Yellow Journalism”—what we call today, “fake news.” Hearst and Pulitzer newspapers were publishing stories about Spanish atrocities in Cuba. Moreover, there was the supposed “de Lôme letter” allegedly a critical letter of President William McKinley, written by the Spanish Foreign Minister Enrique Dupuy de Lôme. All of these events “justified” war with Spain.
There was also the “Gulf of Tonkin incident” which began and escalated the Vietnam War under President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. The incident was allegedly a series of attacks by Northern Vietnamese naval torpedo vessels on American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, especially involving a destroyer, the U.S.S. Maddox. These skirmishes were said to have occurred on August 2 and August 4, 1964, with the second clash now believed to be entirely imaginary. The falsity of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents was allegedly substantiated by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and the former Vietnam People’s Army General Võ Nguyên Giáp. The Gulf of Tonkin skirmishes with the U.S. Navy and the Northern Vietnamese Navy led to the U.S. Congress passing the “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.” It gave President Johnson: “…all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”
And lastly, there is the Iraq War (2003-2011). The United States invaded Iraq on the false pretext that Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, was actively developing a program for obtaining alleged WMDs. The United Nations Security Council had earlier passed two resolutions (678 and 687) which allowed the United States to force Iraq into complying with its international agreements, concerning biochemical and nuclear disarmament; both the UN head of inspections and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iraq had no more weapons of mass destruction, yet the U.S. invaded. What is more, the intelligence community tried linking the Hussein government with Al-Qaeda, patently false. As a result of the George W. Bush Administration’s War in Iraq, there were nearly 4,500 U.S. soldier deaths and almost 32,000 U.S. soldiers wounded in action.
So, this brings us to today with our military escalation with Iran under the Donald J. Trump Administration. Currently, we have deployed an aircraft carrier to the Arabian Sea as well as sending a Patriot missile defense system and four B-52 bombers to the region along with ordering the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad with the exception of essential personnel. According to Middle East expert Ilan Goldenberg Iran does not want a war with the United States. The question is whether we are forcing the situation, or unnecessarily exaggerating the threats from Iran. Certainly, it may depend upon how much National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo advocate for war. As Goldenberg states: “The bad news is that a war could still happen. Even if neither side wants to fight, miscalculation, missed signals, and the logic of escalation could conspire to turn even a minor clash into a regional conflagration—with devastating effects for Iran, the United States, and the Middle East.”
My worry, along with many other observers, is that such a conflict may snowball into a worse conflagrationbringing in other international actors, maybe Russia. Neither the attack on these oil tankers nor the alleged shoot-down of an unmanned US drone so far has not led to any Gulf of Tonkin resolution. However, if another incident occurred causing Americans casualties and Iran was the claimed culprit, then the situation may get out of control.
For now, we can only hope from a distance that cooler heads in Washington, D.C. will prevail. We can certainly listen to diplomatic efforts of the likes of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Iran does not want war with the United States and its coalition partners. We can examine the U.S. history of interventionism and learn from our past military mistakes.
If you are concerned about this pattern of provoking war by making claims that cannot be proven, please participate in your democracy:
Here is a petition against this possible war that you can sign online: https://www.change.org/p/stop-war-with-iran
Write a quick note to your US Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/How_to_correspond_senators.htm
Send your thoughts to your member of Congress: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
***
J. P. Linstroth, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, is the author of Marching Against Gender Practice: Political Imaginings in the Basqueland (2015).
--
Yours for a nonviolent future,
Tom H. Hastings, Ed.D.
Director, PeaceVoice Program
Oregon Peace Institute
503 744 9787
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https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/a-new-era-of-nonviolence/
Assistant Professor
Coordinator, Conflict Resolution BA/BS major & minor programs
PSU Conflict Resolution Department
RMNC 131
Portland OR 97201
503 725 9173
http://www.pdx.edu/conflict-resolution/tom-hastings
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Thank you!
David N. Taylor Director of Print Syndication
for Ramsey Solutions
1749 Mallory Lane Brentwood, TN 37027
888 227 3223 x5212
Dave Says – with links
(Helping friends)
Word count: 258
Dear Dave,
I’m on Baby Step 2 of your plan, and I’ll be debt-free except for my home by the end of the year. I have a friend who is very irresponsible with his money, and he often asks to “borrow” cash between paychecks. I don’t want to be cruel, but things are getting out of hand with his requests for money.
James
Dear James,
I think you should tell your friend the truth. Let him know you’ve decided to get control of your money, you’re trying to get out of debt, and you simply don’t have cash to spare. Be sure to do it with a kind spirit, but sometimes you’ve got to look at the big picture in these situations. You’re not really helping someone if you participate in their misbehavior and enable bad habits. Sometimes, you have to love someone enough to tell them no.
Let your friend know how hard you’re working to get your finances in order, and how it’s making a big difference in your life. Maybe you could offer to show him the steps you’ve taken so far, and let him know he could be successful doing this, too. You might even try to show him how to make a monthly budget, and act as his guide and accountability partner if he’s willing to accept this kind of help.
In some cases, helping someone means offering what you know they need instead of what they want. But you’re never really helping someone who’s incompetent with money by simply handing them cash.
Good luck, James!
—Dave
Insurance – NAD
(The perfect time?)
Word count: 241
Dear Dave,
My wife and I are both 46, and we have two teenagers in middle school. We were told recently that now is the perfect time for us to buy long-term care insurance. How do you feel about this in our situation?
Thomas
Dear Thomas,
No, now is not the perfect time for you guys to buy long-term care insurance. Research shows there’s about a one percent chance of folks your age needing long-term care insurance, and I generally don’t recommend insuring against things that have such a miniscule possibility of happening. Keep in mind that many factors, such as your current health and family history, could play into your decision of exactly when to buy long-term care insurance.
However, I do strongly urge people to find a good long-term care policy no later than age 60. At that point, the chances of something unfortunate happening begin to rise each and every year. You could think of it as a gift to yourself and your family. Nursing home costs are astronomical these days, and care of that sort can deplete your nest egg very quickly!
—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 16 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.
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WHAT: Town of Carefree Fifth Annual Enchanted Pumpkin Garden
WHEN: Friday, October 18 through Sunday, October 27, 2019
Hours vary by day – see web site for times and event schedules
WHERE: Carefree Desert Gardens
101 Easy Street, Carefree, AZ, 85377
WEBSITE: EnchantedPumpkinGarden.com
ABOUT THE EVENT:
The Town of Carefree Fifth Annual Enchanted Pumpkin Garden is a one-of-a-kind fall festival celebrating the magic of the Halloween season! The 2019 event takes place October 18-27, with the incredible artistry of Ray Villafane and Villafane Studios’ carvers on display live each day, and their carvings found throughout the four-acre Carefree Desert Gardens. On weekends, this annual event boasts magical Halloween activities for both kids and adults, plus culinary delights and autumnal refreshments including a beer garden, a harvest market and live music.
In May of 2015, the Town of Carefree was looking to hire a pumpkin carver to enhance a newly-planned fall festival. When master carver Ray Villafane arrived, he fell in love with the Carefree Desert Gardens, his imagination running wild with ideas. He saw the Gardens as a perfect organic environment for creativity and the potential to build a sustainable exhibit for families and children. The mayor and town council agreed that Villafane was a perfect fit, and the Enchanted Pumpkin Garden was born!
