Chuck Donalies: "The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch, Issue 12"

From: Chuck Donalies, CFP®  On Behalf Of Chuck Donalies, CFP®
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2015 9:00 AM
Subject: The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch, Issue 12

Summary of Debt Study: Yikes! It's the most wonderful time of the year...for merchants and credit card companies. A new study by NerdWallet suggests the average household carries a revolving balance of over $15,000. Yikes! That number surprised me. I knew the findings would show Americans had debt, but I was under the impression debt levels had decreased. After the 2008 recession there were many studies suggesting Americans were paying off debt and being frugal. It seems that trend didn't last. Enjoy the holidays - and try not to overspend! P.S. Thanks, Mom & Dad, for teaching me to pay off my credit cards every month! Are you being crushed by your credit card (debt)? I've Rolled Out Some New Tools! In case you missed it, I recently revamped my firm's website. While working the site I took the opportunity to add two new features. Up first is what I'm calling my Retirement Readiness Checkup. It's powered by my new financial planning software, Advizr. Simply plug in some financial data and the software will give you an estimate of how prepared you are for retirement. The second feature is my new risk assessment powered by Pocket Risk. Users can complete the risk questionnaire in about ten minutes and then see the results. Feel free to take my new tools for a spin! Celebrate, Personal Finance Geeks, Jason Zweig Released a New Book Do you read The Wall Street Journal? If so, you've probably read an article by Jason Zweig who writes a column called The Intelligent Investor. I'm a big fan of his work because he's a voice of reason in the finance world. Zweig manages to write humorous articles that point out Wall Street's shenanigans while also including the latest research in behavioral finance. Zweig just released a new book called The Devil's Financial Dictionary. The book features some of the outrageous "financespeak" Zweig has encountered during his years as a finance journalist. I understand many of my readers (all 160 of you!) won't be interested in this book, but I wanted to include a couple definitions that made me laugh. Enjoy! FORECASTING: The attempt to predict the unknowable by measuring the irrelevant; a task that in one way or another, employs most people on Wall Street. THRIFT: The obsolete practice of spending less money than you earn. Once believed to be a virtue, now regarded as a disturbing form of deviant behavior. It's funny because it's true. Copyright © 2015 Donalies Financial Planning, LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are special. You're a beautiful and unique snowflake. That makes you a client, friend, family member, colleague, prospective client, or some combination of these things. Don't like what you see? Feel free to unsubscribe at any time. Our mailing address is: Donalies Financial Planning, LLC 52 R Street NW Washington, Dc 20001 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list