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Dear Readers:
We hope that you are all doing well and taking care of yourselves during this time. Here are some things to read and some things to watch, and also some more pictures from my backyard.
Things to Read
Where Is My Stimulus Check?
Stimulus checks should be hitting your bank accounts soon, if they haven't already. To check on the status of your check, you can use the IRS official website linked above.
Stay Healthy, Everyone!
While we focus on keeping our community healthy, we also need a little reminder to take care of ourselves. Here are a few ideas to keep yourself going strong through this crisis.
Working Remotely? 7 Tips to Make Your Life Easier
As we all adjust to our "new normal" and work remotely for the foreseeable future, you can make things easier with these 7 helpful tips.
The San Lorenzo Community Howl
Every night at 8:00, I go outside with my daughter to howl. It started out as a howl of appreciation for essential workers, but more than that, it is a way to feel like we're all still together, even when we're apart. Also, my 3 year old likes screaming at the top of her lungs. |
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All around Felton, you can find chalk drawings on fences with messages - "Felton Strong," "You Are Loved" - and pictures of love for the community. The heart rock even has a toilet paper roll painted on it.
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Things to Watch
Natural Bridges Financial Advisors uses a lot of index funds from DFA - Dimensional Fund Advisors. DFA has some webcasts coming up to help you understand a bit more about investing. Their webcasts are always really informative and fun to watch (if you like finance). All webcasts are free to register:
Insights from a Transformed Investor - Friday April 17th at 11am PST
Mark Gochnour and Bryce Skaff host a discussion with Dave Goetsch, Executive Producer of The Big Bang Theory, on market events from the perspective of practitioners and investors, with topics including how to manage emotions in investing and the role of professional advice in the investor experience.
Nobel Laureate Robert Merton on the Financial Markets - Tuesday, April 21st at 8:30am PST
Gerard O’Reilly and Robert C. Merton discuss the current financial markets and the role of skilled implementation during periods of extreme market volatility. Topics include the information in current derivatives prices, how a manager’s trading and execution can impact portfolio value in volatile markets, and professor Merton’s observations on current biomedical research into COVID-19.
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Our little bobcat Bean on the prowl for chin scritches.
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Natural Bridges Personal Updates
Chris got interviewed by ThinkAdvisor!
"Brutal-truth financial planning conversations are clearly tough for clients and advisors alike. But Chris Wentzien, founder of Natural Bridges Financial Advisors, pulls no punches in never failing to raise the possibility of a “triple whammy,” as he calls it, striking his mass affluent clientele: three bad things hitting at once — like job loss, the stock market tanking and falling ill.
That multi-calamity is of course hammering many Americans now thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview, Wentzien tells ThinkAdvisor how advance discussions help him to successfully advise pre-retirees and early retirees, including his identifying a variety of income-tax planning opportunities to preserve their wealth."
You can read the rest of the article here:
Finding Big Tax Savings in the ‘Bridge Years’ Between Retirement and RMDs
Anabel and Moana are both studying hard for the July CFP exam. They get together and give each other fun pop quizzes like "What is the difference between standard deviation and beta?", "How much are you allowed to contribute to an HSA?", and "Which medical services are excluded from Medicare Part B?".*
This material is so thrilling that they are considering creating a podcast called CFP Study: Live with Anabel and Moana. The first episode will be "Section 179 and You: How to Expense up to 1.04 Million Dollars of Qualifying 1245 Property In the Year of Acquisition." We expect all of you to join us for the full hour.
Moana just finished her CFP coursework and celebrated by doing a little dance in her kitchen. Her three year old just learned how to ride a pedal bike and celebrated by riding directly into a bush.
Public Service Announcement: If your webcam seems blurry and dark, do not try to wipe off the lens with your finger. A spider will jump out at you and run across your desk as you shriek and tear your headphones off. Bonus hilarious points for the client we met with afterwards explaining that we should have expected a spider to be living in a webcam. Ha!
Stay safe, everyone!
Much love,
Moana & the Natural Bridges Financial Advisors Team
831-421-0700
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Helmet, check. Rain boots, check. Backwards unicorn shirt, check. Next stop, giant bush on the left!
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P.S. *Here are the answers to the pop quizzes: 1. Standard deviation measures variability of returns in a nondiversified portfolio; beta measures volatility of returns in a diversified portfolio. 2. $3550 for an individual in 2020. 3. Dental care, glasses, hearing aids, prescription drugs, and immunizations**
**with the exception of one free flu shot per year
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