Twitter and Daily Money Management

I'm off subject again but, hey, why not? I was at a business networking meeting the other night. I began speaking with a young man who told me that his business was social media marketing. This is one of those careers that didn't exist a few years ago. It's a subject that I'm actually quite interested in although a little skeptical as to how it may apply to my type of business.

I started to ask him questions about using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Of course he was horrified to find out that I only used Facebook to find my old grammar school and summer camp friends, had never sent a tweet, and only looked at cute dog videos on YouTube. He was happy to hear that I had a blog!

So, he told me I should link my blog to my Facebook page so that my friends would comment on my blog and then their friends would see my blog, and so on. In that way I could geometrically increase my blog audience. I think he thought I was some sort of a throwback to some ancient civilization when I told him that I wasn't comfortable using my friends in this way.

Then we moved on to using Twitter. I know what Twitter is although I'm not sure I get why anyone tweets. I know that I have a hard enough time keeping up with the news, the mail, the email, the texts, what to use my laptop for, do I need an iPad. Some days I'm sure that my smartphone is smarter than I am. Why I would want a constant stream of drivel is beyond me. When I'm at the gym, there is a twitter feed on the tv screen with motivational messages from personal trainers. Enlightening things such as 'finish strong' or 'I'm having a healthy egg white omelet for breakfast' or 'push harder'. Hmmmmmm.

I told my social media marketing guru that I didn't think it was wise for me to try to impart financial information in 140 character snippets to anyone. He insisted that keeping in touch in some way was critical so here are my sample tweets about my daily money management business life.

trying to get to client. 12 cars ahead of me at guard gate. will be late

lost in xyz village. every building looks exactly the same.

90 yr old client. 90 degrees in condo. am hot, hot, hot

30 years of financial records stacked on floor. am hyperventilating

What do you think?

Computers, Social Media, and Aging Parents

Twitter and Facebook, online banking and ATM's, blogs and ipads -- they've all become part of many of our daily norms. Some seniors won't touch a computer beyond getting pictures of their grandchildren, some are computer savvy.

The use of technology has many implications when figuring out how to handle the financial affairs of an aging parent. The decision has to be separated into multiple layers.

When an aging parent begins to need help to take care of their financial affairs, the obvious first answer is to have one of their children start to take over. Today, even if the child doesn't live locally, a plan can be implemented due to the technology available. Bills can be sent via email, access can be set-up to bank online, consent can be given to have duplicate brokerage statement sent.

But, even the elderly that are comfortable with technology may balk at this plan. Why? Yes it is partially due to the issue of security of their personal information. But, it's more than that. It's the lack of human involvement that is equally as much the issue. This becomes more pronounced the more home bound the person has become. Sometimes I think we forget how much there is to be gained by the 'old school' way of interacting.

Molly was well into her 80's when we first began to work together. She had had a career in the garment industry in New York and continued to lead a very active life when she retired to Florida. After some medical issues, she needed some help taking care of her household finances. Nothing was terribly complicated and her son that lived out-of-state could have easily set everything up so he could handle things online. Molly was home alone more and more. After having lead a very active, social life she was now very lonely. It was better for someone to come to her home each week to not just pay the bills, but to sit and visit for awhile. I was fortunate to be that person and learned far more from her than I could have ever learned from sitting at the computer.

So, text and tweet, watch movies on your ipad, get your information from google searches, take advantage of whatever the next generation of technology brings. The technology may be very good at getting the mechanics done. But, don't forget to sit at the kitchen table and talk to your grandmother, a friend or a neighbor!

Read Your Financial Statements

Whether they come by snail mail, online, email or some other way, all those monthly statements that come from the bank, a financial advisor, the brokerage company or the insurance company need to be read. For most of us, reading these statements isn't up there on the list of fun things to do. But, if they aren't read, there are repercussions.

Paul always handled the finances. Judy liked it this way and never gave it much thought. Although some of the early signs of Alzheimer's may have been there, Paul hid them well. The first inkling that Judy had that something may be wrong was when their CPA mentioned the high fees being charged by their financial advisor. But, at that point Judy was so overwhelmed by the diagnosis of Paul's Alzheimer's and all the problems that faced her, the mounting pile of statements was not a priority. Many months later her daughter offered to help her sort out the papers and started to really look at what was there. They were devastated to find that the advisor had shifted her into totally age inappropriate investments and was investing on margin. The margin interest alone was costing her $1000 each month.

Whether it is knowing how money is being invested, what type of return is being earned, or the deductible on an insurance policy, paying attention is key. It doesn't mean you have to become a student of personal finance. It does mean realizing if you (or an elderly parent) can no longer be the steward of these things and finding someone to help. It may be a son or daughter, it may be the family attorney, or it may be a daily money manager. It also means not being shy about asking questions if there is something on the statement you don't understand. You know that old saying that the only dumb question is the one that you don't ask.

The important thing is to not ignore the statements. They won't go away and being aware of what's happening is critical to your financial security.

The Death of a Parent

Whether you’re talking with me in person or through this blog, I will always try to share my personal as well as professional experiences with you. The reason I haven’t posted to my blog since the end of June is that my elderly mother developed some serious health issues which ultimately resulted in her passing away earlier this month. I want to share some of what I’m going through with you–maybe to help you in the future, maybe to help me in the present.

Relief wasn’t an emotion I was expecting to feel when I got back to Florida from the funeral in Boston. But, I realized that I’d had so many different scenarios, possible problems, and potential solutions continually circling in my head for so long that it was a huge relief to not have to keep thinking about all the unknowns. You can relate I’m sure: will your mom outlive her money; what to do if a hurricane (or other weather issue) is forecast; can she continue living on her own. The list is endless.

Part of me wants to hole up in my house to process all that’s happened. Part of me wants to dive into all the tasks associated with sorting out the condominium and its contents, settling the estate, and figuring out how to sell the car. For me, the way to cope is action –cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and getting the paperwork started is cathartic. Each one of us has to figure out what works best, there is no right or wrong way to cope.

And finally, in case you think that because of my job, I have all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed and the administration of the estate will go easily, well……I spent the morning today on the phone finding out how to get a duplicate title to the car. I’ve been through every file, the safe deposit box, and the glove compartment (thank goodness, it wasn’t in there) and I can’t find the title. No matter how carefully you plan, something is going to fall through the cracks and be a hassle.