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Paying yourself first can work like magic

How “paying themselves first” has resulted in the attainment of financial goals, personal fulfillment and accumulation of wealth.     During the 14 years that Mentor Capital has been in business, we have helped hundreds of people successfully save toward their financial goals. Whether it has been buy­ing a new car or sending a child […]

What is a “Financial Advisor”?

Many people call themselves “financial advisors,” but there can be significant differ­ences among them. No education, experi­ence, or testing requirements are needed to call oneself a financial advisor. Whether you are getting advice from a financial planner, wealth manager, stockbroker, insurance broker, accountant, or other type of advisor, here are several questions that you should […]

Toward financial peace of mind

Most people go through life thinking little about their personal finances. They close their eyes, move ahead and hope for the best. Whether they succeed depends largely on luck. For people who don’t want to pin their hopes for financial success on luck, we have the answer. It’s called comprehensive financial planning, and it works. […]

13 Financial boo-boos and how to avoid them

Life is just as much avoiding mistakes as it is making sound decisions, and it’s no different where personal finance is concerned. We have choices to make (sometimes a dizzying number!), and we must do our best to make the right ones. Here are some financial boo-boos to avoid: Boo-boo #1 – Thinking that you can’t […]

How to get a CLUE

By now, most people who are smart about personal money man­agement are checking their free credit reports three times a year. There’s another free report that consumers will want to check each year, the CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) re­port. The report will list all your automobile and property insurance claims. It’s important that this […]

Client welfare is ‘fiduciary’ campaign focus

Whether they know it or not, consumers have a choice when seeking financial advice: They can work with a fiduciary advisor, whose duty is solely to the client and who works with undivided loyalty to that client; or They can work with a stock broker or insurance agent, whose primary duty is to the firm […]

Toward financial success and peace of mind

Most people go through life thinking little about their personal finances. They close their eyes, move ahead and hope for the best. Whether they succeed depends largely on luck. For people who don’t want to pin their hopes for financial success on luck, we have the answer. It’s called comprehensive financial planning. Associates of Mentor […]

Check your beneficiaries

Check your beneficiaries Improperly designating beneficiaries on a retirement account or insurance policy can be costly. That’s why we recommend checking beneficiaries on IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and life insurance and annuity policies every five years or so. It’s simple to designate (or neglect to designate) a beneficiary, but it’s not so simple to do it […]

Don’t throw away that trust!

Now that the exemption from the federal estate tax has hit $2 million, some married clients have questioned whether they still need their trusts. After all, the trusts were made to avoid the tax, and now the tax threat for them has disappeared. Fact is there still may be reasons to retain or establish a […]

Advance Directives

With the nationwide publicity surrounding the Terri Schiavo case there has been much talk about living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders, powers of attorney, etc. Documents that pertain to end-of-life issues are known collectively as Advance Directives. Typically they address medical, family and financial decisions made on behalf of somebody who is no longer capable of making […]