Our father/son surf trip to Costa Rica was a truly great experience…and not just for the surfing. Before our trip I was wondering what kind of impact the trip might have on Justin or Adam.

And then…all on his own…Justin decides to start writing a weekly note, here’s the 1st one;

by Justin Fricke

Hola familia y amigos,

I’m sitting here now just reflecting on what this trip has brought me and the rest of the Winter Springs Surf Team LLC. (What we named our Father/Son surf group)

So many life lessons come to mind.

1.)   Be thankful for what you have-This being my second time in Costa Rica I somewhat knew what to expect in regards to the economy and the way the locals live. This place is literally a third world country, but you would never know if you closed your eyes and just talked to the people here.

For the most part they are almost always happy and want to share their life stories and want to hear your life stories. For example the afternoon hotel guard or ‘watchie” Tumbo” always has a smile on his face and greets us with an “Hola amigos, como esta’s”. Followed by asking us where we went for the day.

The other day I was coming back from the taco stand and he pointed at my arm and said “Hey Pura Vida”, I smiled and said “si”, he then asked why I got (a tattoo) it and I explained to him that my family and I were here 3 years ago and heard everyone saying it and my mom and I fell in love with the saying and decided to get Pura Vida tattoos. Just being that person to always have the smile and want to be the first to say “Hello” can always make a difference in someone’s life.

2.)   Get a good education-We’re presented with so many opportunities in America and so often we just let them slip by and not even notice.

3.)   “Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable”- This saying has been said to me by two very wise people in my life, Mauricio Garcia and Randy Pawlowski. (Two of Justin’s Mentors) I can finally say I know what it’s like to “get comfortable being uncomfortable”.

When my family went on vacation I would always worry about what could happen in the worst way. This trip has been so changing and my paradigm has certainly been shifted. Back home I would normally never ask for help, because I would always wonder in my head “I don’t want them to think I’m idiot” or something along those lines. Since I’ve been here I can’t even keep track about how many questions I’ve asked and for the most part I’ve asked the questions and had small conversations in Spanish/Spanglish. Once you finally decide to let go and open up and step outside your comfort zone who knows what you could get/accomplish in life.

Going back to point number one I want to thank my dad, brother, Mr. Nickerson, and Pat for making this one amazing trip. This has by far been one of my most favorite trips.

Pura Vida,

Justin Fricke

PS-If you want to see pictures from our trip go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Winter-Springs-Surf-Team-LLC/150359798313163?ref=sgm

Brian Fricke, financial and retirement planning expert, explains the current state of the US economy and the disconnect between economic numbers and local economic confidence.

Orlando, Fla. – September 3, 2010 – Brian Fricke, CFP founder of Financial Management Concepts and “Worry Free Retirement” author/expert, recently published an article on his website titled “Is The Economy Really Recovering?” where he explains the reasons that when one looks at the big picture, things look like they’re improving, but on the local level it still may feel like things haven’t gotten much better at all.

“Why is it that we see these reports that corporate profits are up by billions and billions of dollars, but on an individual basis it still feels like the economy isn’t recovering?” Brian asks.

“The easiest answer, of course, is that unemployment is still above 9%. Recessions typically last nine months, but this one we’ve just gone through lasted over two years. But the bigger deal could be what some economists are calling a two-tier recovery. Meaning large corporations are feeling a lot of improvement, while small business owners and individuals are not,” Brian continued.

The article goes on to explain how large businesses have access to capital that small business do not. Brian writes, “If a big business needs to borrow money to buy supplies or increase their inventory, they can go to the bond market and access the capital they need. But if you’re a small business owner, you can’t borrow money from the bond market. You’ve got to go to your local bank — and odds are the local bank is still dealing with underwater real estate loans.”

The entire article can be found at http://www.brianfricke.com/articles/is-the-economy-really-recovering.php

Orlando Business Journal has named Brian’s company, Financial Management Concepts, one of the top financial planning companies in Central Florida. Financial Advisor magazine – an industry trade journal- has recognized him as one of the leading financial planning firms in America.  Brian Fricke is a Certified Financial Planner. Financial Management Concepts is a Fee Only Financial Planning firm. They currently manage over $98 million of investment assets for a select community of clients.

Brian also holds a weekly teleconference call, “Coffee Talk,” which is a live call held every Tuesday morning from 9-9:30am, to discuss current economic and lifestyle issues that affect retirees and anyone wanting to retire within the next 5 years.  Brian has also recently launched a live in-person meeting, built around the teleconferences, called “Coffee Talk Live.” These teleconferences and live events are not limited to clients and will be available to the public, free of charge.  Details for each week’s call can be found at http://www.BrianFricke.com/news_room

For more information about Brian Fricke and Financial Management Concepts, please visit http://www.BrianFricke.com.  You can also call toll free 1-800-294-4917 or send an email request to info@fmcretire.com

About Brian L. Fricke, CFP®:

Brian Fricke is the Author of “Worry Free Retirement, Do What You Want, When you Want, Where You Want”.

For the last 6 years in a row Brian and his company – Financial Management Concepts – have been named one of America’s Top Wealth Managers.

Orlando Business Journal has named his firm one of the top financial planning companies in Central Florida. Financial Advisor magazine – an industry trade journal- has recognized him as one of the leading financial planning firms in America.

If you’ve been in Central Florida over 10 years, you may have heard him on the radio. He used to host his own show on WDBO radio. He’s also served on the City of Winter Springs Board of Trustees Pension Fund.

Brian is a Certified Financial Planner. His firm – Financial Management Concepts – is a Fee Only Financial Planning firm. They currently manage over $98 million of investment assets for a select community of clients.

Brian and his team have worked with retirees and pre-retirees from companies like AT&T, Sprint, Harris, Lockheed Martin and Siemens/Westinghouse.

For more information, please visit http://www.BrianFricke.com

Our client members typically save $3,000 – $5,000 when they use our Discount Auto purchase program. Sometimes even more…our record so far is $13,000 saved on a brand new BMW.

I’ll be covering how the program works and…

How you can take advantage of it for yourself, your family and friends. (Note: This is just a value added service we provide. No financial gain or incentive for us).

My youngest son recently bought his first car…paid for in cash, using this program. I’ll tell you how he did it…and the change we’ve seen in his personality. Something you may want to share with other parents.

This is the topic of Tuesday’s (Tues Sept 7th, 2010) ‘Coffee Talk’ call.

The information is Free, with no obligation on your part.

Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min.

Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172

Access Code: 825218#

(It’s OK if you Forward this to a few of your friends and business associates. They might find the call interesting and helpful too)!

Hope to ‘See’ you next Tuesday!

Brian Fricke, CFP
Author – Worry Free Retirement
Top Wealth Manager 2004 – 2009 -Wealth Manager Magazine
Top Financial Planning Firm – Orlando Business Journal
Email: bfricke@fmcretire.com
Web: www.brianfricke.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Brian.L.Fricke
Twitter: Twitter.com/BrianFrickeCFP

IMPORTANT: If this message was sent to you by a friend… you can grab a complimentary subscription to my Monthly print newsletter ($24.95 value). It can be fun, controversial, informative, but always worth your time. So take a moment to click here and claim your free subscription now.

Bonus: when you do, I’ll send you a signed copy of my book Worry Free Retirement, also at NO CHARGE!

***Listen To Last Week’s Call***
If you missed Last Week’s Call, 3 Retirement Lessons From The Smartest People I Know,
The digital Audio can be found here or you can Click on the link below to listen to the audio.

http://www.brianfricke.com/conference-calls

Most people know that if they take money out of an IRA before turning age 591/2, they have to pay a 10% penalty tax on the money. But did you know that there are actually some exceptions to the tax code? If you follow them to the tee, you can pull money out of your retirement account and avoid the 10% penalty tax. Here’s how;

If you have a short-term need for money, you can use the 60 day roll-over rule. If you pull money out of an IRA and redeposit the money within 60 days, the money isn’t considered taxable income and don’t have the 10% penalty tax. You can only do this one time every 12 months, so you need to keep good records to make sure you don’t take more than 1 distribution in any 12 month time period.

If you have money in an employer sponsored retirement plan like a 401k or 403b, you can take your money out after age 55 without incurring a penalty tax. Here’s how;

You have to separate from service with that company after you turn 55, and then take your distribution in order to avoid the 10% penalty tax. If you leave the company before your actual 55th birthday, as long as you turn 55 within that same calendar year, the 10% penalty will not apply, because you’ve turned 55 the year in which you separated service.

But what if you don’t have money in an employer retirement plan and/or you’re not yet 55 and you want to have access to your money and will need it longer than 60 days?

Then you could tax advantage of section 72t distributions. It allows you to set up an IRA account to take what the IRS calls a — series of substantially equal periodic payments — those payments will then avoid the 10% penalty tax.

Payments need to run for at least 5 years or until you turn 59 ½ (whichever time period is longer). Just be warned — the penalty if you don’t follow these rules is severe. If you violate the rule, all the prior years distributions are subject to the 10% penalty tax – in addition to the regular income tax you will have already paid on the distributions.

Sometimes, folks will start a 72t payment plan, and then they come into more money/income and wind up with taxable income that’s higher than what they had originally planned for. Then it becomes a numbers-crunching situation. Do you stop the payments and pay the penalty tax or do you continue the payments? Depending on your circumstances, it may make sense to terminate the 72t payment schedule.

Whenever possible, we encourage folks not to utilize a 72t payment schedule. You have to ensure that you maintain the integrity of the payments to avoid paying the penalty tax down the road, and to a degree you limit some of your flexibility. But under the right set of circumstances, a 72t plan can be a viable planning strategy.

Note: Please keep in mind that this article is for informational purposes only and should not to be relied upon as advice. It is merely a reminder that there are many choices you have available to you, and that planning is the only way to find the right answers for your situation! As with any financial issues, make sure you get the right information before making a decision! If you have any questions, we’ll be glad to help you!

Most people think that as an employee participating in their company’s 401k plan, that there are no costs to them for their account. Some of the costs are paid by the employer, but some are also paid by the employee, they just don’t ‘see the costs’ deducted from their account!
401K retirement plans are sold by different types of vendors. Sometimes it’s an insurance company, sometimes a discount brokerage firm (i.e. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard etc).

Typically, the larger the business, the lower each participant’s costs will be – so if you work for a company that has thousands of employees, on a per-person basis your costs are going to be lower than, say, somebody working for a company that has 5 employees.

A lot of times small business owners get involved with offering employee benefits without realizing the costs that are involved. The insurance companies are notorious for being more expensive in these cases. And, wouldn’t you know it, they have been the predominant 401k providers in the small business community, simply because a lot of the larger discount brokerage firms felt providing 401ks to small businesses wasn’t cost effective.

The good news is, this is changing. The bad news is that a lot of small businesses have 401k products they bought years ago that may not be the most cost effective solution today. So whether you’re an employee or an employer, you should take the time to look at what’s going on in your plans just to make sure that you are getting the most bang for your buck.

What typically happens with insurance companies is that they wrap their retirement plans in with an annuity product. From an investment perspective, annuities are expensive because they include an insurance element and insurance costs money. Typically those costs can run somewhere between 2 and 3% of plan assets. So if your 401k balance is $100,000, you’re paying around $3,000 per year! For an account most people think is free.

Years ago, plan charges were basically covered by the company that offered the plan. The company would pay the fee, and the participants paid a portion of that fee through the expenses passed on through their investments. But if you take a closer look at the mutual funds within your plan, sometimes, depending on the plan you are involved with, you can be surprised by what you find.

Employers are being sold 401K plans and being told that there are no admin or contract charges, but those fees are being pushed out to the investments themselves.

So what should you do? If you’re an employee of a small business, ask the owner what your total 401k fees are and how they compare to other options/choices that are available. It may trigger something in your employer, and they may decide it’s time to take a closer look.

Since the mid-1980s we’ve helped retirees manage their money. Guiding them towards making smart choices about their money before and during retirement. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly!

A successful retirement, just like a successful life, doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design. One of the biggest benefits of doing what we do is having the opportunity to witness firsthand how hundreds of families have handled their retirement.

I’m going to share with you the 3 biggest lessons we’ve learned from them. None have anything to do with ‘beating the market’. But have everything you need for a ‘Worry Free Retirement’!

This is the topic of Tuesday’s (Tues Aug 31st, 2010) ‘Coffee Talk’ call.
The information is Free, with no obligation on your part.

Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min.

Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172
Access Code: 825218#

(It’s OK if you Forward this to a few of your friends and business associates. They might find the call interesting and helpful too)!

Hope to ‘See’ you next Tuesday!

Brian Fricke, CFP
Author – Worry Free Retirement
Top Wealth Manager 2004 – 2009 -Wealth Manager Magazine
Top Financial Planning Firm – Orlando Business Journal
Email: bfricke@fmcretire.com
Web: www.brianfricke.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Brian.L.Fricke
Twitter: Twitter.com/BrianFrickeCFP

IMPORTANT: If this message was sent to you by a friend… you can grab a complimentary subscription to my Monthly print newsletter ($24.95 value). It can be fun, controversial, informative, but always worth your time. So take a moment to click here and claim your free subscription now.

Bonus: when you do, I’ll send you a signed copy of my book Worry Free Retirement, also at NO CHARGE!

***Listen To Last Week’s Call***
If you missed Last Week’s Call Surviving Spouses Over Pay On Taxes!!!
The digital Audio can be found here or you can Click on the link below to listen to the audio.

http://www.brianfricke.com/conference-calls

Don’t let this happen to you! This is a very common mistake most surviving spouses never even realize they’re making.

I’ll also be going over the basic estate documents everyone needs and how to tell whether or not you need a trust.

I’ll also share a few Estate Planning ‘nightmares’ that you’ll want to avoid.

This is the topic of Tuesday’s (Tues Aug 24th, 2010) ‘Coffee Talk’ call.
The information is Free, with no obligation on your part.

Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min.

Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172
Access Code: 825218#

(It’s OK if you Forward this to a few of your friends and business associates. They might find the call interesting and helpful too)!

Hope to ‘See’ you next Tuesday!

Brian Fricke, CFP
Author – Worry Free Retirement
Top Wealth Manager 2004 – 2009 -Wealth Manager Magazine
Top Financial Planning Firm – Orlando Business Journal
Email: bfricke@fmcretire.com
Web: www.brianfricke.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Brian.L.Fricke
Twitter: Twitter.com/BrianFrickeCFP

IMPORTANT: If this message was sent to you by a friend… you can grab a complimentary subscription to my Monthly print newsletter ($24.95 value). It can be fun, controversial, informative, but always worth your time. So take a moment to click here and claim your free subscription now.

Bonus: when you do, I’ll send you a signed copy of my book Worry Free Retirement, also at NO CHARGE!

***Listen To Last Week’s Call***
If you missed Last Week’s Call Do You Really Think Your Broker Works For Free???
The digital Audio can be found here or you can Click on the link below to listen to the audio.

http://www.brianfricke.com/conference-calls

Brian Fricke, author and retirement planning expert, has been granted membership into the prestigious organization, The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

Orlando, Fla. – August 17, 2010 – Brian Fricke, CFP, founder of Financial Management Concepts and “Worry Free Retirement” author and expert, was recently selected to join elite company in The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA.) The standards for entry into this organization are extremely tough; to date just over 2,000 financial advisors out of an estimated 450,000 financial advisors nationwide, have qualified for membership.

Brian Fricke is now a “NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor.” This designation is only available to Fee-Only® financial advisors who are paid directly by their clients. NAPFA members receive no commissions or other rewards for selling financial products, reducing potential conflicts of interest. Those forms of compensation create potential conflicts of interest that may undermine an advisors objectivity and fiduciary responsibility.

“We welcome Brian to NAPFA,” said NAPFA Chair William Baldwin. “The NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor designation denotes a real accomplishment for any financial advisor. We are always pleased when we can strengthen our ranks with well-trained, highly-committed financial advisors.”

In addition to tough entry standards, the NAPFA also has some of the industry’s most rigorous education and training requirements. The continuing education requirements exceed those of any other association of financial advisors.

Orlando Business Journal has named Financial Management Concepts one of the top financial planning companies in Central Florida. Financial Advisor magazine – an industry trade journal- has recognized him as one of the leading financial planning firms in America. Brian Fricke is a Certified Financial Planner. Financial Management Concepts is a Fee Only Financial Planning firm. They currently manage over $98 million of investment assets for a select community of clients.

For more information about Brian Fricke and Financial Management Concepts, please visit http://www.BrianFricke.com. You can also call toll free 1-800-294-4917 or send an email request to info@fmcretire.com

About Brian L. Fricke, CFP®:

Brian Fricke is the Author of “Worry Free Retirement, Do What You Want, When you Want, Where You Want”.

For the last 6 years in a row Brian and his company – Financial Management Concepts – have been named one of America’s Top Wealth Managers.

Orlando Business Journal has named his firm one of the top financial planning companies in Central Florida. Financial Advisor magazine – an industry trade journal- has recognized him as one of the leading financial planning firms in America.

If you’ve been in Central Florida over 10 years, you may have heard him on the radio. He used to host his own show on WDBO radio. He’s also served on the City of Winter Springs Board of Trustees Pension Fund.

Brian is a Certified Financial Planner. His firm – Financial Management Concepts – is a Fee Only Financial Planning firm. They currently manage over $98 million of investment assets for a select community of clients.

Brian and his team have worked with retirees and pre-retirees from companies like AT&T, Sprint, Harris, Lockheed Martin and Siemens/Westinghouse.
For more information, please visit http://www.BrianFricke.com

I am a financial expert. People turn to me for advice. But I will be the first to tell you I certainly have no way of knowing what’s next in terms of where the market is headed in the near future.

And I want to remind you to avoid anyone who says or thinks they do.
Everybody’s got an opinion. Everybody can back it up with all kinds of research. But at the end of the day, remember that if somebody really knew what the heck was going on, we’d all be lined up outside their door!

And we all know that just doesn’t exist. So we’ll continue to follow our buy and sell system, which is as unemotional as possible. And we’re going to let that be our guiding light in today’s choppy cloudy economic environment.

Sure, there are all kinds of so-called experts and talking heads and researchers and analysts with their own opinions on the economy and the market.

Back in 2005, a well-known investment banking company by the name of Lehman Brothers (and I think we all know where they’re at today) gave their most pessimistic, negative outlook on housing. Their forecast was three years of – 5% drops in value. In other words, values would drop – 5% a year for three years, and then resume normal appreciation every year thereafter.

Well, we all know what happened to the housing market — and we only wish it would have been that bad! But bad forecasting is not limited to Lehman. On the subject of housing prices, in 2004, Allen Greenspan was quoted saying that local economies could experience speculative price imbalances, but on a national basis that would be highly unlikely. In June of 2005, he reassured the world that if home prices declined, this likely would not have substantial implications. And in October 2006, back when people were bidding on homes and flipping the contracts within a couple of days without even closing, his comments were basically that housing prices were likely to be lower than the year before, but the worst was probably behind us. That was 2006, and we all know what happened to the housing market since then.

The important fact here is if there was ever a person with access to all the data and all the teams of advisers and researchers, it would be Greenspan, or the Fed chairman. And they still got it wrong!

Which is why our observation over the years has always been that when it seems like everybody wants to get into ‘it’, (gold anyone?) that’s the time to get out. And when everybody wants to get out, (stock market? real estate?) you want to be getting in.

I can’t tell you how many people I talk to that have said “my broker doesn’t charge me any fees.”

If you or someone you know feels this way then you should listen to this call to find out the SECRETS of the mutual fund industry.

I’ll show you how your broker gets paid and give you alternatives that could save you thousands of dollars.

This is the topic of Tuesday’s (Tues Aug 17th, 2010) ‘Coffee Talk’ call.
The information is Free, with no obligation on your part.

Call starts promptly at 9am & will run no longer than 30min.

Special Conference Call #: 1-800-304-3172
Access Code: 825218#

(It’s OK if you Forward this to a few of your friends and business associates. They might find the call interesting and helpful too)!

Hope to ‘See’ you next Tuesday!

Brian Fricke, CFP
Author – Worry Free Retirement
Top Wealth Manager 2004 – 2009 -Wealth Manager Magazine
Top Financial Planning Firm – Orlando Business Journal
Email: bfricke@fmcretire.com
Web: www.brianfricke.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Brian.L.Fricke
Twitter: Twitter.com/BrianFrickeCFP

IMPORTANT: If this message was sent to you by a friend… you can grab a complimentary subscription to my Monthly print newsletter ($24.95 value). It can be fun, controversial, informative, but always worth your time. So take a moment to click here and claim your free subscription now.

Bonus: when you do, I’ll send you a signed copy of my book Worry Free Retirement, also at NO CHARGE!

***Listen To Last Week’s Call***
If you missed Last Week’s Call Did You Know Your 401k Isn’t Free???
The digital Audio can be found here or you can Click on the link below to listen to the audio.

http://www.brianfricke.com/conference-calls