What? There aren’t any New Year’s parties in September. What, pray tell, are you talking about, Steinberg?
Think about it. Here is what happens around the beginning of September: summer is, except for TV weather people, over. Football begins, baseball winds down and the kids go back to school. The weather cools, the summer TV season ends, the swimming pools close and hockey starts training camp.
And it feels like everything is beginning again.
Now, contrast this with January 1st. The kids are still in school and only halfway done. The weather already has been cold and stays cold, football still plays on until February and baseball spring training is nowhere in sight. Hockey is barely at midyear. So, really, if it weren’t for the change in the calendar, what would make it a new year?
So the real new year in September would be a great time to examine your financial situation. Are you paying your bills on time? Do you have enough income for essentials? The essentials include transportation, of course, so how are your vehicles doing? Have you been able to save for emergencies or a vacation? Do you need to pay many things with a charge card because you have no cash flow? And are you confused enough about your financial situation that you think you need help?
We might be the ones you need to speak to for that help. Certainly, you should call us before you call anyone from out of the area who you can’t see or shake hands with.
Just the other day, a client told me a story that I hear so often. He had sent thousands of dollars to a “debt consolidation” company in Florida over three years, but all of the sudden the sheriff was at his door, telling him that his property was being levied (which means to be sold) in two weeks. He was incredulous. He hadn’t even been sued!
Wrong. He had been sued, but he didn’t know because the Florida company had his Power of Attorney, received the notices, and now they are nowhere to be found.
We are stopping the levy, or sale, of his property, so no harm done. other than the $11,000 that he wasted. But his story is a reminder that maybe this is a good time to take a look at your financial situation. It is an ideal time of year to do it.
And one more thing: Happy New Year!