Review and GIVEAWAY - The Financial Crossroads The Intersection Of Money And Life

I received 2 copies of "The Financial Crossroads The Intersection Of Money And Life" by Jim Stovall & Timothy J. Maurer, CFP.
Jim Stovall is the international best-selling author of "The Ultimate Gift". Timothy J. Maurer is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) practitioner and a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the Financial Planning Association (FPA).

About the book...

"What is the common denominator of virtually everything you do in life? life? MONEY! It brings out the best—and the worst—in us. But what what is it actually worth? Nothing more than what you, or someone else, is willing to believe. It is the tool used by great philanthropists to to ease the suffering of millions, but it is also the number one cause of of divorce and relational strife, and the driving force behind the drug trade and many forms of terrorism.

What does money mean to you? Do you control it, or does it control you?

There are an endless number of books that tell you what to do with your money. There are even more books that books that tell you how to, and how not to, live. Why is it that these two things that are so inseparable—money money and life—are only addressed separately? This book addresses the intersection of the two.

This is not another financial how-to book, nor is it a collection of philosophical rambling that is hard to apply to apply to daily life. It is the Timeless Truths of personal finance. Many of these have been forgotten, destining destining so many into financial hardship, but they are the essential foundations for your successful financial future. We also offer Timely Applications, giving you the opportunity to apply these Timeless Truths to your your daily life.

Your financial plan is part of your life, so we never lose sight of that as we address each of the primary elements of traditional financial planning. But instead of dry discussions on goal setting, budgeting, insuring, insuring, investing, retirement, education planning, tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning, we’ll we’ll address topics including:

• How to write your own Personal Money Story
• How to spend $1 million at Starbucks
• What dogs can teach us about investing and taxes
• Why you should ditch your retirement plan

The Great Recession has left all of us at a Financial Crossroads. Which path will you take?"

The book takes you through developing your "Personal Principles & Goals" and a number of other helpful tools to assist you with analyzing your cash flow, creating a budget, examining your debt/debt elimination; and insurance, retirement and legacy planning. All the tools are in the book, and templates are available online for download for you to complete.

"What you believe about money will determine what you will do for and with it. This is the driving ideology throughout The Financial Crossroads: The Intersection of MONEY and LIFE. Unlike most personal financial books, this book not only educates, but strives to enlighten, empower and enrich the reader. Enlighten the reader to the reality of what money is and what it is meant to do. Empower the reader to take control and not let money be the driving force in their lives. Enrich the reader by providing clearer thinking and a better understanding of the importance of relationships."

I will be giving away 2 copies of "The Financial Crossroads The Intersection Of Money And Life" by Jim Stovall & Timothy J. Maurer, CFP and will announce the winners on May 12, 2010. Winners must contact me within 48 hours of the announcement, or I will draw new winner.

To enter:

1. Simply leave a comment. If your email address is not in your profile, please include it in your comment so I have a way to contact you if you win.

2. For an extra entry, leave an additional comment if you are a follower of Lola's Diner. (If you're not already a follower, become one.)

Lola's Diner Disclaimer: I was given this book to review and giveaway. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Ok, so I've been saying I need a vacation for forever, right? Even if it's a weekend getaway. I have literally spent the last 2 days...until the wee hours searching for a hotel that fits the bill, within a modest drive from where I live. Certain destinations were ruled out because my girlfriend and I wanted someplace neither of us had been. We decided we wanted certain amenities, so that ruled out a lot of hotels/resorts. Also, price ruled out most resorts. Some were completely outrageous! We also wanted a smoking room. That seemed to be the thing that caused the biggest issue. We were willing to begrudgingly compromise on the amenities, but not that. It seems most hotel chains have now gone 100% non-smoking. Planning a getaway should not be so difficult! Arghh! Finally I found a place, actually very close that fit all of our requirements and wasn't outrageously priced. Hallelujah!

Not to cause controversy, but this new Arizona law just boggles the mind. For one, aren't we all descended from immigrants? And secondly, isn't this just going to turn into either racial profiling or what the seat belt law became? At first the seat belt law was they can't just stop you to check your seat belt, they have to have another reason for the traffic stop, like speeding, running a red light or tail light out, or whatever. Now most cities have checkpoints on the weekends/holidays and "supposedly" stop cars randomly to check for drunk drivers...and failure to use a seat belt. Is Arizona going to expand their weekend/holiday checkpoints to check for citizenship papers? It just doesn't seem right. And frankly, I'm surprised I'm taking this position on this issue, because when Chicago had the first immigration march a few years ago, I took the exact opposite position.

Maddux went for his pre-surgery physical Monday. The vet was running very late and we ended up waiting about 40 minutes in the exam room. I let Maddux out of his cage upon entering the room. He walked around and investigated the exam table and counter area, then began climbing on my shoulders just like he did when I first brought him home from the shelter. After awhile I guess he got bored and just laid out on the exam table. All relaxed. I took photos with my camera phone, but I can't get them on here, sorry. He laid on the table until the vet finally came in. As soon as he saw the vet he crawled up my shoulder again. The vet ended up doing the exam with him perched on my shoulder! We were both laughing our asses off. After the exam was finished, the vet explained the procedures in detail and let the vet pet him. Maddux behaved totally opposite of Irish (aka our Diva). When Irish goes to the vet they have to take her in the back room, put on gloves, grab a blanket and call for back-up because she freaks. Maddux is just a laid back dude I guess. He's having his surgery today and will be coming home on Wednesday.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

April Top Commenter Winners!

1st Place - 3 Week Free Ad.
2nd Place - 2 Week Free Ad.
3rd Place - 1 Week Free Ad.

Here are the results:

1st Place - Lin @ Duck and Wheel With String 3 Week Ad spot.
2nd Place - Jen @ Redhead Ranting 2 Week Ad spot.
3rd Place - Harriet @ Harriet And Friends 3 Week Ad spot.

Congratulations to the winners! Ads will be up shortly.

Just a reminder to everyone that my Top Commenter Contest will be running in May, so now is your chance to stake out your spot at the counter or grab a booth.

Feel free to copy this contest and link back to me to give me credit for it!

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

No longer a young party animal...

OMG! I am no longer a young party animal. I confess...I am an old fart!

This whole weekend has been a weekend of opposites to my norm. My gf came out late Friday night, as she was unexpectedly without kids. Saturday morning when Anastasia came with her new partner to pick up the kids for a fun day, they spent more than a half hour trying to fix the kid's basketball hoop. While this was going on...I boldly walked up to her new partner, held out my hand and introduced myself.

Saturday night my gf and I went with our group to the nightclub. They had live band karaoke. What a fun time! No, I didn't get up on stage, but just about everyone else at our table did. Some of the people from the crowd were actually quite talented singers. Others...well, they were clunkers, but it was still fun to watch. (Nothing like a train wreck. lol!) I had more than a couple adult beverages and was very grateful for sunglasses and heated car seats this morning. (Oh my aching back!) I can't even remember when I've had this much fun, or stayed out so late. I remember back in the day, Saturday nights like this were the norm. In fact...Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights like this Saturday were the norm. Yes..I'm officially an old fart. There...I've said it.

I am not so grateful for Drummer Boy/aka Metallica-head. For the last 2 hours he has been wreaking havoc on an electric guitar. He has not even played part of a single song. It's just crap! (Oh wait...I recognize Judas Priest...but he only played the beginning. Arghhh!) Note to Drummer Boy...if it takes longer than an hour to tune your electric guitar, you may want to consider getting a new guitar or...another hobby...one that requires no musical instruments!

I gotta get the heck out of dodge. If I have to listen to this guitar crap any longer...I can't be held responsible for my actions!

So how was your weekend?

(This may very well be the post with the most ellipses I've ever done. lol!)

Lola's Diner©2008-2010