In these times of economic chaos, people are not sure where to turn for help in navigating through the financial headwinds. Well help is just around the corner and it’s free! All across the nation, professional financial planners are celebrating Financial Planning Week by offering free advice to anyone seeking answers to their most perplexing questions. In addition, a number of financial planners will speak on a variety of topics.
Here in Birmingham, the Financial Planning Association of North Alabama will host a Financial Planning Expo this coming Tuesday, October 2nd, at the Homewood City Hall Building in Rosewood Hall from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For you GPSers, the street address is 2850 19th Street, Homewood, AL. There’ll be plenty of coffee and cookies and easy access parking.
This is your opportunity to have a 30-minute one-on-one consultation with a financial planner at no cost. Area planners promise to give you their best advice with no strings attached fielding questions regarding your personal circumstances including such areas as solving debt problems, how to pay for college, foreclosure assistance, successful investing in a low-interest-rate environment, how to maximize Social Security income, managing health insurance costs, reducing taxes, long-term care planning, and retirement strategies. And this is just a few of the topics they’re prepared to cover. If you have financial questions, we have answers! Your visit will be held in the strictest confidence. If you want to take advantage of these services here’s what to do:
- Come for the entire program or feel free to pick and choose among speaker’s topics that interest you. Each presenter will speak for approximately fifteen minutes and then be available to answer your questions pertaining to that topic for an additional 30 minutes. Our goal is to allow ample time for you to ask your questions.
- For one-on-one private sessions, the FPA will set up tables manned by experienced financial planners. You need only show up and you’ll be escorted to one of the tables for your private consultation. To receive the most benefit from your private consultation, be sure to bring any supporting data such as credit card statements, loan agreements, wills, financial statements, investment statements or insurance policies. Financial planners will be available to visit with you from 4:15 to 7:45 p.m.
Here are the speaker’s topics:
4:00 p.m. I’ll kick off the program with “Questions for Your Financial Professionals”. We all work with a variety of professional advisors including insurance representatives, accountants, lawyers, financial planners and bankers. I’ll discuss how you can maximize results while minimizing professional fees and expenses.
4:55 p.m. Bob Straka, CFP will present, “Introduction to Financial Planning”. If you’re curious if financial planning would benefit you, come hear Bob discuss the benefits, costs and the process of financial planning.
5:40 p.m. The cost of paying for a college education continues to rise well above inflation year-after-year. If you’d like to know some secrets to funding college costs, come hear David LeCompte, CFP, present “Planning for Costs of Higher Education”.
6:25 p.m. With over fifteen million Americans out of work, everybody knows someone who’s dealing with the horrors of unemployment. Todd Talbot, CFP, will present simple strategies to help you to not only survive a job loss, but to be ready to thrive when this economy rebounds.
7:10 p.m. Medicare if fraught with pitfalls for the uninformed. Social Security is just about as complicated. Come hear Kimberly Reynolds, CFP, discuss little-known tricks for maximizing your benefits in her presentation, “Navigating Social Security and Medicare”.
Don’t miss this once-a-year opportunity to learn money-saving ideas from top financial planners in Alabama. When you’re finished, treat yourself to dinner at one of the great restaurants in the Homewood area! For more information visit www.fpana.org.