Here is a semi-quick way to make contact that will be easy to use and track in the future utilizing LinkedIn.

1. Find the person in LinkedIn
2. Invite them to connect
3. Use the invite window to give them a personalized greeting.
4. Repeat with the 4 dozen new contacts you just picked up.
5. Go to your “Connections” section, it will look like a roledex.
6. Click on the “Export Connections” icon at the lower left portion of the section.
7. Choose your preferred format (I use Outlook)
8. (If you are using Outlook) Go to File>Import and Export>Outlook and choose “From another program”

After a few more choices you should now have your new contacts imported into your Outlook and if you use a Smart phone they can now be sync’d to your phone.
Cheers,

-Sean Shoemaker

Once a person enters into retirement the money has to serve three roles: 

1. Provide a source of income
2. Insure that it never runs out
3. Provide a source of legacy for your family

To accomplish these three things the one thing that has to be understood is the money cannot be vulnerable to risks. This includes risks that most planners forget to plan for like taxes, inflation, change of needs and several other aspects that can devastate a plan. The common belief of  planners today is we cannot spend more than 4% of the total asset without risking the chance of running out of money. Even at this conservative rate of spending many people will still run out of money. At 4% can we even say we are enjoying our assets? 

Reasons for this:

1. Planners still pursuing higher rates of return by using market driven products
2. No liquidity in the plan – all assets are tied into one product or strategy and this creates problems when emergencies or opportunities present themselves.
3. People are living longer. If a couple retires there is a pretty good chance one of the two retirees will live to 100
4. Down Markets – If you are withdrawing 4% as you are advised and the market takes a 15% drop you just reduced your total sum of money by 19% if you have a few of these years ran together it can reduce your nest egg very quickly.   
5. Lack of integration – A great plan will not rely on one or two products but will combine several strategies and products which gives us the freedom to adjust and change directions even after retirement. Maybe a plan does include some market driven products as we pursue a better rate of return but we need to understand that this money cannot be a source of income during down trends so we need other resources to anchor our plan and grant us stability in turbulent markets.     

The problem retirees face is their planner is not really a planner but instead is a salesman. The planner sold you products that helped you get to retirement and the products may have done the job they were expected to do but now the retirees find themselves at a new place in life and the salesman who sold them the product that got them here doesnt want to admit that product has outlived its purpose. Consider life a trip. Your trip starts out in Florida and you buy a convertible car so you can enjoy the sun and fresh air. You bought the car because the salesman said it would be a great ride, it is the logical choice and there will be no worries. In Florida the salesman was correct a convertible car might be the best option but what happens if your destination is the North Pole. At some point along the trip a 4×4 may be more logical and at some point a dog sled will be required. The Dog Sled wasn’t even available to the car dealer in Florida so he didnt offer you this option. The dog sled isn’t as fancy as the convertible and it will not even go as fast as the 4×4 but the dog sled would insure that you made it to the destination.

My name is Rick Rentmeester and I am a planner. I take an Economic approach that insures that we look at the larger picture. How is one product going to work with another product and how does everything come together to serve you and your family. I am not the guy who sold you the convertible, I didnt sell you the 4×4 and I am not the guy who necessarily sells you the dog sled. I am the guy who maps out the trip, takes all of the alternate routes into consideration and in the end makes sure the trip is a success.

To Learn more or if you are interested in having a free retirement check up with no obligations, no sales hype, and most importantly no opinions drop me an email at rrentmeester@wisconsinfinancial.com. If you live in the United States outside of Wisconsin feel free to contact me and I can put you in touch with a planner in your state.

Some pending changes in my vehicles will leave me with an empty 6×12 trailer, so I plan to use that as a bus stop at the “Free Parking” area at Leicht Park. This change creates a great opportunity for you to promote your business. The interior walls of this trailer are white painted plywood and provide an empty canvas for your flyers or posters. I will also provide a “magazine-style” rack on the wall that will hold take-away flyers. I certainly plan to use this space myself and I am willing to share this space with you. Depending on the weather this could be an extremely high traffic area.

I am also looking for someone willing to sponsor benches for the interior of the trailer. If you are interested you are welcome to decorate them any way you like I just ask that they be serviceable and presentable. There is possibly room for park benches, but I think purpose built 2×12 seats would be preferable. Please let Sean know if you are interested in this soon at 920-544-3452.

• A new page that is targeted at the employees of current client businesses
• A new background and color scheme
• In lieu of a links page the links to the chamber and HBBA are now displayed on each page.
• The new navigation buttons were created by my friend, roomate, and resident graphic arts student Jay Johnson. The design mimics the heading markers he designed when making my brochure.

Future planned revisions include:

• More in-page pop-up content to reduce the displayed text.
• Testimonials displayed throughout the site (quotes would be greatly appreciated).
• An attached blog or newsletter archive.
• The sign up page will be upgraded to allow online payment.
• Eventually customers will be able to view, edit and print their individual service history.

Visit the new website and please let me know what you think in the comments.