At Mackey Advisors, Your Prosperity Partner it has been an exciting and challenging year. As we all know, a deep stock market decline began in earnest in October 2008 and continued into early 2009. As wealth advisors, we wish we could control the market, but instead have to rely on discipline and research to make our best judgments for our clients. We did a lot of listening and created many new venues for communication, including webinars, and this new blog.
Mackey Advisors had a few additions for 2009 including:
•The Prosperity Experience®, an integrated wealth advisory program for individuals and businesses that creates a lifelong process for prosperity. TPE was in the creational realm for 3 years. The Wisdom Link, Jon LoDuca, provided the spark to move us into the final phase of development and Mort Nicholson added his wisdom to help craft the final version and align the individual and business processes. Thank you Jon and Mort.
•New team members: Sarah Lee, Administrative Manager; Kathi Baker, CPA and Shared CFO; Katie Kreimer, Staff Accountant; and Grace Mohr, Marketing and Communications Coordinator.
•Many new business and individual clients thanks to our friends and clients who beat the drum and tell their friends and family about our services.
May prosperity be yours,
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS
Mackey Advisors, CPA
www.CultivatingProsperity.com
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
4 Last Minute Holiday Money Tips!
by: Brian J. O'Connor
The Detroit News
The 2009 holiday shopping season has only four days left, but consumers still have time to take a minute to review how their spending is progressing. CPA Mackey McNeill, a member of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, offers these tips for a cost-effective holiday:
• Review your budget: Take a moment to review your holiday shopping list to see if your budget is still in check.
Ask yourself: Am I on target with my original budget for the season? Do I need to revise for whom I am buying or what I am buying for them? Do I have any last-minute gifts or people that I did not account for originally?
• In the spirit of giving: Consider making a donation in the name of a family member or friend to their favorite charity instead of, or including, a small gift.
The charity donation will help someone less fortunate during the holidays, and you can take a deduction on your 2009 taxes.
• Cost-efficient holiday ideas: Be creative in your gift giving. Frame a special photograph, for example. If you have a talent that lends itself to personal expression, like knitting or songwriting, make use of it. Gifts like these will have sentimental value and be memorable; not to mention less expensive.
• Do additional research: Once you have reviewed your shopping list, become an educated shopper and compare prices. You may be able to save a few dollars on each gift, which can add up and allow you to stretch your budget even further. Use coupons for additional discounts.
The Detroit News
The 2009 holiday shopping season has only four days left, but consumers still have time to take a minute to review how their spending is progressing. CPA Mackey McNeill, a member of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, offers these tips for a cost-effective holiday:
• Review your budget: Take a moment to review your holiday shopping list to see if your budget is still in check.
Ask yourself: Am I on target with my original budget for the season? Do I need to revise for whom I am buying or what I am buying for them? Do I have any last-minute gifts or people that I did not account for originally?
• In the spirit of giving: Consider making a donation in the name of a family member or friend to their favorite charity instead of, or including, a small gift.
The charity donation will help someone less fortunate during the holidays, and you can take a deduction on your 2009 taxes.
• Cost-efficient holiday ideas: Be creative in your gift giving. Frame a special photograph, for example. If you have a talent that lends itself to personal expression, like knitting or songwriting, make use of it. Gifts like these will have sentimental value and be memorable; not to mention less expensive.
• Do additional research: Once you have reviewed your shopping list, become an educated shopper and compare prices. You may be able to save a few dollars on each gift, which can add up and allow you to stretch your budget even further. Use coupons for additional discounts.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Solstice Prosperity Lessons
What is often needed to create more prosperity in our lives is a change of perspective. Have you ever heard the saying, "It is darkest, just before dawn?"
When there is the least amount of sunlight every day, Winter Solstice, is the day when the earth begins to create more light. We may not notice the new light for several weeks or months, but none the less, it is happening little by little.
If you are in a dark moment of prosperity, remember this saying and hold it as comfort. The light is coming. You may not see it right away, but it is coming all the same.
This year Winter Solstice is December 21st. Why not use this day as a day of gratitude, for the darkness that teaches us about the light?
May prosperity be yours,
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS
CEO and President
Mackey Advisors
www.CultivatingProsperity.com
When there is the least amount of sunlight every day, Winter Solstice, is the day when the earth begins to create more light. We may not notice the new light for several weeks or months, but none the less, it is happening little by little.
If you are in a dark moment of prosperity, remember this saying and hold it as comfort. The light is coming. You may not see it right away, but it is coming all the same.
This year Winter Solstice is December 21st. Why not use this day as a day of gratitude, for the darkness that teaches us about the light?
May prosperity be yours,
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS
CEO and President
Mackey Advisors
www.CultivatingProsperity.com
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Quit Whining and Get Financially Healthy
Rarely does a week go by that I don't hear about some small business person who cannot get a loan. PLEASE! The main reason we are in the mess we are in now, is that access to credit was too easy. If you could fog a mirror you could get a loan.
Now you have to actually be credit worthy. For a small business owner, that involves going the right things financially, like building equity either from your personal funds or from retaining earnings in the business. It means managing your business. Treating it like a business and not just a job.
Today if you have a healthy balance sheet, you can access credit. If you don't, instead of complaining about it, why not just get busy doing what you need to do to make yourself credit worthy. Lower your debt. Build your equity. Manage your cash flow. Watch your numbers like a hawk. Grow your market share.
Quit whining and get busy!
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS
Mackey Advisors
www.CultivatingProsperity.com
Now you have to actually be credit worthy. For a small business owner, that involves going the right things financially, like building equity either from your personal funds or from retaining earnings in the business. It means managing your business. Treating it like a business and not just a job.
Today if you have a healthy balance sheet, you can access credit. If you don't, instead of complaining about it, why not just get busy doing what you need to do to make yourself credit worthy. Lower your debt. Build your equity. Manage your cash flow. Watch your numbers like a hawk. Grow your market share.
Quit whining and get busy!
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS
Mackey Advisors
www.CultivatingProsperity.com
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Simple Lifestyle Changes that will Save You Money!
The weather outside may be frightful, but here are a few ways to keep the inside delightful and not break the bank. With just a few changes in your lifestyle you can save the planet by cutting down on your energy use and save a little pocket change.
Energy Saving Tips for the Winter Ahead:
By: Grace Mohr
Energy Saving Tips for the Winter Ahead:
- Close up rooms that are not used on a regular basis, like a guest bedroom. Close the vents, turn down the thermostat, and close the door. There is no sense heating a room that is not occupied
- Turn down the thermostat and use space heaters in frequently used spaces. Turning down your thermostat even 1 degree can save you 3% on your energy bill!
- Minimize the use of ventilation fans. A bathroom fan can suck all the heated air out of the average home in little more than an hour.
- Keep your furnace, heat pump, or other heating equipment maintained and running as efficiently as possible. Look into purchasing a maintenance agreement. In the long run it could save your family lots of money.
- Ceiling fans do more than keep you cool during the summer; they can warm during the winter. It’s as simple as flipping a switch to change the direction of the blades, which pushes warm air down.
- Keep the water heater temperature at 120 degrees or cooler.
- When washing clothes always wash full loads and use cold water whenever possible.
- We all love those long hot showers in the winter, but by cutting your shower time in half you can save 33% on hot water costs.
- Let Mother Nature lend a warm hand. Open up the curtains and blinds on all South facing windows during the day and let the sunlight heat the house naturally. But be sure to close them before the sun goes down to keep the heat within the house.
By: Grace Mohr
Monday, December 14, 2009
Focusing on the “Important” and not on the “Urgent”
by Mackey McNeill
Several years ago, my weekly schedule was structured around working in my Covington office three days a week and in my home office two days a week. It was a transformative time for the firm, and it gave me the freedom to work ON my business rather than IN my business, focusing on the important and non-urgent matters of the firm rather than the daily tasks associated with its function. That much focus and attention paid to entrepreneurial, visionary work was time well spent and resulted in a new foundation for Mackey Advisors. In fact, it worked so well that I quit doing it! Maybe you have had a similar experience. Something worked so well, you think you’re finished and you return to an old routine.
My abnormal schedule drew questions from my peers, as its “normal” to go the office five days a week. People would ask me, “What do you do at home two days a week?” I would explain that I spent it working “on” my business by connecting with key customers, reviewing my strategic plan, updating my budget and projections and thinking through new ideas and processes. I would watch as they run my response through their judgment filter, thinking, “Mackey is goofing off two days a week.”
In Stephen Covey’s work, he calls it the Four Quadrants. Click here for the quadrant matrix It is Quadrant 2, focusing on the Important and Non-urgent matters, that allow us to make quantum leaps in our lives. During my work-at-home period, I focused heavily on Quadrant 2 activity, and saw tremendous growth and positive change in my business.
For 2010, I have lots of goals…and one big schedule change. I am ready to return to a regular work-at-home schedule, dedicating focused attention on strategic matters that will continue to define Mackey Advisors as the leader in innovative financial services.
As of January 1, 2010, I am going to schedule one work-at-home day per week. My goal is to be so effective with this strategy as to allow me to reduce my schedule to a four day work week (three in the Covington office and one in my home office) by July 1st 2010. The extra day I create will be used to play, garden, fly fish, and spend time on community projects relative to greening the environment and creating a more sustainable world. Some might see that as “goofing off”, but I prefer to see it as a way to nurture my creativity, to deliver results in additional areas for which I have passion, and to expand upon the legacy I wish to leave for future generations.
The new year is a natural time for new beginnings. Why not take an evening, or just a quiet hour to assess the Important and Non urgent matters in your business and your personal life, especially with regard to your spouse or your children? Find the one big change you will make in your life in 2010 and prepare to leap into a new vision of your life.
Several years ago, my weekly schedule was structured around working in my Covington office three days a week and in my home office two days a week. It was a transformative time for the firm, and it gave me the freedom to work ON my business rather than IN my business, focusing on the important and non-urgent matters of the firm rather than the daily tasks associated with its function. That much focus and attention paid to entrepreneurial, visionary work was time well spent and resulted in a new foundation for Mackey Advisors. In fact, it worked so well that I quit doing it! Maybe you have had a similar experience. Something worked so well, you think you’re finished and you return to an old routine.
My abnormal schedule drew questions from my peers, as its “normal” to go the office five days a week. People would ask me, “What do you do at home two days a week?” I would explain that I spent it working “on” my business by connecting with key customers, reviewing my strategic plan, updating my budget and projections and thinking through new ideas and processes. I would watch as they run my response through their judgment filter, thinking, “Mackey is goofing off two days a week.”
In Stephen Covey’s work, he calls it the Four Quadrants. Click here for the quadrant matrix It is Quadrant 2, focusing on the Important and Non-urgent matters, that allow us to make quantum leaps in our lives. During my work-at-home period, I focused heavily on Quadrant 2 activity, and saw tremendous growth and positive change in my business.
For 2010, I have lots of goals…and one big schedule change. I am ready to return to a regular work-at-home schedule, dedicating focused attention on strategic matters that will continue to define Mackey Advisors as the leader in innovative financial services.
As of January 1, 2010, I am going to schedule one work-at-home day per week. My goal is to be so effective with this strategy as to allow me to reduce my schedule to a four day work week (three in the Covington office and one in my home office) by July 1st 2010. The extra day I create will be used to play, garden, fly fish, and spend time on community projects relative to greening the environment and creating a more sustainable world. Some might see that as “goofing off”, but I prefer to see it as a way to nurture my creativity, to deliver results in additional areas for which I have passion, and to expand upon the legacy I wish to leave for future generations.
The new year is a natural time for new beginnings. Why not take an evening, or just a quiet hour to assess the Important and Non urgent matters in your business and your personal life, especially with regard to your spouse or your children? Find the one big change you will make in your life in 2010 and prepare to leap into a new vision of your life.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Know more about your Food
If you have an interest in local and organic food, grown using ecologically sound principles, consider attending the OEFFA conference this February in Granville, Ohio. OEFFA stands for Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.
My husband and I attended the OEFFA conference last year and found it very informative. Some of the topics we learned about where: cooking local food, beekeeping, storm water management, traditional methods of farming and their impact on the environment, starting and growing a CSA.
This years conference features Joel Salatin, author of Everything I Want to do is Illegal.
Learn more at www.OEFFA.org
May prosperity be yours,
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS
Mackey Advisors
www.CultivatingProsperity.com
My husband and I attended the OEFFA conference last year and found it very informative. Some of the topics we learned about where: cooking local food, beekeeping, storm water management, traditional methods of farming and their impact on the environment, starting and growing a CSA.
This years conference features Joel Salatin, author of Everything I Want to do is Illegal.
Learn more at www.OEFFA.org
May prosperity be yours,
Mackey McNeill, CPA/PFS
Mackey Advisors
www.CultivatingProsperity.com
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