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Kenneth W. Keller: Finding paydirt in seven clear steps
Everyone, it seems, has heard of someone who is an “overnight success.” The reality is, the definition of “overnight,” when the layers of time are peeled away, is something more like two decades.

	Jim Lentini: Tips for guaranteeing your retirement Thanks to healthier lifestyles and increased longevity, the modern retiree can expect to enjoy an increased amount of time in retirement. Consequently, a primary concern of today’s retirees is that they will run out of money too soon.
	Janice France-Pettit: Finances for couples Couples have important decisions to make regarding how to manage their finances. Basic choices, such as opening a joint checking account, filing jointly or separately on your taxes and determining how you will invest in the stock market are a few of the decisions you are likely to face.
	Gina MacDonald: Digital estate planning Once upon a time, the key to a safe deposit box was all loved ones needed to unlock the secrets of a life recently ended. Today many aspects of our lives, both financial and personal, are lived in places accessible only by a password.
	Kenneth W. Keller: Tough selling points for bosses It's easy to tell those in sales "be grateful you have a job," but that won't win either hearts or minds. It will only make people angry. No one in sales wants to be unsuccessful.
	Jim Lentini: Rule changes to know for retirement in 2010 Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) will resume in 2010. After the unprecedented market volatility that occurred during the second half of 2008, the Worker, Retiree and Employer Act of 2008 was signed into law.
	Brian Tinkham: Social networking on the Internet and defamation claims In the past, businesses and individuals relied in part on word-of-mouth from existing clients in order to market their products or services. If you had a problem, you would ask a friend and he would say, "You need to go to so-and-so for that problem, product or service."
	Michael Green: Deduct donations to Haiti on your 2009 tax return According to the IRS, people who give to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti can claim these donations on the tax return they are completing this season. The new law was enacted after the 2009 forms, instructions and publications had already been printed.
	Kenneth W. Keller: Advice for a small-business owner Dear Ken, I have been reading and saving your articles for years. I take your advice. In talking with other small-business owners, we discovered we are all burned out! We are working and working and being creative and slashing our overhead and still hardly any customers are coming in. I have cut my costs to the bare bones and reduced my prices to less than what they were 10 years ago. We are finding that ...
	Chris S. Jacobsen: Is your business ready for the upturn? The sluggish economy has hit businesses across the board. While some businesses have started to see light at the end of the tunnel, others are still waiting for signs of encouragement.
	Kenneth W. Keller: How workers can help companies The past two weeks, this column has covered who is responsible for doing what needs to be done to turn a company around.
	Jim Lentini: Moving to guarantees Today’s economic turmoil has shown a need to create a guaranteed steady stream of income in retirement. Annuities are beginning to gain some popularity among consumers and formerly skeptical financial professionals.
	Janice France-Pettit: Important tax tips for the year ahead "Nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes." Despite Benjamin Franklin's drab depiction of taxation, the thought of filing your return should not be avoided or even feared.
	Julie M. Sturgeon: Things you can do to fight identity theft The Department of Justice prosecutes cases of identity theft and fraud under a variety of federal statutes. Offenses carry with them maximum terms of up to 15 years imprisonment and fines.
	Kenneth W. Keller: Managers: It’s time to provide leadership or leave When a company is underperforming, the owner looks first at the employees for improvement and not in the mirror. The employees, however, look to the owner for leadership.
	Jim Lentini: Longevity, annuities and long-term care “Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” — Benjamin Franklin That was in the 18th century. The 21st century adaptation might be: “Nothing is certain but longevity and taxes.” Longevity is a known financial risk and its importance will grow year after year. Why? Because retirement planning ends with addressing income needs only through average life expectancy, which is about age 85 for males and age 87 for females who currently are age 65. In ...
	Tips on rebuilding your retirement savings Many of our Santa Clarita clients are still trying to recover lost retirement funds from the recent economic downturn.
	Don Ricketts: What are the limits on medical marijuana? In 1996, California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act, which decriminalized the cultivation, possession and use of “medical marijuana” by adults who held a recommendation for use from a medical doctor — a “prescription,” so to speak.
	Randall D. Armour: Does estate planning offer creditor protection? One of the most common questions I am asked when meeting with a client to discuss estate planning is whether or not the estate plan will offer them protection from creditors.
	Kenneth W. Keller: Turning a company around begins with the owner Here is a quick method to decide if you should read this column. If you are happy, delighted and satisfied with how your company is running and the results are just what you want, read another column in the paper.
	Jim Lentini: Planning your New Year’s financial resolutions At the beginning of the New Year, it is a time when millions of us turn his or her best intentions into New Year’s resolutions.
	Janice France-Pettit: Is it time to refinance With mortgage interest rates near record lows, many home owners are considering refinancing. You may be wondering if this is an opportune time for you to refinance.
	Robert Mansour: Having an estate plan is just the beginning When the issue of estate planning comes up, some people tell me, “Oh, we’ve already taken care of that.” Then I ask them some specific questions about their plan, and the answer is almost always “I don’t know.”
	Kenneth W. Keller: Business lessons from the Battle of the Bulge Last December marked the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, the last significant engagement of ground forces in Europe in World War II.
	Jim Lentini: New rules for converting IRAs to Roth IRAs One of the important changes happening in 2010 in pension planning is the ability for higher-income individuals to convert traditional IRAs into Roth IRAs.
	Janice France-Pettit: How to make the best of the current economy The current state of our nation’s economy has been difficult for many homeowners. Mounting foreclosures, plunging home values and swelling adjustable-rate mortgages have left some property owners facing bankruptcy or foreclosure.
	Robert Mansour: Getting medical care after an accident After you’ve had an injury, whether it’s from a car accident or other incident, you need to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
	Kenneth W. Keller: How healthy is your company heart? The heart in your chest pumps 72 times every minute. According to worldinvisible.com, your heart is essentially a pump, a muscle pumping blood throughout the body. Blood carries all the vital materials which help bodies function and removes unneeded waste products. The heart is a very efficient muscle except when it becomes damaged.
	Jim Lentini: Gifting and 529 college preparation Investing in education is one critical way to help secure a child's future. Gifting money into a 529 savings plan can offer benefits to the account holder and the beneficiary. With college costs on the rise and government subsidies of education on all levels a challenge for the immediate future, financing an education can be a challenge. When putting together college savings investment strategy, the following advantages of a 529 plan can be very beneficial ...
	Janice France-Pettit: A primer for small business loans in 2010 In today’s challenging economic environment, small business loans may seem harder to come by. During 2009, much emphasis was placed on programs encouraging banks to increase access to credit for businesses to help support a speedy economic recovery.