"The most important thing is getting clarity about the big picture so you can cope with the unexpected. Maybe you’ll lose the job you thought was secure; you’ll take a financial risk that doesn’t pan out; you’ll have twins when you were only budgeting for one. In other words: Life will happen." Carl Richards

Today we were joined by the author of the new book The One Page Financial Plan, Carl Richards.

Carl Richards is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and the director of investor education for the BAM ALLIANCE, a community of over 130 independent wealth management firms throughout the United States. He is the creator of the weekly Sketch Guy column in the The New York Times, and is a columnist for Morningstar Advisor. Carl has also been featured on Marketplace Money, The Leonard Lopate Show, Oprah.com and Forbes.com. In addition, Carl has become a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences and visual learning events around the world.

Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. His sketches also serve as the foundation for his first book, The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money (Portfolio/Penguin). Carl's art appeared in a solo show at the Kimball Art Center, in Park City, Utah. Other showings include The Parson's Gallery in New York, The Shultz Museum, and an exhibit at the Mansion House in London. His commissioned work is on display in businesses and educational institutions across the country. He lives with his family in Park City, Utah.

We were also joined by Suzanne Edwards from the Houston Business Journal for our monthly check in on the local Houston business news. Suzanne discussed the oil market, mergers and acquisitions and roboinvesting.

The One-Page Financial Plan

You can find out more about Carl Richards  by visiting the website at:

#behaviorgap

@hbjsuzanne

We are at about 75,000 Energy and Oil job losses nationwide since the drop in oil prices began. Here in Houston we all have friends or family members who might have been in this initial round of layoffs. The bad news in that it is not over yet. According to our guest the 2nd round of cuts will be coming shortly down the road. The good news is that there is hope. If you know someone who has been let go or is worried that they might be let go soon then please share this episode with them.

On today's show we were joined by Brian Newkirk of Search Group International and Todd Brinegar of Fikser.us. We discussed:

- When are the next round of cuts coming

- Mergers and Acquisistions

- The partnership of SGI and FIKSER working to get Houstonians back to work in similar fields or new jobs

- What to do if you have been laid off

-The biggest mistakes made by those looking for work

and much more....

Tune in Tomorrow Morning at 10 AM to hear me on Business Newsmakers Radio W/ Lou Garino 1110 KTEK AM Wall Street Journal Radio. We will be talking about Houston Money Week and much more.

http://www.businessnewsmakersradio.com/

I was on KPFT News yesterday doing a short spot on Getting Your Finances Straight for the New Year. If you missed it you can click on the link below to check it out.

KPFT News

You can listen live by going to www.kpft.org and clicking on the HD3 tab. You can also listen to this episode and others by podcast at:

http://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/moneymatters

or

www.moneymatterspodcast.com

 #kpft

Listen in tommorow on KPFT 90.1 FM during the 4 o'clock news. I will be interviewed about the Money Matters show, give a year end wrap up and a sneak peak of the exciting changes we have planned for 2015.

12/23/2014 @ 4:00 PM

You can listen live by tuning in to 90.1 on the FM dial or www.kpft.org listen live. You can also listen to other episodes of the podcast at:

http://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/moneymatters

or

www.moneymatterspodcast.com

Here is your 2014 year end checklist. As you'll see, it's quick and should take about 3 minutes to complete.

The checklist covers events, milestones, taxes, investments, medical accounts, and retirement plans- areas that often need attention at the end of the year. 

I strongly encourage you to complete this checklist as soon as possible. If you see areas that need attention, we should address them right away. 

If you have a friend or family member who could benefit from this year-end checklist, please let me know and i'll be happy to send them one as well with no obligation. If you have any questions, feel free to message me or give me a call.

Best Wishes,

Christopher Hensley 

Click Here:

2014 End of the Year Financial Planning Checklist

Well I guess Reliant picked trick for us since one of its trucks accidentally knocked out the power at KPFT this morning. FM was able to still go on with a generator but HD3 transmitter was offline. Futurist and author Dr. George Schofield was nice enough to reschedule for the 14th of November. We will be back on the air next week as usual. 

On November 4th citizens in Alaska, Florida, Oregon and Washington will cast ballots on marijuana initiatives. Other states are likely to consider legalization in upcoming elections. Just how much money is at stake?

We were joined today by managing partner of MedMen, Adam Bierman. We discussed the financial implications of states that have either medical dispensaries or legalized marijuana.

Adam Bierman has become an industry leader featured on CNBC, Huffington Post, LA Times and more. He has applied his knowledge of the medical marijuana industry to build the MedMen, which is the first and leading full-service consulting and management firm of its kind, providing opportunities for marijuana business operators.  

To find out more about Adam visit his website at:

www.MedMen.com

 
You can listen live by going to www.kpft.org and clicking on the HD3 tab. You can also listen to this episode and others by podcast at:

http://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/moneymatters

or

www.moneymatterspodcast.com                          

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson recovers a crucially important—yet almost always overlooked—chapter of George Washington’s life, revealing how Washington saved the United States by coming out of retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention and serve as our first president.

After leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, George Washington shocked the world: he retired. In December 1783, General Washington, the most powerful man in the country, stepped down as Commander in Chief and returned to private life at Mount Vernon. Yet as Washington contentedly grew his estate, the fledgling American experiment floundered. Under the Articles of Confederation, the weak central government was unable to raise revenue to pay its debts or reach a consensus on national policy. The states bickered and grew apart. When a Constitutional Convention was established to address these problems, its chances of success were slim. Jefferson, Madison, and the other Founding Fathers realized that only one man could unite the fractious states: George Washington. Reluctant, but duty-bound, Washington rode to Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to preside over the Convention.

Although Washington is often overlooked in most accounts of the period, this masterful new history from Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward J. Larson brilliantly uncovers Washington’s vital role in shaping the Convention—and shows how it was only with Washington’s support and his willingness to serve as President that the states were brought together and ratified the Constitution, thereby saving the country.

On todays show we were joined by Pulitzer Prize winning author Ed Larson. We discussed his newest book The Return of George Washington.   

To find out more about his book visit:

The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789

You can listen live by going to www.kpft.org and clicking on the HD3 tab. You can also listen to this episode and others by podcast at:

http://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/moneymatters

or

www.moneymatterspodcast.com

Swords to ploughshares is a concept in which military weapons or technologies are converted for peaceful civilian applications.

The ploughshare is often used to symbolize creative tools that benefit mankind, as opposed to destructive tools of war, symbolized by the sword, a similar sharp metal tool with an arguably opposite use. --Wikipedia

On todays show we discussed using drone technology for peaceful, civillian applications. Specifically we looked at improving agriculture and energy by using visual analytics. We were joined by Dr. Marcelo Sant'Anna Data Scientist and engineer behind the company Powerdrones Inc.

To learn more about Dr. Sant'Anna or PowerDrones Inc. you can visit there website at:

www.powerdrones.com

You can listen live by going to www.kpft.org and clicking on the HD3 tab. You can also listen to this episode and others by podcast at:

http://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/moneymatters

or

www.moneymatterspodcast.com