​Please allow me a moment of silence as I commiserate over the impending end of another football season (the Super Bowl is only three weeks away).  Thanks, I feel better.
Of course, the end of football season puts us smack-dab on the middle of Snowbird Season – and for those of us that live here year-round…well, enough said on that.
Because it is an unseasonably dreary day, I decided to dive into my “geek world” and shoot out a note to you all.  Grab a cup of coffee – you may need it.

Dear Friends,
In the inimitable words of my favorite comic strip character, Calvin (of Bill Waterson’s Calvin & Hobbes fame), “A new year…a fresh clean start”.  However, another quote a few years later when talking about the new year, Hobbes said, “The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present.”
Happy New Year to you.  My hope for all of us is that this is a year of good health, much happiness and prosperity as we move forward with a life of fulfillment.  Let’s hope that the acrimony surrounding vaccines, masks, politics, and general impatience with others can be replaced with open-minded compromise and more tolerance than we have seen over the past several years.

Dear Friends,
It is hard to believe that we are heading into the homestretch of this year. As many of our friends and families are watching the leaves change colors and breaking out their scarves, gloves, and coats, we are enjoying comfortable temperatures and beautiful weather.  And football season is in full swing – I love that (although my waistline doesn’t). 
ZOOM Webinars for Clients
For the remainder of the year, we are taking a hiatus from doing the Zoom webinars.  We will resume after the new year with fresh topics, new content, and, hopefully, Joe’s technology working properly.
If you are so inclined, all our past presentations can be found in the Media & Posts tab on our website www.realityfinancialplanning.com.
If there are any topics for which a Zoom presentation would be relevant to you, please let us know. 

Dear Friends,
The Fall season is upon us – thankfully.  Football and cooler temperatures!  Life is good.  Hopefully this note finds you and your family well, rested from your summer travels and feeling good.

ZOOM Webinars for Clients
Last month’s presentation on “Estate Planning in the COVID Era” is available for replay.  The broadcast can be found in the Media & Posts tab on our website www.realityfinancialplanning.com.
When it comes to planning for a safe and secure retirement, long-term care (LTC) can be a confusing and unaddressed challenge to many families’ financial security.  Some of the hesitancy can be pinned to human nature - we don’t want to think about the unpleasant possibility of needing help with caring for ourselves (i.e., feeding, bathing, using the bathroom).  Some might think it won’t happen to them; while others would rather “deal with it later”.
So, mark your calendars for Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 5:00, to join our ZOOM webinar on “Financial Planning for Long-Term Care”.  We will provide ideas to start the LTC discussion and things you may want to think about when preparing for the potential need for, costs, misconceptions, and other LTC considerations.
If you are interested in attending, please email us at Inquire@RealityFinancialPlanning.com and John will send you the ZOOM meeting details.

​Dear Friends,
Given all the “challenging” broadcasts bombarding us – from Afghanistan to the Delta variant, one could easily find themselves overwhelmed.
However, we are going to start this letter with some awesome news! We are delighted to announce the addition of a new member to the Reality Financial Planning Services’ family – Olivia Cunningham (John’s second daughter) was born August 2.  Momma and baby are doing well; John is getting more grey hair (finally).  Congratulations and best wishes for good health and happiness always.
ZOOM Webinars for Clients
The COVID era has obviously created challenges for all of us.  One never knows when all our plans may derail by contracting the insidious illness.  However, since planning is what we do and encourage, one of the most important things for which everyone should plan is the “what if” something happens to our health or worse.
While many of you have – as we have harangued and harassed – done some estate planning, this month we are going to provide an overview and/or review of the important components of an estate plan - documents to prepare, planning to be done and how best to communicate this difficult topic with family and friends.
We are also honored to have one of our most insightful and compassionate clients, Linda Lee, assist with this presentation.  Linda has done some excellent work in helping her friends and circle of influence develop and implement “Legacy Love Letters”.  We believe you will find this topic most inspirational.
So, mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 22, at 5:00, to join our ZOOM webinar on “Estate Planning in the COVID Era”.
If you are interested in attending, please email us at Inquire@RealityFinancialPlanning.com and John will send you the ZOOM meeting details.
As an FYI, all our past presentations can be found in the Media & Posts tab on our website www.realityfinancialplanning.com.
If there are any other topics for which a Zoom presentation would be relevant to you, please let us know.   

​Dear Friends,
This weekend we celebrate July 4th – Happy Independence Day to you.  Hopefully you have plans to finally gather with friends and family and perhaps travel to somewhere that you have been longing before the craziness of the past year set those plans asunder. 
The upcoming holiday is impetus to remind ourselves what exactly we are celebrating.  We don’t have to revisit the Boston Tea Party and signing of the declaration to recall the lexicon of the time.  Words such as freedom and independence can sometimes lose their relevance over time. 
While we may not be seeking to extricate ourselves from the British, after the pandemic year and disruption to our lives, we are trying to form a “more perfect union” and regain normalcy to our lives and, hopefully, find cohesiveness and commonality as we break away from the ravages of COVID.
Following vaccinations, we immediately felt a sense of liberation.  We can “free” ourselves from the oppression of masks if we so desire.  We can go where we want when we want “independent” of physical distancing mandates if we choose.  And while we would love to “dissolve the political bands” that so divide us and cause unnecessary consternation among many, hopefully our fellow Americans will have “respect to the opinions of mankind”. 
There is no doubt that we can all be amenable to accepting the “unalienable Rights…of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.  In our opinion, that is what we celebrate.

​Dear Friends,
As most of you know, Joe (and now John) has been honored to do workshops titled Money Matters for the members of the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association for nearly 14 years.  In fact, many of our clients came to us after attending the presentations and countless great relationships have developed over the years.
The bond that we have formed with educators and the support staff has been invaluable and precious.  We cannot express enough how appreciative we are for the opportunity to be of service to these dedicated professionals.
Unlike any vocation anywhere at any other time, this past year presented them with unprecedented challenges to do their jobs effectively.  But with passion and commitment, they made it through this pandemic-induced maelstrom.
So, as the school year concludes and summer break is almost upon us, we want to give a sincere shoutout and great big THANK YOU to all the dedicated individuals that gave their best efforts to educate, feed, and transport our future leaders.  You are appreciated!