Financial Friday/Fishing Friday

I wanted to share some pictures of the fishing trip Jay, his cousin, and I went on last Friday. Getting up at 6:00 to hit the water early was the reason I was MIA Friday in Bloggiville.

But Jay and I had an experience last night that I hope you can learn from. A guy in Jay's office introduced him to a financial planner. This gentleman came to our house and discussed with us our current financial situation and wanted to help us create a plan for the future.

They came back last night with their recommendations. Even though I had previously stated that I didn't like Variable Annuities for retirement (you're paying for a tax umbrella that you already have because its a retirement account), they presented one, along with a mutual fund option (what Jay & I had expressed interest in).

As we looked at the numbers, the mutual fund was way more expensive than the variable annuity. The Annuity looked like a no-brainer.

Jay had done some research on his own, and asked them about a certain type of account. They brushed it off as not a good option until you reach the $25K mark (we're looking at investing $3K each this year).

We set up an appointment for them to bring the paperwork for us to sign next week, and Jay headed to the computer to do some research.

Turns out the suggestion that Jay made was the actual no-brainer. The company he wants to use has 0.2% account fees, in comparison with the 1.2% fees associated with the variable annuity.

The reason that they are able to provide lower fees? Lower commissions to their agents. Which is why these guys didn't want to sell them to us.

PLEASE! Before you invest in any financial product, do your homework. Sure, we picked the better of the two that were presented to us, but they were both crappy options.

Jay sent them an email late last night and basically called them out on it . Asking why they said these lower expense funds weren't a good idea. I can understand paying someone commission for their work - its how Jay makes money. But why should we pay them commissions when Jay's found a better fund?

So it looks like Jay's original plan of investing on our own was a good one. I think we're gonna stick to that. I'm just very thankful that he did his research before we signed anything - including a check!

Okay moving along to the fun portion of the day - fishing pictures!

(click to enlarge)



We're very blessed to live in a beautiful part of the country. While I don't fish, I do enjoy going out with them, sitting on a rock and reading a good book (or two).



Taking a little break, I decided to get a few shots using John's (Jay's cousin) camera.



As we moved downstream, I had to hunt for a new rock to sit on. Thankfully I looked before I sat down!



When April shared a butt photo, it reminded me of the one I took last week. Caption: "Do these waders make my butt look big?" Sorry sweetie, but they aren't doing you any favors. But you know I love your tiny heinie.