New Book Offers Exceptional Advice on Finance and Investing

This book's title "Wealth Is a Choice: How to Choose Wisely" says it all. Wealth is a choice. No one gets rich without making the decision to do so, whether it is deciding to buy a lottery ticket or pragmatically planning for retirement. The first thing people must do is make conscious decisions that they will have wealth and then set goals to achieve that wealth. Of course, the goals must be realistic, which rules out the lottery. In "Wealth Is a Choice" James Studinger provides valuable advice for setting realistic goals based on his own experiences and his many years of helping his clients increase their wealth.

Throughout "Wealth Is a Choice," Studinger relates personal experiences-his childhood in Manistique, Michigan, his working for a firm that helped prison employees with managing their money in the Marquette Branch Prison, various firms he has worked for in Michigan, and examples of the clients he has helped to grow their wealth, as well as examples of clients who did not grow wealth and what held them back. He also tells his own story of personally learning how to handle his money so he was not in debt. He began writing "Wealth Is a Choice" because he wanted to leave his sons a money road map should anything happen to him. That idea grew into one of the best books on money management I have ever read.

"Wealth Is a Choice" stands out for many reasons. First of all, a lot I know about money I learned from Suze Orman. Her books and television show are fantastic about money management, but Orman and many others focus primarily on how to get out of debt, and how to save money by spending less. Studinger talks about debt briefly, but he notes that many good books already exist on the subject. His purpose is instead to help us learn how to grow our money, which is what I've most wanted to learn. I'm apparently one of the fortunate few in America not in debt who has always been good at saving money. My need has been trying to figure out what to do with the money I save-how to invest it, what to invest it in, how to know whether an investment will be good or bad.

I have read books about mutual funds and stocks and how to determine which ones are likely to grow. Most of it I quickly forget. What was missing from the equation, and Studinger is the only author I know who has made this clear, is that the ultimate goal is to figure out how much you need to retire, and then to track your progress regularly toward that goal.

One point Studinger covers extensively, which cannot be underestimated, is the importance of finding a reliable advisor. He warns us that many advisors try to sell clients products based on how much commission they will receive rather than what is best for the client. He tells us to ask advisors upfront what the benefit is to them, while reminding us just because one investment will pay off for the advisor more than another, it doesn't mean we shouldn't choose the investment that will help the advisor more, we just also should choose what makes most sense for our investment needs. After all, advisors deserve to make a good living off their work provided they are giving their clients good advice. Studinger tells us to ask three basic questions of advisors before we make an investment: What is the rate of return? What is the risk? What is the cost?

Beyond finding a good advisor, Studinger suggests we find a good software program that allows us to track our investments. I have tried to track my investments by paper statements, making spreadsheets etc., but it is tedious and I never keep up with it. A software program sounds like the way to go. Studinger's own wealth management firm, JPStudinger Group, provides a wealth management solution tool that is web-based so clients can track their investments. A video of this tool can be viewed at http://www.jpstudinger.com.

The only slight flaw I see in this book are the examples of wealthy clients Studinger uses. The majority of them have significant incomes ranging from $80,000 annually and upward. Most Americans do not have such incomes, so they might find such numbers intimidating. Unfortunately, it is people with such high incomes who will most likely be reading this book. However, the person who makes $30,000 a year will find the advice given just as useful. Don't let the numbers intimidate you. A person's current income does not have to determine whether someone has the choice to become wealthy. As Studinger points out, it's about making good choices with the money you have that will make the difference.

"Wealth Is a Choice" is an easy to understand book. Unlike with many investment books, I never once felt lost or confused. Studinger writes in a straightforward style, and his honest advice leaves me with no doubt that he has the reader's best interests at heart. He has great cartoons throughout the book to illustrate his discussion, and he uses effective analogies, including football offense and defense and archery anchor points to get his points across. I think male readers will especially be able to relate to his examples and find the advice practical.

Lots of people read about money or tell themselves someday they will get their finances together. This book will inspire people to do so. Many readers, after completing this book, will realize that wealth is a choice and be inspired to make that choice for themselves. I know "Wealth Is a Choice" has encouraged me to review my financial goals and plan better for retirement.

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Advice for Beginning Genealogy

I can tell you what prompted me to research my own genealogy. I needed to "know" who I was, who I came from, and where my families have lived. During my youth I wasn't particularly proud of my parents because they were alcoholics. But in the back of my mind, I just knew that not all of my ancestors would be as disappointing. Looking back, I kind of have to laugh at my first attempts. I began in earnest in about 1980. I had always loved looking at my family's pictures, and I had a great uncle who was a Mormon and he had, some time before 1980, written to my mother for more information about her spouse and siblings. That gave me the first image of what a family tree chart would look like.

Jump ahead to 1994. My nephew Eric was getting married and his future mother-in-law had been doing her own genealogy for many, many years. When Carol H. asked my mom for more information on our family tree, my mother kindly pointed her my way, saying I knew a lot about it. That was an overstatement, but at the time, I knew more than the rest of the family.

My luck would hold when computers became a household item and you could buy genealogical software to store your family files. I was in heaven! I have always used Family Tree Maker, although I am sure that there are many equally as good programs for genealogy. It is now 2006 and I have a good sized family file for both my Yates and Wilkerson lines, and many of their allied families.

Random advice for beginners

o People always ask, "Where do I start"? Even if you have names for your other family members, begin with yourself first.

o If you are seriously going to research your family using a computer, get a genealogy program that you find easy to work with. It needn't cost you an "arm and a leg". Look for the basic program. I would not recommend a bundle of disks (for instance, if they contain the World Family Tree disks) like FTM sells. Those family trees have been contributed by other genealogists (including myself) and the information might not be accurate. That leads me to the next bit of advice....

o Document your sources! If you are going to be handing your family files and pictures down to your descendants, please do them an enormous favor and prove each bit of data you cite. Let me tell a funny story in regard to that request.

Three of my older cousins who lived in Missouri compiled a small 'book' about my grandmother's family tree. One of the surnames listed was Oglethorpe and it was said they had lived in Clay, Overton and Jackson counties in Tennessee. When I took up the reigns to research this line in TN, I posted my surnames on Rootsweb http://www.rootsweb.com for those counties. A very nice man emailed me and told me his best friend was researching in those counties too and that he had databases of many of the families. He gave me his friend's email address and I contacted this other researcher. To make a long story short, the surname turned out to be 'Osgatharp' for my ancestors that had lived in that part of the Tennessee. I was told, and I also researched this on my own, that there were no Olgethorpes living in those counties. Period. So, I reported back to my one cousin Allene this new bit of information. I asked her where they had come up with the name Oglethorpe. She told me, "That is what my mother called them"! We had a little discussion about that, and I finally convinced her that the name was instead Osgatharp. That isn't where it ends though, so I will just insert here that the name is/was also Osgathorpe, and as it turns out, our ancestor Richard Osgathorpe was a Patriot in the Revolutionary War!

I can't really fault my cousin completely for not having the correct name. Most people from her era and age group only had word of mouth and bible records to rely on for documentation.

Label those pictures while the older generation can help you!

o My dad may have failed in his earlier life, but as the oldest child he could identify many of his ancestors just by looking at their pictures. He labeled each one that he could and that was so helpful. Also, you would be surprised at how many older family pictures will surface when you begin making contact with cousins through genealogy. I have a picture of my Great-great Grandfather that I thought I would never see. In my research I have found that since my branch of the family migrated more often, the older pictures of ancestors were still with families in locations where they had the family farm or stayed the longest.

Don't bite the hand that feeds you!

o Now, here is some advice that I have for all the eager beavers who think they are in some 'race' to get the most, first, or best information in the shortest amount of time. DO NOT contact relatives who have already done much of their own genealogical research and demand that they give you all they have on your family. That is not the way to go about it. Many people are willing to share what they have (I am one of them), but some are not, and they feel that "they have spent 30, 40, or 50 years doing this research and you just want it handed over to you"? I recommend that you tell them that you would be happy to share what you have, and that you would appreciate anything they would like to share with you. Believe me, it works much better that way.

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