RETHINK FINANCIAL PLANS - A message from Consuelo

For your viewing, I submit Thursday's segment of the PBS program WealthTrack, hosted by Consuelo Mack, as she interviews Morningstar's Christine Benz on the importance of reevaluating our financial plans in view of COVID.  This is especially geared towards those families whose finances have been impacted by the pandemic either by virtue of job loss and/or medical expenses if a family member has the virus. This is particularly topical since the new variant has now been discovered in both Wayne and Washtenaw. But even if you have not been impacted, the emergency financial plans under discussion are still well worth listening to.  Have a great weekend. 

1-14-21 RETHINK FINANCIAL PLANS - A message from Consuelo

View this email in your browser

Sponsored by: January 14, 2021 Dear WEALTHTRACK Subscriber, COVID-19 has affected just about every aspect of our professional and personal lives, including the state of our finances.   Whether you or a loved one are among the more than 20 million Americans who lost their jobs in the spring of 2020 in the depths of the lockdowns, or one of the millions of Americans who saw their retirement portfolios plunge in the shortest bear market on record in February and March, (and if you stayed invested have benefitted from the markets rebound), or if you or a loved one are among the 20 million Americans who have been stricken by COVID your finances have been affected.  Financial services firm Morningstar has also been paying attention. In a recent article, “What the Coronavirus Means for the Future of Financial Planning,” its Director of Personal Finance, Christine Benz addressed the issue and we have asked her to enlighten us.    Benz, a WEALTHTRACK regular is an acknowledged personal finance guru. She was recently named one of Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance for 2020. She has held the title of Morningstar’s Director of Personal Finance since 2008.  She is one of the most productive and helpful people I know. She writes daily personal finance columns for Morningstar, does interviews and podcasts and is the author of several books including 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances and the Morningstar Guide To Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success. I began the interview by asking Benz why COVID has made it necessary to rethink what our financial goals are.   Also, in this week’s exclusive EXTRA feature, we ask this super productive person how she organizes her day to get so much done!   If you miss the show on public television, you can watch it on our website over the weekend.  You can also find the WEALTHTRACK podcast on Stitcher and SoundCloud as well as iTunes and Spotify. Thank you for fitting us into your busy schedule, have a lovely weekend and celebration of Martin Luther King Day. Make the week ahead a healthy, profitable and productive one.  Best regards, Consuelo