Shreveport Times columns

Question: I am not a believer (Christian or otherwise). But most of my employees are. So when Christmas rolls around I usually get a steady stream of subtle and not so subtle sales pitches to believe. From what I read I am guessing you are a believer yourself. Can you help me respond to the pitches in a way that is respectful, but doesn’t lead to more of the same? This is getting old and (frankly) it seems to hurt productivity around here.

Answer: Tonight you will be visited by three spirits. The first at midnight, the second at one o’clock and the last at two…

Just kidding. I couldn’t resist.

Question: I cut out your articles regularly and send them to my son. But he doesn’t seem to get it. My husband and I have tried to teach him to be responsible, but we are still having to pay his phone bill and his car insurance, and whenever he comes home he asks me for cash. He’s out of college and he’s got a job, though not a good one. He says he doesn’t make enough money, but this just can’t keep going on. What do you suggest?

Answer: You say you have tried to teach your son to be responsible, but actually the opposite is true.

QUESTION: I  have a young family and I want to be able to provide for them the things I didn’t have growing up. I also know that saving money is important. But can I just save more later so that I can spend more on my family now?

ANSWER: Your heart is in the right place, but your understanding of how money and human nature affect one another may need a bit of remedial work.

QUESTION: I am putting the max I can in my 401k. But I’m wondering if I should re-direct some of that towards a 529 plan for my seventh grader’s college. We also have some credit card debt we are trying to get paid down. But that’s tough ever since we signed up for one of those bi-weekly mortgages to save interest on our house payment. Sometimes I just want to ask myself, “How much is enough?” So I thought I would ask you. How much is enough?

ANSWER: You sound product rich and plan poor.

Do you remember who taught you how to play tic-tac-toe? Probably not – for most of us it was a while ago. Usually it’s an older sibling or a neighbor kid down the street. They “graciously” offer to teach us how to play. They might even let us go first.

Question: I have used debt judiciously to buy investment properties and other income producing assets. Now I am very focused on paying the debt off with the income from the assets so we can be debt free. My wife sees that we have an extra source of income that she would like to use for things like vacations. Our kids will soon be grown and we’ll have a nice income and be financially free if we can just stay the course. Is there something I’m missing here?

Answer: Maybe so. Maybe things like your wife and your children.

ANSWER: Your daddy had a habit of having good habits.

Question: I have been married to my ex wife for 6 1/2 years. We still live together but we are not married. Is she entitled to survivor benefits? We are now 16+ years and we have had kids after our divorce. Please explain.

Answer: You’re telling me you are married to your ex-wife, and you want me to explain?

I’m going to have to make a few assumptions here: you were married for 6 ½ years. Then you got divorced. But you’re saying you’ve been together for a total of 16+ years. If so, you were married 6 ½ years, divorced, but stayed together another 10 years after that.

And, you had children together after your divorce.

I’ve heard people say they get along well with their ex, but that’s getting along pretty well.