Although not financially oriented, this posting was suggested by one of our customers. We post this as a thank you to all veterans.
Read this and then click the link below



The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!

Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach, Fla. , eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event.

He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.

At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."

Then the old soldier began to cry.

"That really got to me," Bierstock says.

Cut to today.

Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."

The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web http://www.beforeyougo.us, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.

"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss "the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio, Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach. "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."

Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington. Already they have been invited to perform it in Houston for a Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web. They hope every veteran in America gets a chance to hear it.

GOD BLESS every EVERY veteran...

and THANK you to those of you veterans who may read this !


CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:


Click here: Dr. Sam & The Managed Care Blues Band

January 2006

What is a CD ladder? How can I use one?

The CD “ladder” refers to a technique of investing in CD’s (Certificates of Deposit) where you break down a fixed amount of money and invest it in smaller increments over a certain period of time. It takes the guesswork out of where interest rates are going.

In a CD ladder, the available funds are divided equally between the term selected and invested into as many equal periods as the investor chooses. These time frames are often 1 year or 6 month increments. The 1-year increment ladder is most common. As CD’s mature, they are rolled into the longest term of the ladder to keep the structure in place. IE: a 5-year ladder with maturities every year. Would have 1/5 of the total invested funds maturing yearly.

As CD’s mature the ladder is maintained by investing into a new CD at the longest rung of the ladder.

An example of a short-term ladder could be a 2-year ladder with maturity every 6 months. A long-term ladder might have a 5-year term with a CD for an equal amount every year.

As an example, assume that you have $5,000 to invest and prefer the generally higher yields that come with long term CDs. You would purchase five CDs of $1,000 each:

CD # 1 for $1,000 for a one-year term,

CD # 2 for $1,000 for a two-year term,

CD # 3 for $1,000 for a three-year term,

CD # 4 for $1,000 for a four-year term; and

CD # 5 for $1,000 for a five-year term.

As the 1-year CD matures, roll it over into a new 5-year CD at the then existing rate and do the same thing as each subsequent CD matures. At the end of each year you will have one of the 5-year CD maturing.

With this strategy, you will have access to cash every year, enjoy the higher yields of a 5-year investment and diversify you risk. You don’t have to guess any more which way rates are going.