What's Your Favorite Song?

 

I love music. Don't you? What's your favorite song? What kind of music moves you the most? Where did the music of today come from?

 

If you are like most people, your taste in music is set while you are young. It might be country/western, rock & roll, or classical music. Whatever you like, you like it because you grew up with it.

 

 

Some people like music from various artists and styles. Most of us have favorite artists or groups, and we play their songs over and over again. Music evolves from one decade to another, too. I personally like to hear music from the 60s and 70s, but that's just me. We tend to be attracted to music from the time when we were in high school or college the most, don't we?

 

When I fire up my XM satellite radio while I'm on the road, I usually tune in to the 60s channel, or sometimes I'll listen to the classical orchestral works. I also find myself listening to golden oldies on Willie Nelson's channel.

 

A good, familiar song makes my day go by with fewer stresses, more smiles, and a strong sense of wanting to sing along. Familiarity reinforces a desire to hear a song again and again. Traditional harmonies and melodies trigger memories that create warm, satisfying feelings. Nothing else can do that....just music.

 

 

It has been said that music makes the world go 'round. I believe that. Having taught high school band for 29 years before I became a financial advisor, it's in my blood. I live for the annual Tuba Christmas project every December, when I get to conduct over a hundred tuba and euphonium players performing favorite Christmas songs. I revel in my memories of my band students as they strove to create beautiful music on the concert stage. What are markable ride it has been, and I'll tell you right now that I'll make music as long as I can physically do it. After that, I'll still enjoy listening to it as long as I can hear. It's the most remarkable expression of the human spirit that one can experience.

 

So..... What's YOUR favorite song

 

Health in the News..... FACTS THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE

 

1. Heart suddenly racing for no reason. Don’t “wait it out.” That’s your body screaming danger. Sit down. Slow breaths. If it keeps happening, Doctor.. Now!

2. Vision goes blurry for a few seconds. Not “normal.” That can be a mini-stroke warning. Your brain is asking for help.

3. Chest pain that moves to your jaw or left arm. It’s not gas. It’s not stress. It’s heart attack mode. Call emergency.. seconds matter.

4. You smell something burning but nothing is burning. Your nose isn’t broken, your brain might be. This could be a seizure warning.

5. Sudden worst headache of your life. Don’t sleep it off. That’s how people never wake up. Could be a brain bleed.

 

Pay Your Credit Card Bill ON TIME.

 

Don’t wait until the due date to pay your credit card bill. Waiting keeps your credit utilization high, which can lower your credit score. That’s because credit card companies report balances on the closing date, not the due date—and credit bureaus do not know you will pay the bill on the due date several weeks later.

 

To avoid lowering your credit score: Pay at least some of your balance on or before the closing date. That will lower your reported credit utilization. You then can pay any remaining balance on the due date.

 

There is no penalty for early payment ... and keeping a little on the card until the due date shows you are still using credit responsibly.

 

Don’t Be Scammed!

 

Victims are told that a loved one is in legal or medical trouble and needs immediate cash....or that they themselves are at risk for criminal charges unless they can prove they are identity-fraud victims by liquidating their savings account into gold or cash and putting those assets into a “government-owned” account.

 

A “courier” shows up to carry the money or gold to the distressed loved one or a government bank. You never see the money again. Americans have lost more than $186 million to courier scams....FBI

 

Recipe of the Month - Pecan Pie Cobbler

 

Ingredients - For Topping

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 1⁄2 cups very hot water

Ingredients - For Batter 

• 4 T butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1⁄2 tsp baking powder
• 1⁄2 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 2 tsp rum or vanilla
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees In a 8X8 or 8X11 pan, melt butter In a bowl, stir rest of batter ingredients and pour on to top of butter in pan. DO NOT STIR. Mix topping ingredients (brown sugar & pecans). Sprinkle on top of batter DO NOT STIR. Pour hot water over top. DO NOT STIR. Bake for 40 minutes or until light brown on top. Absolutely delicious!!!...from the kitchen of Frances Hutson

 

         

 

Change is coming! 

 

President Trump is set to replace Jerome Powell (chairman of the Federal Reserve) on May First of this year.

 

Chairman Powell has been steadfast in his reluctance to lower interest rates, and a new chairman could immediately lower rates by 1 or 2 percent.

 

Such action would cause interest rates on bank accounts, CDs, fixed annuities, and index rates to fall dramatically. Now would be the perfect time to lock in higher rates for the next several years through fixed-interest instruments with guaranteed rates. Example: You’ve got a CD drawing 1.2%. Why not move that to a 5-year fixed annuity with a guaranteed 6.25% rate? Such an annuity could lock in the higher rate for the full 5-year term and still allow for partial withdrawals during the term if needed.

 

I noticed that the money market rate in our savings account is 0.3%. We had built that up over the years, so we pulled most of the funds out and moved them into an indexed annuity with a 17% bonus up front and the potential for a lot more than 0.3% going forward. The account is totally safe from market risk, so we don’t need to worry when the stock market crashes (which it will). We also don’t have to pay any management fees, and all of our gains are tax-deferred. Beneficiaries receive the death benefit of such an account without having to go through probate, too. There are so many benefits to such annuity contracts that I can’t explain them in the limited space here.

 

Give any of us a call! We will show you how it all works. ............Jim