Media Archives 2009
December 2008
ODE magazine
The Meaning of Money
In “The Meaning of Money,” veteran journalist Janet Paskin talks about the things that people can control in the midst of the economic downturn namely, their attitude toward money and how they manage their personal finances. One tip: Put your money where your values are.
“Money should be a means to an end, not the end in itself,” says George Kinder, founder of the life planning movement within the financial planning profession. Life planning involves deciding what you want money for, then ensuring that your earning and spending serves that purpose. So when clients seek Kinder’s financial advice, he asks three questions: If you had all the money you needed, what would you do with your life? If you found out you had 10 years to live, what would you do? And if you found out you had 24 hours left, what would you regret? Most often, he says, people’s answers revolve around family, spiritual goals and creativity—not bigger houses. “You learn what you want to accomplish,” he says. “That’s what money really needs to be about.” During tough economic times, it can be revealing to ask: What do I want to accomplish? And how much money, if any, do I really need to do it?” Read the article now
October 2008
Motley Fool Rule Your Retirement
Mind Over Money: Add Purpose to Your Plan
Dayana Yochim participated in the Seven Stages of Money Maturity in September 2008 in Washington, DC. Here are her observations. She starts with asking “The Hard Questions”. She explains that the payoff of the life-planning process is a roadmap that inspires and motivates you. She challenges the reader: “Does your financial plan do that? If it doesn’t, then maybe it’s time to inject some passion into those pie charts…” Read more.
November 2008
Financial Advisor magazine
“Getting Very Personal”
Mary Rowland, an accomplished writer in the financial services industry, profiled George Kinder and the Kinder Institute of Life Planning in her column in August 2008. Now, in this article that published just 3 months later, Rowland raves about her experience participating in the 2-Day Seven Stages of Money Maturity workshop. “Fair warning: I may sound more like a groupie than a reporter,” Rowland says. “This has never happened to me before,” says Rowland, who was trained to be skeptical and suspicious as a journalist. “Perhaps what surprised me most in the workshop I attended was that Kinder was not just talk and fluff. He had developed a clear structure to help planners work with clients to uncover the true passion in their lives so that their financial plan will be more effective. And he worked—hard—for two full nine-hour days to convey his excitement to workshop participants about how this kind of work can change clients’ lives.” Read now.
November 2008
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
Getting the Best Financial Advice: Focus on Your Goals and the Advisor Who Can Get You There
The Kinder Institute of Life Planning is mentioned as a network of advisors who have tax and investment expertise but are trained to analyze people’s lives beyond the size of their bank balance. The article goes on to give an example that a Kinder planner might tell you that your retirement contributions are inadequate–not because your mutual fund expenses are too high but because you spend to much on clothes and entertainment. Read more now
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October 30, 2008
Get Rich Slowly
“Diehards Profiting from Shared Wisdom”
Famed blogger JD Roth, whose site receives 20,000+ daily visits, talks about his experience attending a “Diehards” meeting in Portland, Oregon. “I left the meeting with two pages of notes and tons of information, not just for the blog, but for myself,” Roth says. “I learned about George Kinder and his concept of life planning. I learned about Sheryl Garrett, and her goal of making financial advice accessible to all people. I learned a little more about income investing (a subject that interests me).” Get Rich Slowly, Roth’s blog devoted to sensible personal finance, was recently named most inspiring money blog by Money magazine. Read more
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September 29, 2008
Chicago Tribune and McClattchey Syndicates
Wall Street’s shivers rattle soon-to-be retirees
During the harrowing week that ended in the federal government’s historic plan to bail out the financial system, Gila Goodman, who is semi-retired, sat glued to the TV popping chocolates to get herself through her panic over the stock market crash. A friend called her at 3 am unable to sleep. As government officials refer to an “unprecedented” environment, some planners are asking clients to examine what they want in life beyond money. George Kinder, a financial planner who trains financial planners and wrote “The Seven Stages of Money Maturity,” says that such evaluation should be a part of planning regardless of market conditions. But these days, he said, it could take on greater significance for people close to retirement who have inadequate savings. Writer Gail MarksJarvis recently sat in on one of Kinder’s signature 2-Day workshops and reports on what she learned. Read what George means when he says: “Once you know this, plans fall into place.” Click here now.
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September 22, 2008
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Is your financial plan on track? Is your life?
George Kinder, founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning, sat down with syndicated personal finance writer Kara McGuire in Minneapolis during a recent trip to address the Financial Planning Association’s Twin Cities chapter. Kinder uses 3 Questions to help clients and advisors get at the heart of any financial plan – not budgets or financial statements. In fact, that’s the big idea behind what George Kinder calls life planning – the marriage of money and meaning. In addition to sharing his views on life planning and the financial planning industry, Kinder spoke about the continuing turmoil on Wall Street. Read the article now.
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August 2008
Financial Advisor magazine
“Worldwide Kinder”
Mary Rowland, an astute observer and accomplished writer in the financial services industry, profiles George Kinder and the Kinder Institute of Life Planning. “When I talk with George Kinder, the world seems a glorious place” where enlightened people are unselfishly helping others “find peace with their money as well as contentment and self-worth,” she says. Rowland goes on to recap Kinder’s mission to bring quality life planning training to financial advisors across the world and mentions his visits to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa – where he lead the largest ever Seven Stages of Money Maturity Workshop. “I’ve followed Kinder through his transformations for at least a dozen years. Now that he’s spreading his training all over the place to enthusiastic reception … I’m going to take his two-day workshop this summer and report back this fall. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be come a registered life planner myself.” Read now.
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August 2008
ITInews – Insurance Times and Investments News – South Africa
Life Planning – the way forward for professional financial advisers?
The world of wealth management is at its core about people, not money
A new trend in financial planning suggests that professional financial advisers should go much further than just focussing on managing the money of their clients. After all, the world of wealth management is at its core about people, not money. A more holistic approach called “life planning” is advocated whereby the financial planner not only focus on the whether or not a client will have enough money to reach their financial goals, but also look at their lifestyle, values and priorities in life. The leading protagonist is George Kinder, founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning in the US. Kinder’s view is that financial planning cannot begin until life planning has been completed. Life planning is a process which recognises that people often start planning their finances before they have actually given any thought to what they want to achieve from their lives. Read more now.
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August 2008
The Paragon Advisor
“Money and the Soul”
For most of us, there is an ancient narcissistic wound between our souls and money, a sense that we’ve never been recognized. George Kinder, founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning, talks about neglected values and the pathway to maturity in this thought-provoking article. Read it now.
July 2008
Investment Advisor magazine
“Dutch Life Planning”
Author James J. Green writes about the development of life planning at Allianz’s Dutch insurance operations. Under the leadership of CEO Paul Versteeg, Allianz has moved from sales to a service business model, making the client’s interests central to their Pure Life program. This is a sidebar article within this issue’s cover story called “Globalization Now”. Allianz Netherlands leader Paul Versteeg and Kinder Institute of Life Planning leader George Kinder are quoted extensively. Read now
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July-August 2008
Harvard Magazine
“Your Money, or Your Life? The promise of a more fulfilling approach to personal finance”
In the latest issue of Harvard magazine, writer Nell Porter Brown discusses her experiences attending a recent two-day Kinder Institute workshop, March 25th -26th, near Littleton, MA. What she discovered is a more fulfilling approach to personal finance. In essence, what Brown experienced was George Kinder teaching an eager audience of financial advisors how to help their clients meld their “deepest human aspirations for a life worth living” with rigorous financial goals. Read now
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June 2008
The Paragon Advisor
“Life Planning and How it Can Help You Achieve Your “Dream of Freedom”
Volume I, Number II of this e-newsletter features an article written by George Kinder discussing how life planning is causing a subtle but potentially seismic shift in the world of financial planning. He criticizes how traditional financial planning has always tended to treat “money” – not people – as the client. Read more
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May / June 2008
Commonwealth Quarterly
“Keeping At-Risk Clients Engaged in the Planning Process”
In the most recent issue, writer David Juliano shares tips on how to keep at-risk clients motivated. He quotes Holly Hunter RLP®, of Hunter Advisor LLC, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on appealing to the psychology of clients when it comes to the identifying what’s really important to them so that they become engaged. “The client needs to have passion and feel invigorated about the planning process in order to take action and make the necessary changes to their plan.” Read now
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May 2008
South African
Financial Mail
“Money and Investing: Life Planning. If you had 10 years to live”
Our much admired South African colleague Lionel Karp RLP™ sends us this article by Stephen Cranston, writing for the Financial Mail. In it Cranston explores the three questions and how the Kinder Institute’s more holistic approach to financial planning is “giving people permission to live the life they want to live.” Read now
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March/April 2008, 2008
Happinez (www.happinez.nl)
“George Kinder: The man who fulfills your dreams’ Connecting Money and Passion
In the popular Dutch-language issue of the magazine Happinez, writer Tijn Touber describes how he would never expect to bow for a financial advisor. ‘I have trust now it will be ok one day between spirit and materialism, God and money, Prada and Karma.” Read now.
Happinez also organized a special presentation on the Seven Stages of Money Maturity. 265 Happinez readers came to a lovely church at Amsterdam for a lecture given by Ivo Valkenburg and Gerard van der Made , two of the Kinder Institute’s most prominent Dutch leaders.
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June 5, 2008
Ode Magazine
“The Gospel According to Adam Smith”
In the latest Dutch-language issue of the magazine, writers Max Christen and Carleen Hawn discuss “Spiritual Capitalism” in an interview with Paul Versteeg, CEO Allianz Netherlands. Allianz and Kinder Institute of Life Planning have recently announced a partnership to train Allianz advisors to become Registered Life Planners®. Paul Versteeg mentions George Kinder and his work in explaining his vision for putting client’s well-being ahead of the organizations sales objectives and the “art of listening from the heart”. Read now
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May 28, 2008
Summit TV – Business
“You and Your Money.”
During his recent visit to South Africa, George Kinder was interviewed by Summit TV’s personal finance expert Bryan Hirsch. George was jointed by Lionel Karp, a regular panelist and Registered Life Planner, RLP™. The attached link to the transcript of their broadcast records their wide ranging conversation on the nature of Life Planning and the need for South African financial planners to shift their focus from sales to service—how badly regarded salesmen in the financial services industry can improve their results by leaning to really listen to the needs of their clients. Read now
Click here to listen to the interview
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Allianz and Kinder Institute of Life
Planning sign agreement
Intermediaries receive training to become Registered Life
Planners®; learn a new way of thinking May 5th 2008 – Allianz Nederland
Levensverzekering will partner with the American-based Kinder Institute of Life Planning to train its financial intermediaries to become Registered Life Planners® (RLP®), a protected title. Registered Life Planners® are trained to converse with their clients in more meaningful and holistic ways. Their customer service philosophy puts the client’s total well-being ahead of the organization’s sales objectives. Not only do they consult with clients about the financial aspects of their lives, they advise the client on all spects of their lives. This whole-life, client-centered approach is a new and growing concept in the industry. The deal with Allianz is the first of its kind in the world for the Kinder Institute. Read now
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March 10, 2008
Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
“Take a fresh look at your life”
Writer Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon, asks her readers to give some consideration to George Kinder’s three questions. She goes on to say that the answers to the three questions ought to have a crucial bearing on how readers run their finances. She explains that the central premise of financial life planning is that you have to first decide what it is you really want to accomplish in your life and then structure your finances to achieve it, in essence, that life planning is financial planning done well. Read now
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March 9, 2008
Investor magazine
“Take A Fresh Look At Your Life”
Australian editor Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon writes an inspiring piece on the pursuit of happiness. Using the “Three Questions” as a starting point, she illuminates the central premise of life planning. Namely “…that you have to first decide what it is you really want to accomplish in your life and then structure your finances to achieve it.” She points out, “The sad truth is that, while in general we enjoy far greater wealth than previous generations—even with the challenges presented by rising interest rates—many of us are no happier. Isn’t it time you took steps to change it?” “Take A Fresh Look At Your Life”, Investor magazine March 9, 2008. Read now
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IFA magazine
“George Kinder Occupation: Life Planner, On the Record”
Using a question-and-answer interview format, Australian writer Madeleine Koo captures her recent conversation with George Kinder. The piece introduces the life planning process to the Australian financial adviser community and explains what advisers can expect to learn, create and achieve using Kinder Methods. “George Kinder Occupation: Life Planner, On the Record”, IFA magazine March, 31, 2008 Read now
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March 10, 2008
IFA magazine
“Sentinel to Import US Training”
Australian financial writer, Madeleine Koo’s piece in IFA magazine announces Sentinel Wealth Management as the Kinder Institute’s new center of operations in Australia. Justin Hooper, Sentinel’s Chief Executive, has agreed to support the Kinder Institute’s training program through its dealer license. How life planning can deepen the adviser-client relationship, increase revenue and retention, create better financial plans and improve the value of advice is also discussed. “Sentinel to Import US Training”, IFA magazine, March 10, 2008 Read now
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March 12, 2008 – Money Magazine
What You Really Want From Your Money
by George Mannes
“A growing number of advisers say that until you think hard about what you really want from your money, you can’t have a successful lifelong financial plan. They’re right,” says veteran financial journalist George Mannes in this feature length article in MONEY magazine. Mannes interviews a dozen financial planners who practice in a more holistic way – many of them are Registered Life Planners™ who studied at the Kinder Institute of Life Planning.
As Mannes describes various planner’s methodologies in drawing out their clients and helping them create an integrated life plan, Mannes says point blank that “the best known soul-searching exercise in financial planning is the creation of George Kinder, a onetime tax accountant and money manager who developed a set of three questions which pose hypothetical situations about money and mortality to get you to focus on your life’s real priorities.”
“For help in clarifying things, many planners start with a ‘life transition’ questionnaire, which lists a few dozen situations ranging from ‘concerned about an aging parent’ to ‘considering an investment opportunity’ to ‘job loss’ and prompts you to indicate how much of a worry, if any, each of these issues is to you right now,” Mannes writes.
“But the simplest and most thought-provoking technique for confronting your goals comes from Kinder,” Mannes says. “On the surface, his three questions aren’t startling. But if you stop to answer them for yourself, you’ll discover they’re very good at focusing your mind on what’s important in your life.”
To read Kinder’s Three Questions and ponder the implications for your own life – plus watch a short video of Kinder talking about the Seven Stages of Money Maturity – click here now.
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January 2008 – Coronado Eagle
Life Happens, Better Make a Plan! Dan Gensler, MS, CFP®, RLP®, on life planning. Life Happens, Better Make a Plan! Read the article now
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February 2008 – Investment Advisor magazine features George Kinder on the Future of Financial Planning
Visionary by James Green
George Kinder, the spiritual father of life planning, assesses how far the profession has come, and how far it still has to go
Much has happened since Investment Advisor magazine first profiled George Kinder in 1999. In a feature article called “Visionary” that ran in the February 2008 issue, editor James Green speaks with the spiritual father of life planning to assess how far the financial planning profession has come, and how far it still has to go. Read the article now
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January 31, 2008 – Insurance Times and Investments News – South Africa
Financial Planning Institute
Press Office Feature : Financial Planning Institute (FPI) Convention Line up better than ever
The Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) has lined up a truly global cast of speakers for the 14th Annual Convention being held on 28 and 29 May 2008. In keeping with this year’s Convention theme of “Global Excellence in Financial Planning”, George Kinder, Founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning (who is internationally recognized as the father of the Life Planning movement, and has been a practicing financial planner and tax advisor for nearly 30 years) will address the audience. A full programme for the two days is available on www.fpi.co.za as well as the on-line booking form and a full description of the current exhibitors. Read now