Introduction   Simple Lessons at Hand   Practical Prosperity   Go Green   Grateful Referrals   Buy the Book!   Hear Me Speak!   Visit Our Website! Dear Appreciated Friends and Clients,  I have found a reason to celebrate April 15!  It is the target move in date for my and Barry’s new home.  The building process began last July.  Our original move in date was “before Christmas.”  We have been living in a 500 square foot cottage on the property during construction.   As you might imagine, we are pumped and ready to move! There is still the practical part of April 15.  It is the filing deadline for your form 1040.  Before the days get too nice, sit down and gather your tax data if you have not already done so.  If you are having trouble getting started, try a positive reframe. Anything is better with a positive spin.  Can you: Think of gathering tax data as making your CPA smile? Turn gathering your tax data into a way to appreciate your abundance? • Affirm, I love gathering my tax data because it gives me a sense of peace and accomplishment!   If you have a positive re-frame, please send it to us.  We will publish the good ones in our next newsletter, and try out the best ones on next year’s tax organizers.  May your tax season be filled with prosperity, Mackey Back to Top

Simple Lessons at Hand As a kid, I idolized my dad.  As soon as he arrived home from work, he would don his coveralls and head to his workshop, a converted root cellar in the underbelly of our home.   It was filled with scads of tools, nuts and bolts, nails, and all of the things that he intended to repair when he got around to it.   I visited his workshop often, and as he tinkered and repaired there, I pestered him incessantly about everything I saw.  In order to keep my hands, mouth, and mind occupied, he would sketch a design and ask me to fashion it from scraps of lumber and nails.  I took each assignment seriously, and worked diligently to bring his design into reality.  Using kid engineering and craftsmanship, I would emerge from the workshop with a jumble of wood that kinda sorta resembled his sketch.   My nail-hammering talent was effective in that I managed to get the pieces together, but not very elegantly, as I often missed the nail and found my hand.  Ouch! Recently, while reflecting on a childhood of many bruised fingers, I realized that they were the result of focusing my attention on the wrong end of the nail!  As I constructed my project, I obviously put the point of the nail where I wanted it to go.  Then, after ever-so-briefly looking at the head of the nail, I refocused my attention on where the nail was going.   I completely ignored the head of the nail as I brought the hammer down.  This lack of attention to my real target, the nail head, created the wounds I remember so vividly. What an analogy for how many of us go through life! If we want to reach our goals with grace and ease, we must learn the lesson of the hammer and nail.  First, we clarify and set firm intention around our goals, i.e.; put the point of the nail exactly where we want to imbed it.  Next, and most importantly, we must focus…and remain focused…on that which will drive the nail home.   We do not need to focus on our goal again.  We need only stay focused on what is next.  It is the attention we pay to our immediate target, the nail head, that actually brings us our desired result. Here is a simple example.  Let’s say you’ve done your analysis and research, and you’ve set the realistic and achievable goal of doubling the size of your business in three years.  Having set that target, you must determine what you need to do today, and next week, and next month, and next year, to reach your goal.  If you only focus on where you intend to be in three years, you won’t get there.  It is the focus on, attention to, and follow-through on what you have to do today, and every day, that actually propels you to your goal. Take another example from personal finance.  You determine you need $2 million at age sixty to reach financial freedom and you set your goal to achieve that.  Based on your current net worth and your asset allocation plan, you must save $450 a week to achieve your goal.   It is the daily attention you pay to saving $450 this week, and every week, that actually creates the $2 million you need for financial freedom.  Our life is created by the moment-to-moment choices we make.  Choosing to focus on today is one option that can enable us to reach our goals with grace and ease.  Alternatively, we can stay focused only on the goal, and create a few bruises in the process. Where is your attention?  Are you focused on the nail head?  Do you have a clear goal and do you know what you need to do today to accomplish it?  Are you focused and attentive to the present moment?  Wishing you many days of clear focused attention, Mackey Back to Top

Practical Prosperity Wills: The Cornerstone of Your Estate Plan During this month of St Patrick’s Day, I have taken a few minutes to reflect upon the vast changes that have occurred in how we view, accept, and move on after death.  For many years, and even still today in some Irish villages, death was viewed as a new beginning for the unfortunate soul it had come to take.  When reading old newspaper clips from Ireland, death often came in some dramatic fashion; a fall from the roof top, a trampling of a farm animal, or often in the midst of a jig and a good pint at the local pub. A few days later, the entire town would parade through the village, following the deceased, wailing all the way to the final resting place.  Within an hour of the burial everyone was back at the pub toasting and remembering Uncle Liam whether he really deserved it or not.  They celebrated the grand afterlife, cherished the thought of the old bloke watching over them, and the family inherited what was rightfully theirs within days and moved on.  Things are needless to say, much different now. Today, if you care about what happens to your money, home, and other property after you die, you need to do some estate planning.  There are many tools you can use to achieve your estate planning goals, but a will is probably the most vital.  Even if you're young or your estate is modest, you should always have a legally valid and up-to-date will.  This is especially important if you have minor children because, in many states, your will is the only legal way you can name a guardian for them. Wills avoid intestacy and distribute property according to your wishes Probably the greatest advantage of a will is that it allows you to avoid intestacy.  That is, with a will you get to choose who will get your property, rather than leave it up to state law.  State intestate succession laws, in effect, provide a will for you if you die without one.  This "intestate's will" distributes your property, in general terms that may not be what you would have wanted.   Wills allow you to leave bequests (gifts) to anyone you want.  You can leave your property to a surviving spouse, a child, other relatives, friends, a trust, a charity, or anyone you choose. Wills allow you to nominate a guardian for your minor children In many states, a will is your only means of stating who you want to act as legal guardian for your minor children if you die.  You can name a personal guardian, who takes personal custody of the children, and a property guardian, who manages the children's assets.  This can be the same person or different people.  The probate court has final approval, but courts will usually approve your choice of guardian unless there are compelling reasons not to. Wills specify how to pay estate taxes and can help minimize taxes The way in which estate taxes and other expenses are paid can be directed by your will.  To ensure that the specific bequests you make to your beneficiaries are not reduced by taxes and other expenses, you can provide in your will that these costs be paid from your residuary estate.  Or, you can specify which assets should be used or sold to pay these costs. A will also gives you the chance to minimize taxes and other costs.  For instance, if you draft a will that leaves your entire estate to your U.S. citizen spouse, none of your property will be taxable when you die (if your spouse survives you) because it is fully deductible under the unlimited marital deduction.  However, if your estate is distributed according to intestacy rules, a portion of the property may be subject to estate taxes if it is distributed to heirs other than your U.S. citizen spouse. There are many other advantages to having a will, and even more should one choose to complete the package with living wills and health care directives.  These additions will protect your rights and desires should you ever become incapacitated or unable to communicate.  So while things are much different today than they were years ago on the “Isle of Green” there is still much we can do to keep our legacy prosperous and easy to administer.  So this March, take a few minutes to get your affairs in order.  I for one like to imagine my heirs and well wishers toasting the night away at my wake then mired by taxes, intestacy, and family strife.   The traditional lyrics below bring to mind the contentment one with only a will could have.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Oh all the money that e'er I had, I spent it in good company And all the harm that e'er I've done, alas, it was to none but me And all I've done for want of wit to memory now I can't recall So fill to me the parting glass, good night and joy be with you all       ~Traditional Irish Tune by Andy Pulsfort   Back to Top

Go Green  Greener homes are in the spotlight these days, but what about the other places where many of us spend huge chunks of our time--our offices? Some simple changes of habit can save energy and resources at work, and these small steps can be multiplied by persuading the powers-that-be at your workplace to adopt environmentally friendly (and often cost-effective) policies. 1. Be bright about light Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings.  Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can.  Make it a policy to buy Energy Star-rated light bulbs and fixtures, which use at least two-thirds less energy than regular lighting, and install timers or motion sensors that automatically shut off lights when they're not needed. 2. Maximize computer efficiency Computers in the business sector unnecessarily waste $1 billion worth of electricity a year.  Make it a habit to turn off your computer when you leave for the day. Otherwise, you're still burning energy even if you're not burning the midnight oil. (Check with your IT department to make sure the computer doesn't need to be on to run backups or other maintenance.) During the day, setting your computer to go to sleep automatically during short breaks can cut energy use by 70 percent. Remember, screen savers don't save energy.  Make it a policy to invest in energy-saving computers, monitors, and printers and make sure that old equipment is properly recycled. Look for a recycler that has pledged not to export hazardous e-waste and to follow other safety guidelines. Old computers that still work, and are less than five years old, can be donated to organizations that will refurbish them and find them new homes. (You may even get a tax deduction.) 3. Print smarter The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year. Make it a habit to print on both sides or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts. Avoid color printing and print in draft mode whenever feasible.  Make it a policy to buy chlorine-free paper with a higher percentage of post-consumer recycled content. Also consider switching to a lighter stock of paper or alternatives made from bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, or kenaf. Recycle toner and ink cartridges and buy remanufactured ones. According to Office Depot, each remanufactured toner cartridge "keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills...and conserves about a half gallon of oil." 4. Go paperless when possible  Make it a habit to think before you print: could this be read or stored online instead? When you receive unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazines, or junk mail, request to be removed from the mailing list before you recycle the item.  Make it a policy to post employee manuals and similar materials online, rather than distribute print copies. They're easier to update that way too. 5. Ramp up your recycling  Make it a habit to recycle everything your company collects. Just about any kind of paper you would encounter in an office, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager.  Make it a policy to place recycling bins in accessible, high-traffic areas and provide clear information about what can and can not be recycled. 6. Close the loop  Make it a policy to purchase office supplies and furniture made from recycled materials. 7. Watch what (and how) you eat  Make it a habit to bring your own mug and dishware for those meals you eat at the office.  Make it a policy to provide reusable dishes, silverware, and glasses. Switch to Fair Trade and organic coffee and tea, and buy as much organic and local food as possible for parties and other events. Provide filtered drinking water to reduce bottled-water waste. 8. Rethink your travel  Make it a habit to take the train, bus, or subway when feasible instead of a rental car when traveling on business. If you have to rent a car, some rental agencies now offer hybrids and other high-mileage vehicles.  Make it a policy to invest in videoconferencing and other technological solutions that can reduce the amount of employee travel. 9. Reconsider your commute  Make it a habit to carpool, bike, or take transit to work, and/or telecommute when possible. If you need to drive occasionally, consider joining a car-sharing service like Zipcar and Flexcar instead of owning your own wheels.  Make it a policy to encourage telecommuting (a nice perk that's also good for the planet!) and make it easy for employees to take alternative modes of transportation by subsidizing commuter checks, offering bike parking, or organizing a carpool board. 10. Create a healthy office environment  Make it a habit to use nontoxic cleaning products. Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution.  Make it a policy to buy furniture, carpeting, and paint that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and won't off-gas toxic chemicals.   by Pam Vargo   Back to Top

Grateful Referrals Can you remember the first time we met and discussed your goals and needs?   We want you to pass that feeling along to a friend, a co-worker or a family member who you know needs our help. We are DELIGHTED to announce that in 2007 we met our growth goals because of generous referrals from our clients and friends.  Thank you!  Our 2008 goals are set and they are ambitious.  To meet those goals, we will need your help!   If you know of someone that would benefit from our help, please pass along their name and number and I will contact them myself.  Thank you for helping us meet our goals!   Call me at 859-331-7755 ext 103 or e mail me at Mackey@CultivatingProsperity.com With gratitude, Mackey   Buy the Book! The Dynamics of Money  Mackey’s new audio book, the Dynamics of Money, gives you the power to discover your personal key, unlocking the door to your true potential for unlimited prosperity. Through the power of the Narrative Tradition of The Enneagram, you will hear the three exemplars of each of the nine personality types sharing their unique perspectives on the subject of money and prosperity. Order Your Copy Today! The Intersection of Joy and Money Warning!! This book will: ●    Expand your confidence around financial decision-making. ●    Increase your prosperity consciousness. ●    Create a more prosperous and abundant life. Change your relation with money today!   Hear Me Speak! Friday, March 14, 2008 UC Campus Mackey will be addressing the students of  Architecture at the UC Campus to discuss financial concerns and dealing with debt. Monday, March 24, 2008 Spring Seminar   Mackey has had an overwhelming response to her annual Spring Seminar this year which is completely filled!  The venue has changed for her annual event!  The Spring Seminar will be held at The Metropolitan Club in Covington, KY.  This presentation will be filled with Mackey's astitute financial advice all the while you are enjoying a delicious meal. We look forward to seeing you there!   Visit Our Website!    At Mackey Advisors we believe in education, information, and empowerment.  Please visit our website www.CultivatingProsperity.com to learn about our services, see what has been going on throughout our office, and explore the many tools available to help you navigate the world of finance.   Back to Top