Winter-2019-newsletter

C O N T E N T S
Ryan Craner
reminds us
to focus on what
matters most pg. 3 pg. 3
Welcome to 2019, What Matters Most?
by Ryan Craner
Ryan talks of being cautious of fearmongers
and enjoying life
pg. 5
The Surprising Stresses of Retirement
by John Park
John teaches some steps to help work
through the stresses of retirement
pg. 7
Don't Be Normal
by Tom Craner
Tom shares why it is O.K. to not be normal
while saving for retirement
pg. 9
Memories and Meatloaf
by Heather Cunningham
Enjoy one of Heather's recipes as you take a
stroll down memory lane
pg. 10-11
Meet the Team
Introducing the new members of the
office
pg. 3
Welcome to 2019
What Matters Most?
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Welcome to 2019
What Matters Most?
By Ryan Craner
Taking the client advocate and consumer protection approach, Ryan has always viewed every client as
a long term and very important relationship.
M y, how time flies! As we
imagined 2019 from 30, 40, or 50
years ago we always thought we
would see flying cars! Instead we
have drones that annoy us and
smartphones that rule our lives.
There have been many positive
developments over the past 2 or
3 years. We are very happy with
the economic results we are
seeing, such as unemployment
at long-term lows and GDP
(gross domestic product)
growing again for the first time
in over a decade. Consumer
confidence is at long-term highs,
and something new… wage
growth for the first time in 18
years!
2018 turned out to be a slightly
negative year for the markets, the
S&P 500 and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average were down 4.4%
and 3.5% respectively. This is a mild
downturn as far as negative years
go. When looking only at the 4th
Quarter in 2018 the downturn is
much sharper and of course that is
where the media focused the
attention.
As I mentioned in the Ryan Report/
Market Update dated December
20th, 2018, there is good news in
the small loss in 2018. The good
news is that we have now had our
correction, we have now had our
down year, we have now had our
bear market. Nobody will be able to
make a credible case that we have
gone straight up or have gone too
high for too long. This gives the
market a good reset and makes
new all-time highs in the future
more likely. The down year of 2018
and the sharper loss in the 4th
quarter are normal macro bullmarket
patterns.
This gives the market a good
reset and makes new alltime
highs in the future
more likely.
The markets were clearly reacting to
uncertainty on the trade and tariff
discussions and the seemingly
inflexible and hawkish comments
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made by Federal Reserve
Chairman, Jerome Powell, during
the 4th quarter 2018. Even with
the markets being anxious about
Federal Reserve policy and trade
relations going forward, this does
not mean we are headed toward a
recession. Jerome Powell and his
hundreds of Ph.D. level economists
certainly don’t see weakness
coming.
“The world is ending, the markets
are crashing, recession is coming,
Buy Our Products!”
As you are certainly aware, I have
warned our clients over and over
to disregard the inflammatory and
inaccurate stories and promotions
from these sources. I would
remind all of you that we have a
long-term and disciplined
investment strategy in place. There
is no reason to obsess and worry
The markets and the
economy will continue to
cycle as always, and our
strategy is in place.
has it been since you have done
either of these things?
Commit to a new exercise activity,
go for a walk, spend more time
with family, review your perfect
calendars and make sure you are
spending your time on the things
that are the most important to
you.
One theme that I noticed in the
media reporting about the stock
markets in the fourth quarter is
this wild and unfounded
catastrophic atmosphere. The
typical culprits were at work. The
news media, the dark apocalypse
gurus, the gold/precious metal
promoters, and the fixed annuity/
life insurance industry were all
out there signaling catastrophe!
one quarter to the next about the
markets and the economy.
It can be hard to ignore these
fear-mongers because the media,
and other dubious sources, can be
loud and incessant with their
“worry about this” marketing. I
advise each of you to limit your
media and social media intake
and activity. Get back to basics.
Do crossword puzzles or build
actual jigsaw puzzles, how long
The markets and the economy will
continue to cycle as always, and
our strategy is in place. Make
sure you are focusing on what
matters most in this new year!
Enjoy your lives, enjoy the good
things in life in 2019.
As always, it is a pleasure to
advise you!
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The Surprising Stresses of
Retirement
By John Park
From investments to complicated retirement strategies, he works to educate and advise his
clients on making smart financial decisions.
We have recently had severa l
clients retire. One of the
fascinating aspects of this job is
seeing how various people react
to retirement. I used to be
ignorant in assuming everyone
would be excited about
retirement. As far as I am
concerned, although I absolutely
love what I do, I cannot wait to
have more time to pursue
hobbies and interests, that is
one way I view my own future
retirement.
However, many times, as we
have recently seen, some clients
dread retirement. Perhaps if you
are reading this, I am talking
about you specifically. You might
be one of the clients I am
thinking of. You know who you
are, or if it is your spouse I am
talking about. Well, why are
some clients dreading
retirement? Is it a money issue?
The people I am talking about are
not worried about money, or at
least should not be. No, it is
something deeper than money. So
what is it?
I believe some people dread
retirement because it is new and
unfamiliar. We are all creatures of
habit. These clients I am talking
about are hard workers. Their work
ethic and reliability are second to
none. They have spent decades
going to work on a set schedule. It
has been a means of providing for
their families. Work has given them
purpose. It almost defines them, or
at least a large part of them.
Do not let fear and stress
motivate you. Not when it
comes between you and
the prospect of a happy
and fulfilled retirement.
It is important to not take it for
granted that leaving a job, whether
due to termination, quitting, or
retirement, is a major life event.
Therefore, even under the best
circumstances it can cause a lot of
stress.
To those clients who have recently
retired or can and do not, please,
pay attention. Do not let fear and
stress motivate you. Not when it
comes between you and the
prospect of a happy and fulfilled
retirement.
If you are ready to retire or have
retired and are stressed or
depressed, please stop and take
inventory of your emotions. I would
like you to consider your situation
as though it is not you. Pretend you
are someone different and you are
a good friend of this person who is
stressed about retirement. What
would you tell them? Would you
add to their fear? Would you upset
them even more? No, of coursenot.
Would you not offer help and
support? First, you would take their
concerns seriously. You would ask
questions and find out the details,
that way you might provide positive
and meaningful guidance.
Would you want this good friend of
yours to dwell in despair? No. You
would want them to be happy and
healthy. You obviously care about
this individual; after all, you are
their good friend. After an extensive
conversation, you might say to
yourself, I mean your friend, that
they need to let go of the fear and
anxiety. If a professional has
verified that finances are in order,
they ought to enjoy retirement.
They have literally earned it.
Fast forward three months. You,
our client, have taken the
retirement you so deserved. But
there is a problem. You are
depressed. You report back at our
next meeting that you are not
enjoying yourself. Or what is more
common, your spouse reports back
you are not enjoying yourself.
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Perhaps your pre-retirement
anxiety and stress followed you.
Your spouse reports you are not
active, energetic, and happy. They
say you seem depressed. Now we
have got a problem.
Let me be clear, if you are idle long
term in retirement and depressed,
you will die. I am not trying to be
dramatic. That is just the reality of
it.
Find a way to be happy and
fulfilled. Start small. .. Start
with a desire to be happier.
When I hear a client is finding
themselves in this situation, I get
upset and worried. I am fearful for
my client’s life. I am fearing for my
client’s wellbeing; after all, they are
a friend. I want the best for you. I
want you to live a long and happy
life. I will therefore tear down
anything in the way of that. It
would be so nice to take a direct
drill sergeant approach and yell at
you to motivate and move you. We
all know that would not work. It is
not my style anyways.
Rather, I will implore you. Find a
way to be happy and fulfilled. Start
small. It is not simply a switch that
can be flipped. Start with a desire to
be happier. If you are full of stress
and not enjoying life, you need to
have hope that things can change
or at least you need to want to
have hope.
Next, let's wake up at a specific
time. Remember when you were
employed? Could you sit in bed or
on the couch because you did not
feel well? Nope. You went to work
every morning regardless of how
you felt. It was important that you
were at work, people and a
company were relying on you. That
gave you purpose. Again, get up at
a specific time. Sorry if you do not
want to, too bad. Get up and get
ready. After you have eaten
something for breakfast, let’s setup
a goal of one task you will
accomplish. Do you need to fix the
railing, plant something in the
garden, or fix the project car in
your garage? Whatever it is, put it
on the agenda and do it. Just like
when you were employed, this task
is demanded of you. It is not
optional. The completion of that
task is relying on you. This gives
you even more purpose now. Now
you are a handyman, gardener, or
mechanic.
While you are fixing or completing
that day’s agenda item, do not be
afraid of distractions. Maybe you
see a light bulb that needs
replacing, take care of it, and return
to your original task. Remember
when you were constantly
bombarded at work with
interruptions and distractions?
Guess what, those little
annoyances happened because you
were important and were needed.
Now around the house, you are
again presented with interruptions
or distractions which need
attention. You need to address
them because you are important
and serve a purpose.
Zoom out a little and not focus on
just one day. Our perfect calendar
process talks about planning your
week, month, and year with
agenda items that you want to do.
Maybe it is not all vacations and
celebrations. Maybe it is quiet time.
Plan activities of all kinds. Whether
fun or lame, big or small, plan
activities for yourself. Now you
have more importance and
purpose.
As you build upon this, you will rise
from depression. We need to enjoy
life. There is nothing selfish about
that sentence. It is completely
selfless. If you enjoy life, you will
be happy, positive, and a good
influence. Those traits will cause
you to bless the lives of your family
and friends. By taking care of
yourself and being healthy and
happy, you will be able to care for
and help others around you.
I hope this article has not applied
to you personally but if you are
one of the clients I am thinking of,
please talk to us more if you are
not enjoying retirement. We are
here for you. After-all, if you do not
change and shape up, I might
eventually approach this subject
like a drill sergeant.
"You are never
too old to set
another goal
or to dream a
new dream."
C.S. Lewis
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Don't Be Normal
By Tom Craner
With client relations and customer service experience going back nearly a decade, Tom has a proven
track record of genuine care for our clients.
John works at a factory for a large
company. His company offers a
401k to their employees along with
a 3% match. John is 40 and has
always spent his whole paycheck
on bills, rent, and extracurricular
expenses. He begins to think about
retirement and starts asking his coworkers
about the 401k.
Do you think saving for
retirement is important?
and temporarily conscientious
coworker were to ask him about
the company 401k in the future,
then he may give them the same
rationalizations and thereby
pressure them to kick the can
down the road as well.
If you are reading this, you may
have gone through this very same
mental process or know someone
who has. It is completely normal
for people to prefer spending your
money today over spending it
decades from now.
R ecently, on our Facebook
page, we asked the question ‘Do
you think saving for retirement is
important?’. Based on our
responses the answer was a
resounding ‘yes.’ The harder
question to answer is why then,
according to the most recent data,
are anywhere from 75-80% of
people between ages 40 and 60
totally unprepared for retirement?
I believe the answer, while
complex, can be largely attributed
to two well-documented
phenomena in psychology;
unspoken peer pressure and
rationalization. I know for most of
us, discussions of peer pressure
and rationalization don’t usually
fall into the category of
“retirement savings” and more
often fall into the category of
“what to talk to your teenager
about”, but let’s look at an
example:
Most of his co-workers tell him
that, while they have often wanted
to begin saving for retirement, they
haven’t gotten around to it yet.
They will often say something like “I
have enough time in the future” or
“I can’t afford to begin saving until I
am out of debt or get a
raise.” (rationalization). John looks
around after asking all his work
friends and realizes that the vast
majority of them are not saving,
have not saved, and don’t intend to
begin saving in the near future.
Therefore, it seems perfectly
reasonable to John if he were to
not worry about it, at least for now
(peer pressure). If any curious
Saving things for later is a learned
and developed behavior. The
propensity for immediate
gratification was studied in a series
of experiments during the 60’s and
70’s called the Marshmallow Test.
In this experiment a child is given a
marshmallow and told that they
can eat it now or wait 15 minutes
and receive a second marshmallow.
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Certainly, if the children waited
the extra time they would double
their bounty; but studies have
shown that over half of the
children won’t wait to scarf it
down. Later renditions of the
Marshmallow Test show that,
when placed in a group, an even
higher number of children will
indulge immediately. Kids are a
great barometer of human
nature, and this experiment
shows us just how wired we are
to try to fit in with our peers.
Following the crowd is
normal behavior, but the
crowd does not always
enact good behavior.
People want to be normal and
being normal is often good.
Something generally becomes the
norm because it benefits people. It
is normal to shower and brush
your teeth. It is normal to sleep,
normal to work, and normal to
have dinner in good company.
There are many beneficial things
that are normal behaviors. This is
why when we first learn to drive a
car, we do not start with our hands
on the pedals while steering with
our feet... normally.
On the other hand though, there
are many normal things we do that
are destructive. Normally, we eat
too much sugar, watch too much
TV, and don’t exercise
nearly enough. It is a pitfall of
human nature. Following the
crowd is normal behavior but the
crowd does not always enact good
behavior. Doing the normal thing is
not the same as doing the right
thing, nor is it always beneficial.
If you want to live a dream life in
retirement and you want to quit
working one day and have time to
golf, crochet, read, camp, travel or
just do nothing at all; if you truly
want to live your perfect calendar
then when it comes to saving and
planning for your retirement, don’t
be normal.
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Memories and Meatloaf
By Heather Cunningham
Childhood memories consist of
many things and for every
individual those memories can be
very different from one another.
Throwing a ball back and forth with
your father, reading books with
your mother, riding bikes well past
dark, and for some, fishing in an old
rickety boat at 4:00am with
grandpa are such memories that
bring so much joy.
Mother's home-cooked meals are
most likely high on the list in our
memory bank. Coming home from
playing and experiencing the aroma
that filled the house brought on a
sudden need for delicious food to
quiet the battle going on in your
stomach.
What are some of those meals for
you? Meatloaf, lasagna, and
homemade bread were certainly
some of the staples in homes long
ago. For some families, they still are.
We have grown and now have
children and grandchildren of our
own, we have the privilege of
sharing such memories with them.
Now is as good a time as any to pull
out those recipes, dust them off,
and watch the joy that each of us
experienced in our younger years.
Ingredients
Mini Meatloaves
1 egg(lightly whisked)
1 tsp salt
3/4 c milk
1 lb ground beef
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 c ketchup
1/2 c (heaping) potato flakes
1/4 c packed brown sugar 1
Directions
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
-Preheat oven to 350 degree f.
-In a large bowl, combine whisked egg, milk, shredded cheddar cheese, potato flakes, and salt.
-Add the ground beef, mix well. Form this mixture into eight miniature loaves. Place them in a lightly greased 9x13 dish.
-In a separate smaller bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Mix well and spread over each meatloaf.
-Bake, uncovered, 350 degrees f for 45 minutes.
*Fun to make in a cupcake pan. For more flavor, add Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste.
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MEET THE TEAM
The people of Strategic Planning Group work closely as a team to foster an unambiguous and
clear path forward. Our team is integral to ensuring that our principles towards investment
planning and management of your estate are effectively implemented.You can trust that the
combined decades of experience shared by our advisors will always be utilized by our staff to
ensure success in your Strategic Plan.
R Y A N C R A N E R
President & CEO
Ryan founded Strategic Planning Group to help consumers
avoid piecemeal planning and simply buying products and
instead create an all-inclusive written Strategic Plan. A
Strategic Plan is to your financial life what a blueprint is to
building a home. This custom approach which began as a
simple idea has grown Strategic Planning Group into a trusted
and established firm.
JOHN PARK TOM CRANER JACKIE O'SHEA
Wealth Management Advisor Account Trading and Operations Client Services
S T R A T E G I C P L A N N I N G G R O U P | 10

JENA OLNEY ADRIENNE PRINCE HEATHER CUNNINGHAM
Client Services Client Services Client Services
"Your
retirement, like
a song, should
be a unified and
harmonious
composition."
S T R A T E G I C P L A N N I N G G R O U P | 11

190 South Main Street
Bountiful, UT 84010
(801)627-2200
Retirement Planning Specialists
Now Located on Historic Main Street in Bountiful
Advisory services are offered through Strategic Planning Group, a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC. Securities offered through Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Member FINRA/SIPC.