Happy Thanksgiving and Some More Stuff.

This week we Americans celebrate my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. The idea is to pause from our usual daily pursuits in order to give thanks for all of the really good stuff in life. And when I say really good stuff of course I’m talking about mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey and stuffing. No, actually those are only the “good stuff.” The “really good stuff” is the relationships with people. As I see it, that is what makes life really good. Caring and sharing. And being thankful for the good stuff, and the really good stuff.

We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving holiday with plenty of good stuff and plenty of really good stuff.

And now for a quick quiz:

Q: What activity should you choose if you want to stimulate your brain, stave off Alzheimer’s disease, and burn calories?

A: Go for a walk.

B: Take a power nap.

C: Listen to some old time rock and roll.

D: Learn to play the tuba.

The answer appears below, so keep reading.

Note to existing clients: Our website, fpai.net has five menu items at the upper left of the first page, namely: Home…Blog…Our Philosophy and Beliefs…Contact Us…(and) Clients. The last two items, Contact Us and Clients now link to our scheduling app in addition to their prior functions. The scheduling app is a convenient way for you to schedule a phone, video or face-to-face appointment with us.

5/10/20 Retirement Plan: NAPFA is the acronym for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers, which is the membership organization for CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Professionals who do not accept any contingent (commission) compensation. We are compensated only by client fees. Recently NAPFA polled its members for some opinions regarding planning for retirement. Some of the resulting information has been published in a retirement timeline which can be reproduced here:

NAPFA 5/10/20 Retirement Plan.

Of course, the various planning points mentioned in the timeline are best considered annually with a good adviser beginning early in one’s career, but the timeline does prompt the reader to begin considering some of the preparation necessary for a successful period of financial independence.

In case you haven’t heard, Toyota is investing $1 billion in an artificial intelligence research company located in the US. You can read more about it here:

https://beta.finance.yahoo.com/news/toyota-invests-1-billion-artificial-intelligence-us-040120514.html?ltr=1

Here’s a smile. What do you do when you need to transport large parts for space vehicles? If you are NASA you modify a four-engine turboprop airplane to carry the big parts. You create the Super Guppy! I can’t look at this picture without smiling. Take a look.

NASA Super Guppy

Did you click the link and view the picture? You’re smiling aren’t you?

And here’s an even bigger smile. A one-year-old girl has become the first person in the world to receive a “designer” immune cell therapy to cure her “incurable” cancer. The story is here:

http://www.msn.com/en-ie/health/medical/miracle-leukaemia-recovery-from-layla-1-after-world-first-treatment/ar-BBmSAfv

And now for the answer to the quiz question. The answer is:

D: Learn to play the tuba.

Probably A and C are also correct, and who doesn’t like an occasional power nap? But it seems that learning to play a musical instrument is really good for getting the brain’s neurons to transmit electrochemical signals all over the place and in great quantities (which of course also burns calories). The brief video below tells of some recent research which is pretty interesting, and following that are some internet links that I found to be interesting as well.

Music. It does a body good. And so does milk.

(If available, listen to the video in headphones.)