Is your fiscal outlook a cliff, a major mountain, a glistening pool, or more like the great expanse of the unknown universe? We are baby boomers for Pete’s sake! We know the value of money, we know it doesn’t grow on trees, but by golly we may not have known the great strides we would make on longevity. We are looking at a longer, more productive road ahead and should be well into plan “B” with our fiscal outlook.

There is a new book, about to be released, that we are taking a sneak peek at: The Money Code: Improve Your Entire Financial Life Right Now by Joe John Duran, CFA. More on this in an upcoming blog – spoiler alert – it sure looks promising!

We have relied on Ross Blair, CEO of Plan Prescriber and guest blogger, for insight into what to expect when planning for healthcare expenses. We will look even more closely at this in 2013. The recent fiscal cliff decisions provided some insight into Medicare changes, but most of them were really just postponed to a later date. There is much speculation over the effect these decisions will have on Medicare. According to the Economist, it is unlikely Medicare will be doomed, but stay tuned (perhaps for years to come!).

We have a new slant on what to do in the short-term. Crosby, Stills and Nash put it perfectly – “Teach the children well.” The ability of the younger generations to make and save money may be the only way to the glistening pool of funds. Many banks offer Youth Programs. These programs range from offering higher yields on savings accounts, to offering weekend classes for the kids. In some cases, the classes are a requirement for the higher yield.

So, action #1 in 2013, be a money mentor to a child. Educate a child or children on the value of saving money and perhaps even start them on the road to understanding their financial future. In the past, we have suggested our kids split all money they are gifted three ways: 1) save some, 2) spend some, 3) give some.

We would love to hear your thoughts. We value your input into suggested topics to dive deeper into for future blogs.