Financial Planning

A federal appeals court Friday overturned a rule that allowed securities brokers to avoid some requirements faced by financial planners in advising customers, saying both groups must be held to the same standards to protect investors. The 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the Securities and Exchange Commission had overstepped its authority in adopting the rule in 2005. The Financial Planning Assn.

Susan Beacham can't remember when she started playing The Game of Life with her girls. But they were well below the recommended age of 9, she said. And it quickly became one of their favorite games. Allison, now 15, always wanted to handle the cash. Amanda, now 13, accumulated stock.

Helen and Ray Newland don't look like big spenders. The Brea couple lives in a modest, 1,800-square-foot home built in the 1950s. Helen drives a dusty, decade-old minivan, and Ray's Hawaiian shirts have seen better days. Their two children get hand-me-down clothes from the neighbors. The Newlands look like misers, but their finances tell a different story. They had racked up $26,000 in credit card debt, despite household income of nearly $100,000 a year after taxes.

Purists believe that, by definition, a second home is one bought with the intention of keeping it forever. Anything less -- including the plan to sell it one day -- makes it an investment, not a second home. The value of the "second home," based on purists' definition, is that it becomes part of the kids' inheritance and that the owners get to enjoy it -- the sunset over the lake, cocktails by the seventh fairway, a breathtaking mountain view just a short walk up the road.

Millions of college seniors are interviewing for their first full-time jobs in preparation for stepping out of the hallowed halls of education and into the real world. And with it comes a world of debt. "These kids have it tougher than people did in the past," said Mike Sullivan, director of education for Take Charge America, a Phoenix-based credit counseling firm. "They are graduating with a lot more debt, but starting salaries are not that much higher."

T\o7o\f7 protect the purchasing power of your money over the last five years, one of the best strategies was to send it abroad. Foreign stock markets overall have risen faster than U.S. shares since 2002. And a big bonus for American investors in foreign securities has been the currency effect: As the dollar's value has sunk against many of its global rivals, returns earned abroad have been juiced significantly. To appreciate just how friendly the dollar has been to U.S.

Children are one of life's great joys, but this joy doesn't come cheap. Just ask Scott Leonard, a Redondo Beach financial planner and father of three. "It's death from a thousand paper cuts," Leonard said. "No one thing is overwhelmingly expensive, but there are an endless number of little things that are going to cost you $50 or $100." New parents are frequently shocked at what a budget buster having a baby can be.

Every small-business owner wants to be a financial success, but most would balk if they knew the eventual price could be their health and happiness. Unfortunately, that's the bill that comes due for too many. Swamped by endless to-do lists and juggling multiple roles, business owners typically can't seem to find enough hours in the day to get it all done.

Duane and Paula Okazaki of Fountain Valley have plenty of money for exotic vacations and indulging in the Southern California good life. They recently spent $18,000 to resurface their lap pool with smoke-colored pebbles to give it a more natural look in their otherwise unadorned backyard. Later this year, they're headed to Shanghai on holiday. But as they settle into middle age, the Okazakis are starting to dream a new dream: early retirement. He's 51 and she's 44. Why not call it quits at 60?

When Scott Fowler quit his job at Wal-Mart to make a living as a painting contractor, he left his medical insurance behind. He and his wife went without health coverage for years because the West Covina resident believed he couldn't afford premiums of $600 to $700 a month. But in recent years the health insurance industry, once seemingly indifferent to individual customers, has increasingly catered to them, said Gary Lauer, chief executive of EHealth Inc. in Mountain View, Calif.