Candidates were selected to the list based upon knowledge and experience, geography, and in good standing with no disciplinary action against them through the Securities and Exchange Commission, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Mr. Epple has been very involved in helping dentists including as a co-founder and member of the Northern Dental Alliance (www.NorthernDentalAlliance.com).   “Our dental alliance was conceived as a resource for dentists. Each member was looking for a way to attain long-term and overall success for our dentist clients. Personally, I wanted to both assist dentists in achieving their personal financial goals and have the resources readily available to enhance the business and professional side as well. Linking with dental experts in many areas makes that possible.”

Epple Financial Advisors provides comprehensive, Fee-Only financial planning and ongoing wealth management services for families, small business owners and dentists who are looking to delegate some level of responsibility for managing their financial affairs. Simply, Epple Financial Advisors help our clients achieve financial independence quicker than they would on their own.

Details below and by clicking here: (http://epplefinancial.com/files/2013%20EFA%20Shredding%20Event.pdf)

Epple Financial Advisors is hosting a FREE shredding event on April 20th. We will have a local shredding company on-site to destroy all your confidential documents.

Come Rain or Shine!

You are welcome to invite your family and friends to participate in this event.

Date: April 20, 2013

Time: 9:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m.

Location: 801 Twelve Oaks Center Drive Parking lot

Come enjoy a cup of hot coffee after you drop off your documents to be shredded at the drive thru drop-off location.

We Hope to See You on April 20th!

Credit.com‘s Credit Report Card is a free tool that provides consumers with a simple, clear translation of their credit file, including their credit scores. It’s particularly useful for people who may have had trouble decoding their credit reports. It’s designed to provide a foundation for understanding credit more broadly, which ultimately enables a deeper dive into a subject which many people find very confusing.

The Credit Report Card helps consumers:

• See where they stand
• Discover how they compare to      relevant populations
• Find out what they can do to      maintain healthier credit
• Make smart credit and financial      decisions

The Credit Report Card includes:

• Experian credit score and estimated FICO and Vantage scores
• Credit grades for the five key elements that make up your score
• Comprehensive, expert-driven credit content to help answer questions and better manage your credit and finances
• Data comparisons to help you see how you compare to others in your community and throughout the country
• Free monthly updates

Credit.com is making the Credit Report Card available to all NAPFA members to help them advise clients on their credit situation and how it impacts their overall financial plan. To access the Credit Report Card tool, click HERE.

Details below and by clicking here: (http://epplefinancial.com/files/2013%20EFA%20Shredding%20Event.pdf)

Epple Financial Advisors is hosting a FREE

shredding event on April 20th. We will have a local

shredding company on-site to destroy all your

confidential documents.

Come Rain or Shine!

You are welcome to invite your family and friends to

participate in this event.

Date: April 20, 2013

Time: 9:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m.

Location: 801 Twelve Oaks Center Drive Parking lot

Come enjoy a cup of hot coffee after you drop off

your documents to be shredded at the drive thru

drop-off location.

We Hope to See You on April 20th!

From Mark Maurer, Low Load Insurance Services:

In mid-April, Genworth, a leading provider of long term care insurance (LTCi), expects to introduce re-priced Long Term Care insurance premiums.

The biggest changes will apply to single females, with rates as much as 40% higher than the current unisex rates.

The move is designed to better reflect the risks involved in covering women who are paid two out of every three LTCi benefit dollars, often because they live longer and have no caregivers at home, according to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance, a trade group based in Westlake Village, California.

Another major change: The company will begin requiring a paramed exam (like life insurance) for all long term care insurance applications, adding layers of both complexity and time to the process of issuing an LTCi policy.

Insurers in general are getting tougher about applicants’ health. The paramed exam will include a blood test, which will confirm what applicants report about nicotine and drug use. And it will allow the company to consider some indicators of cardiovascular disease and stroke, the insurer‘s number two morbidity cause after cognitive issues.

Both moves — charging different premiums for men and women, and requiring blood work — would bring underwriting for long term care insurance more in line with current underwriting practices for life insurance, according to Genworth.

What won’t change: Male rates are expected to remain relatively unchanged. And couple discounts are expected to increase to compensate for the higher female premiums.

Genworth has applied to all states for these rate changes; to-date, approximately 30 have approved the mid-April increases.

Also important to note: We have seen that the major LTCi players mirror each other quickly (very recently, the elimination of lifetime benefits and suspension of short-pay options). When the sex-distinct rates and paramed exam requirements become effective for Genworth, we believe the other major carriers will follow suit … and soon.

Your clients: If you have single female clients considering LTCi, or clients for whom the paramed exam may be a concern because of existing health issues, we’d recommend you contac Jill MacNeil now.  Email:   jillmacneil@LLIS.com

2907 W. Bay to Bay Blvd. | Suite 102 | Tampa, FL 33629-1706 | Toll Free: 877-254-4429
Local: 813-902-0002 | Fax: 813-902-0007 | www.LLIS.com

I just started my career as a Dentist and I am deeply in debt.  Where do I start to get my finances in order to position me for owning my own practice and for the long term ?

The following list will assist you in getting started:

Obtain Disability Insurance – Individual not group coverage:  The first to do on your list is to put in place a high quality individual disability insurance policy that you can increase as your earnings increase.  Your biggest asset is your earnings ability.

Build Cash Reserve:  In order to purchase a practice, you will need to have in place about six months of cash reserves to get you started and to qualify for practice loans.  Setup a monthly auto purchase into a FDIC insured savings account like ING Direct to build the account.

Pay down Debt:  Your first inclination may be to pay down debt as quickly as you can.  It is much more important to have the cash reserve in place and even begin to save for your retirement.  I recommend you pay your bills on schedule and at the amount due to build a good credit rating while maintaining flexibility.

Avoid the big purchases initially:  I recommend you hold off buying the fancy car and/or big house until you have a better handle on where you will end up for the long term.  Not buying these big ticket items will help maintain flexibility and better position you to buy a practice.

Begin Saving for Retirement:  If your employer has a 401k plan, at a minimum, save enough to earn the full company matching contributions.  This is “free” money you don’t want to lose. In order to achieve financial independence, starting early will help you greatly on your path.  If you are buying a practice, make sure you look to establish a 401k plan to help with your own savings and to lower your tax bill.

For more information, contact: Rick Epple, CFP®  at Epple Financial Advisors, LLC.

P. 952-470-5049 or Rick@EppleFinancial.com or www.EppleFinancial.com

Step 1: Determine where you are at…

Gather all your investment statements, checking account statements, latest tax returns, insurance documents, business documents including profit/loss statements, loan documents, spending history, and current estate documents. From this information, a net worth statement can be generated plus cash flow and income projections.

These documents can be used to look at where you are today and make projections for the future. A Business Owner can use one of the following tools to create these helpful documents: www.mint.com, www.mvelopes.com, Quicken, or Microsoft Money.

Step 2: Set Goal for Financial Independence

The next step for business owner is to determine how much extra savings is needed to achieve their retirement and financial independence goals. There are a number of calculators available on the web that can help identify the target savings number. Just be careful because the assumptions used in the calculators can have a big impact on the results. Another way to look at determining a target number is to use 4% “safe” withdrawal rate in retirement. The 4% rule in my opinion is a pretty good indicator of preparedness for financial independence.

Example: A business owner’s $3 million dollar investment portfolio can create a $120,000 income stream (before taxes) increasing each year with inflation. At this rate, the portfolio should last 30 years or longer without running out of money. Besides the retirement goal, other goals need to be included and can increase the amount that is required. Examples of other goals include paying for college for children or grandchildren, extensive traveling, charitable intentions, vacation properties, etc.

Step 3: Determine what your “gap” is…

After determining the gap between the expected income in retirement and the projected expenses, a plan to fill in the gaps is necessary. Following are areas to look at and consider.

Step 4: Maximize your savings!

Business owners have a number of vehicles to help build savings!

• Maximize contributions to your defined contribution plan. Up to $50,000 can be contributed for 2012. If you are over age 50, $55,500 is the maximum allowed contribution.
• Explore the possible use of a defined benefit plan. This type of plan allows for higher contributions to make up ground for retirement savings if needed. The downside is that it can be very complicated to setup and administer.
• Contribute to Roth IRA, Spousal IRA, or Non-Deductible IRAs as allowed depending on income.
• Other possibilities – Use Health Savings Accounts (HSA) accounts, 529 college savings accounts, or build a taxable savings account.

Step 5: Review the insurance element…

Conduct a thorough review of your insurance program. In my experience, business owners typically have huge gaps in their personal and/or business insurance programs.

• Meet with insurance agents to have a risk assessment and evaluation of your insurance program.
• Determine needs for life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance, business insurances, property & casualty insurance, health insurance, etc.
• Shop around to verify that you are receiving good value for the premium dollars you are spending.
• Implement appropriate and recommended coverage.

Step 6: Do some basic business planning

• Run your business like a business. First, develop a business plan and marketing plan.
• Determine measures to benchmark the practice and monitor progress to the plans. Might be profit, patient satisfaction, employee satisfaction, new patients, expenses, etc
• Areas to look at:
  • Do you want to focus a niche for your business and then develop it?
  • Do you need help with Marketing?
  • Do you have the systems and procedures in place to manage the practice? Think “E-Myth Revisited” by Michael E Gerber.
  • Does customer retention need to be improved?
  • Review insurance to improve value for the premium dollars spent and to protect the practice.
  • Most employers don’t realize the costs of maintaining their retirement plans. Costs can have a significant impact on account growth. If you don’t know the costs, investigate to determine you have a plan with the features you want and are paying a fair fee(s).
  • Do you have a place where the people you work with enjoy coming to work? A good working team.
  • Are you utilizing outsourcing as a tool to improve profitability?
  • Maximize all deductions available to the business.
  • Consider owning the building your business is in instead of paying rent.
  • Do you have contingency plans in place should you or a key employee becomes disabled or dies?
  • Do you have an exit strategy for your business? Buy/sell agreement or plans to bring in a future buyer of your practice?
• The bottom line is that you want to maximize the amount you take out of the business while providing the necessary investment back into the business to achieve your goals.

Step 7: Here are other areas of your plan to consider…

• Determine personal cash flow and income needs. Planning cash flow can be very difficult. However, having an accurate picture of expenses now and in retirement can ensure a successful retirement.
• Implementing a pay yourself first philosophy can help jump start retirement savings if needed.
• Manage debt – Review all personal and business debt. This is often an overlooked aspect for business owners.
• Appropriate strategies can help increase net worth in the long run. Having consumer debt in retirement can also make it very difficult.
• Determine if your investment strategies include balancing risk, maximizing return and preserving capital.
• Conduct a tax planning review to verify all available opportunities are being taken advantage of.
• Do you have a plan in place to pay for your children’s college education? Utilize pre-tax dollars to pay for college.
• Review that appropriate estate planning documents are in place.

There really aren’t any short cuts and you will need to invest time in determining where you are at and then implementing a plan to help achieve your goals. If you do so, you can take control.

Proper planning can provide business owners and their families with Peace of Mind.

Sincerely, Rick Epple, CFP®

Rick Epple, CFP®, is the founder and president of Epple Financial Advisors

We at EFA work in our client’s (including business owners) best interest to understand their unique issues and create a flexible but clear and direct road map to achieve their goals. This consists of a comprehensive and integrated wealth management plan and corresponding unbiased custom solution. Our plan will continue to guide and protect our clients in the years ahead, regardless of the changing market and economic condition.

http://www.EppleFinancial.com

Epple Financial Advisors, LLC

801 Twelve Oaks Center Dr., Suite 803D •Wayzata, MN 55391

Phone: 952-470-5049 • Email: info@EppleFinancial.com

Throughout 2012, nervous investors did not have to look hard for reasons to avoid the financial markets. The daily headlines provided abundant gloom to feed their doubts, but investors who acted on impulse could have missed a potential opportunity to participate in strong returns across the global financial markets.

The year opened with lingering concern about the weak US recovery, the debt crisis in Europe, and political uncertainty around the world. Many financial pundits had predicted another lackluster year for stocks and more market volatility. Some predicted a euro zone breakup triggered by impending debt defaults in Greece and Portugal. The global economy was showing early signs of a slowdown, and many investors were weighing the potential economic impact of the US elections and so-called “fiscal cliff.”

Despite a steady diet of bad news, most markets around the world climbed the proverbial “wall of worry” to log strong returns. Major market indices around the globe delivered double-digit total returns, and as a group, the non-US developed and emerging markets outperformed the US equity market. The total market value of global equities, as measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index, increased by an estimated $6.5 trillion in 2012, while market-wide volatility fell to its lowest level in six years.

Link to rest of article (Click Here)

Everybody wants to be healthier, and many people want to be wealthier, but it’s just not that easy. Most of us are creatures of habit and discover that making permanent changes in our behavior is surprisingly difficult. We need every possible mental crutch at our disposal to help us adhere to a new regimen; hence we establish mental road signs, such as New Year’s resolutions, as behavioral aids.

To make matters worse, our commitment to change is sometimes tested by examples of those who ignore prudent behavior to their apparent advantage and those who follow it to their apparent detriment. Winston Churchill lived to age 90, fortified by an ample supply of champagne and cigars, while author and jogging enthusiast Jim Fixx died of a heart attack at age 52. In the financial world, the investor who sunk every penny into Apple shares ten years ago watched her investment multiply over forty-fold while a globally diversified equity portfolio lost money. These isolated examples may test our faith but should not encourage us to abandon a proven set of prescriptions; continuing to apply them will still improve our odds.

So, for those who find making such promises useful, here are ten investment-related resolutions that will hopefully result in better long-term wealth:

Most of us find it hard to follow a sensible diet or a sensible investment strategy 100% of the time. If you must stray when managing your wealth or well-being, moderation is the key. Chocolate cake is OK, as long as it’s not for dinner every night. Speculating on a stock or two is all right as well, as long as you don’t do it with your investment capital.

Finally, just as successful athletes rely on coaches and trainers to help them achieve their goals, most investors can probably benefit from having a “financial coach” to remind them about their New Year’s resolutions and keep them on track toward a more prosperous future.

I wish you and your clients good health and good wealth in 2013.