Sharing Valentine's Day With Others by Doug Mayberry on Creators.com

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Sharing Valentine's Day With Others

Q: My wife and I have been talking about celebrating the upcoming Valentine's Day. During our 30 years of marriage, we have usually enjoyed moonlight dinners, going to a concert or taking a short vacation. However, this year, we would like to do something extra and share our blessings with others. What would you suggest?

A: There are a great number of lonely individuals who have lost their mate or home, are experiencing major health issues, don't communicate with their family or are unable to see them regularly who would appreciate your support.

Consider buying a dozen valentine cards at your dollar store and mailing them to your neighbors signed: "Thinking of you." Another idea could be to bake cookies and take them to a convalescent home for residents to share.

Are you aware of someone who has recently divorced or had a serious accident? Sending flowers would make their day. If you do not know a deserving family, call your pastor, rabbi or local nursing home for the name of a needy person or family.

Sending a donation to a veteran's organization or inviting a veteran over for dinner could prove to be a winning solution!

Let's hope these and your own thoughts serve as helpful tips for sharing your day. I suspect that by activating this giving habit and realizing that you are making a difference, it will lead to a repeat performance next year!

Q: Due to the fluctuations of the financial markets around the world, we realize, as retirees, that we may not be as in control of our destiny as we planned and hoped to be.

We are regular savers, and both of us have corporate pensions from our working years. Now, we are not receiving much in dividends and interest, and we are even beginning to question the possibility that our former employers may not able to continue our pensions. We have never had professional financial assistance, but now we think we should consider hiring someone. Do you think it is wise to do so?

A: Absolutely! Simply being aware of what is happening is not a goal unless you make a plan and take action. What was may never be repeated. The philosophy of buying and holding and simply sitting back and counting on dividends and growth of stocks is no longer guaranteed. Remember Rambler and Nash cars? Now consider the outlook for Polaroid and Eastman Kodak.

To alleviate some of your stress, hire a financial planner who you can trust and bond with. Rather than counting on growth of their assets, many investors have now become more conservative. Many have already or are planning to move their cash into Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insured institutions and short-term certificates of deposit. Fear is now driving investments. We all want to maintain our lifestyles after the years we spent working.

Paying for professional advice and monitoring your assets on a regular basis should help to should to lessen your stress and allow you to sleep more comfortably.

Remember this adage: "Money is difficult; to keep it more difficult, but spending it wisely is the most difficult of all!"

Doug Mayberry makes the most of life in a Southern California retirement community. Contact him at deardoug@msn.com. To find out more about Doug Mayberry and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.