Planning Your Financial Future

Produced in cooperation with the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP) and the Foundation for Financial Planning, this instructional video guides viewers towards thinking about their financial future. Several years ago, a U.S. government study found that 95% of Americans reaching age 65 were unable to retire with financial independence. To illustrate the pitfalls of not planning ahead, three fiction al financial situations are explored: the Taylors, a two-income family that needs to start planning for their son's college education; Carol and Lori, two young entrepreneurs who run a successful advertising agency; and the Brewsters, a solid couple who are afraid of the stock market, and fairly unknowledgeable on money matters, but who, nevertheless, have $350,000 in assets. Poor Brewsters. And, herein lies the problem: blue-collar workers are not addressed at all during the program. That's not, in and of itself, a fatal drawback. But the information is presented on such a basic level (make up a balance sheet showing your net worth, dissect your budget, list your goals) that it's hard to believe that a high-5 or 6 figure 'entrepreneur' is going to learn that much here. In the end, the tape predictably advises that viewers hire a professional financial planner (at about $100 an hour) to handle for them what this tape can't teach them. A 12-page booklet, "Consumer Guide to Financial Independence" is included. Not up to the excellent standards which EVI set in their information-filled tapes: Collecting and Grading U.S. Coins and Stock Selection Guide (reviewed in May 1986 issue). (Available from: Educational Video, Inc., 27601 Schoolcraft, Suite C, Livonia, MI 48150; 313- 427-5980.)