Margo has been retired for the past 10 years.  She gets the most out of life and enjoys serving on the Board of Directors of Keeler Tavern Museum.  This volunteer position includes managing the Gift Shop, Co-Chairman of the Antiques and Treasures Sale and is the manager of the Christmas Boutique.

Margo assisted with the Keeler Tavern Museum in Ridgefield, CT in planning their annual (18th) Antiques and Treasures Sale.  It was held in early August at the Garden House, the barn and under tents on the Museum property at 132 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

This event, a fundraiser for the Museum, will feature period furnishings and objects d’art from the 18th to 20th centuries.  The furniture will be beautifully displayed with accessories for sale including lines, silver, porcelains, antique dolls, china, glass, art work, oriental carpets, mirrors, clocks, lamps, fireplace sets and other decorative items.  Estate jewelry, Civil War artifacts, antique children’s books and much more will be featured and available to purchase.

After viewing the treasures indoors, visitors can stroll through the glorious flower filled garden designed by Cass Gilbert, architect of the Woolworth Bldg. and choose wrought iron furniture or other outdoor pieces for their own garden or terrace.  Visitors may continue on to the large tent and barn to view furniture suitable for apartments or dorm rooms.  A short walk to the front lawn is where small bargain treasures are for sale.

The monies raised from these sales help the Museum maintain the property and sponsor various programs.  For additional information on the Museum please call 203/438-5485 or visit keelertavernmuseum.org.

Barbara started working with us 3 years ago. She initially came to Lighthouse Financial Advisors, Inc. to have her tax returns prepared professionally. It was the first year in which she started to earn a significant income. During that year she had relocated to change jobs; the new job was the result of using a business agent. Her taxes had been prepared over the last few years by either a friend or one of the nationally known tax preparations firms. We found quite a few errors on her prior years’ returns and were able to amend and claim an additional refund for overlooked business expenses of approximately $1,500 for two years. During our first meeting, we stressed the importance of record keeping and the fact that overlooked deductions could be costing her over $1,000 per year. We emphasized that we work with clients all year round providing them with comprehensive financial planning solutions. We worked with Barbara during that tax season and showed her that if she had worked with us over the last year, her refund would have been higher. After filing her tax return, we lost touch with Barbara. We did not hear from her until the tax season of the following year. Barbara had experienced many life transitions during this time frame. She had lived and worked three different jobs in three different cities. If she had taken full advantage of our services during these life and financial transitions instead of trying to take care of everything on her own, she would have been more organized and consequently would have saved more tax dollars.

After coming to this realization, Barbara decided to use of all our services. We filed her tax returns and moved forward reviewing the other financial areas of her life. We consolidated all of her retirement plans in one place, reviewed all of her insurance and emphasized the importance of disability insurance for a young single professional. After we had “crossed our T’s and dotted our I’s” we started laying out a financial game plan for the future. One of Barbara’s goals was to buy a house, so we helped her understand the size house she should look for, along with all the cost and tax advantages associated with home ownership. Barbara was relocated to a new city. She began looking for a house that met the parameters we had discussed during our meetings. She thought she had found the right place, but after discussing the cost with us, we determined that it was not a good investment for her. She continued searching and soon found a house that met the parameters we had discussed. The first house was not in Barbara’s price range and would have left her financially strapped. The second house turned out to be a better house and a sound investment.

Barbara feels that without LFA as a partner she would have made many wrong decisions, instead she working to lay the foundation necessary to achieve financial freedom. More importantly, she also realized the value of having a partner that could guide her to make decisions keeping only her best interests in mind. Finding the right house is just one example of how we have helped Barbara. By establishing a trusting relationship with Lighthouse Financial Advisors, Inc., Barbara is assured that she is financially sound and has someone to guide her through more life transitions in the future.

 

Don & Michele have been clients of Bob Walsh’s for over 15 years.  The couple met in 1995 while both living in Hoboken, NJ and working in NYC,  and married in 1999.

Don has worked for Bloomberg, LP since he graduated UVM in 1993.  He began his career as a sales representative for the company’s core terminal sales, and has had a variety of different sales and product development roles over the years.  He is currently the Global Business Manager for Equity Trading & Sales.

Michele, formerly a sales & marketing professional for a mix of business-to-business publications, is now at home in Madison, NJ with their two boys, Ryan (8 years) and Donovan (6 years).

In their free time, the family enjoys being in Vermont and Long Beach Island.  The boys are seemingly being raised with the Carey tradition of taking up as many hobbies and sports as humanly possible – skiing, surfing, fishing, sailing, running, hiking, biking, etc., etc.!   Michele just tries to keep up!

Don and Michele are extremely grateful for their many blessings, and have made a commitment to giving back.   Michele contributes her time primarily to fundraising efforts at the boys’ school, and Don is on the committee for Wings Over Wall Street.   They have always financially supported a variety of different charities.  Don has most recently combined his passion for competition with a his desire to give back, while participating in the Wall Street Decathlon (a charity event raising money for Sloane Kettering’s Pediatric Cancer Research).   With donations from family and friends (Lighthouse Financial included), Don raised over $11,000.

The turn of the century marked the beginning of my relationship with Robert Walsh and Lighthouse Financial Advisors. For over 12 years Robert has not only been my financial advisor, but also provided guidance with his life planning and coaching skills. Robert has helped me through multiple job changes, layoffs, divorce and relocation to a number of new cities. Through my life changes, Robert has empowered me with the knowledge and direction to manage my finances wisely.

The first half of my life was spent in India, where I was born and raised. My decision to attend college in the USA transported me across the globe.  I went to Kent State University. In 1996 I received my Masters in Computer Science. Following graduation I accepted a job in New York City and witnessed the horror of 9/11. With a new appreciation for my life, I decided that I wanted to give back. I began volunteering with victims of domestic violence. Soon after, I started a successful (woman-owned) business offering technology consulting services to non-profits and corporations alike. I currently split my time between Ohio and Washington DC, living happily with my significant other and working with the American Red Cross.

In addition to my efforts in the US, it is important to me to give back to the children of India as well. I still have family there and visit often. The past few years I have been working with an orphanage in Kolkata for children with special needs. Just recently I have started working with a small school on the west coast of India as well.

Lighthouse has been involved in every major decision of my life: financial, professional and personal. LFA is a great team and everyone is always very responsive, helpful and pleasant to work with. The support has been wonderful and is something that I have come to rely on very heavily.

Scott and Jill Glenn have been clients at Lighthouse Financial Advisors since 2005. They enjoy living on the Jersey Shore with their 12 year old son.

Glenn & Glenn Productions, located in Central, NJ, is a full service meeting and event production company that focuses on exceptional creative, strong customer focus and a passionate attention to the production process. They have been operating for 10 years, serving the pharmaceutical, medical device, chemical and technology sectors. Their productions are designed for audiences as small as 150 to as large as 3,000+. Most of their work comes from repeat business and client referrals.  They have put live cheetahs on stage, flown hang-gliders from the ceiling, worked with former U.S. Presidents, astronauts, famous singers and dancers – and are proud to produce award-winning corporate “shows.” They love what they do and it shows!!  To learn more about Glenn & Glenn Productions and their services please visit www.gngp.com.

We do not tell anyone that we are financially comfortable, mostly we smile when friends talk about investing; we do offer some advice based on our life experiences. Some folks talk about their broker buying this and selling that. We just feel the only one making money in all those stories is the broker. Most people just let our words pass over their heads. You see, we do not live a lavish lifestyle, we do live comfortable in a condominium. In fact we just purchased a larger one that we completely refurbishing. We have a new car and we take several vacations a year. All of this may seem like the good life to anyone, and actually, it is not far from it. We did not always live this way. It was not until one of us got sick and retired that we chose to accelerate our spending and live “our” lavish life.

We will start our story in 1989, I had just lost my job with a New York bank and we were trying to keep everything afloat. We owned a two family home and a condominium one block from the ocean in New Jersey. I had a 401K that we were drawing down – we paid a heavy tax penalty for taking our own money in early withdrawal. In 1989 through 1993, the housing market hit bottom and our condo was only worth 2/3 of what we paid for it. We rented our beloved ocean condo and tightened our belts. We were afloat, but not by much. The water heater in the rental went one week before Christmas. We were already on a budget for the holiday gifts for our family. The plumber replaced it and insisted on being paid before Christmas. I finally got a job after almost a full year; however the salary was about 20% less.  We tried to sell the condo (which was under water by 33%). We found a buyer and sold our dream home at the shore. We needed to make additional changes in our lifestyle as we could no longer count on both of us always being employed. The first order of business was to get rid of the BMW. My wife started shopping in the outlets and Marshall’s. We only ate out once a month instead of once or twice a week. Our goal was to live off one salary and save the other; most months we had to rob from the savings salary. We put the two family house for sale at a price only $1,000 more than what we owed the bank on the mortgage. It took two years for the housing market to come up to our needed price, but we did clear $1000.00 after paying the realtor.

It is now 2002 and our investments were moving nicely as we had invested into T.I.P.S., Treasury Investment Protection Securities. We are introduced to Robert Walsh through a trusted friend whom my wife had worked with for more than 20 years. Our first meeting with Robert was in his Jersey City office. We never realized we had managed to save enough money that it even needed to be managed. After much discussion, we decided to have Robert manage our money. He researched our current investments and asked us what our goals were for retirement. We thought our goals were simple, retire at age 65 and live in retirement with as much money as we make when we were working. Several years went by with Robert making changes in our accounts as he followed the market changes. We found that even when the market went down, the positive was that we would buy funds at a lower price and when the market went back up, we had much more value.

Moving forward to 2009, my wife retired and then fell ill. The rain began to fall in our lives. Our retirement goals and our hopes and dreams were fading into the sunset. We met with Robert for a revaluation of our situation. He could help with the finances, but what are the rules about Medicare and Medicaid.  Robert recommended an attorney who specializes senior citizen affairs. Robert handled the revaluation of our retirement and has assisted us in so many ways to keep our lives running smoothly. Our tropical storm had lessened and is now only a slight drizzle of rain. Robert and his staff at Lighthouse were just as the name implies, a lighthouse that guided my wife and me through the storm and showed us the way to a safe port.

Robert Walsh and the staff at Lighthouse were able to turn a potential disaster for my wife and me regarding the future of our retirement into a financially safe and structured retirement. There is no way that we can thank  Robert and his staff for all of the help they have provided to us. I hope our story encourages you in saving, as the rain may come and go in all of our lives. Saving for retirement must continue through all kinds of weather until your goals are met. I am going to retire soon and look forward to going to Yankee and Giant games and buying new cars…all thanks to LFA, Robert Walsh and his efficient staff.

Helen’s parents Walter and Emilia were both born in Poland in the late 1800’s and later each migrated to America. They met in NJ through common friends and eventually married. In 1921, after World War I and having 3 children, Helen’s parents decided to return to Poland. This was short lived because in 1922 Emilia became pregnant with Helen and wanted to return “home” to America. Shortly after their return, on 12/21/22 Helen was born in New Brunswick, NJ.

In 1928, “The Depression”, Helen’s family struggled financially, as everyone did.Being the youngest of 4 girls, many of her clothes were (fourth) “hand-me-downs”. During this time Helen became very close with her father. She was with him constantly and learned a lot about mechanical things from him. Sadly he was killed in an auto accident in July of 1934. At the time Helen’s mother was 2 months pregnant with Helen’s younger brother Walter.

Helen graduated from New Brunswick High School in 1940. A short time after, in 1941, World War II began. Helen can clearly remember where she was on the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. She was at the movies when the movie stopped and the theatre manager came on the stage and announced that the United States was at war. Helen says that really changed everyone’s life, she was just 18 years old at the time. Helen says in those days you worked at any job you were lucky enough to find. As a result Helen worked for a shipping company, a sporting goods store and Mack Trucks in New Brunswick who got government contracts to make Army tanks. Helen was offered a job at E.R. Squibb (now known as Bristol Myers Squibb), however in war time employees were not allowed to change jobs if the companies had government contracts. Needless to say Squibb had contracts for medical supplies so there was a conflict. What to do? Someone knowledgeable advised Helen to claim “personal reasons” as an excuse to relocate. Helen found this was interesting. When you said “personal reasons” no one was allowed to ask as it could have been sexual harassment and no one dared ask. Helen joined Squibb in 1944 for $26.00 a week. She stayed with Squibb for 40 years and retired early at age 62. During the war years people would work 58+ hours a week, Saturdays at time and a half and Sundays for double time pay. According to Helen nobody minded working due to the fact they didn’t really have social lives since the men were all off to war. She recalls there was a lot of letter writing and received mail from the G.I.’s, some of which was censored– believe it or not! Helen admits they did socialize a little especially when the USO was formed by the local churches so there would be some interaction with the young women and the soldiers, sailors, marines and air force.

Helen also remembers the inconvenience of rationing during the war. She said that women had to stand in long lines to buy one pair of nylon stockings when/if they became available. Nylons were scarce because that’s what was used to make parachutes. You were only allowed to buy one pair of shoes per year and food and gasoline were also rationed. Practice Air raids were common and you needed to always be prepared, never knowing if it could be real.

Helen never married. Back then, it wasn’t common for single women to get credit cards, but Helen eventually did. By 1953 Helen and her sister, who was also single, bought a car together which gave them “freedom” allowing them to travel all over especially since the price of gas was as low as $ .25 cents a gallon.

Helen has seen the world, vacationing on every continent and making wonderful memories. It isn’t easy for Helen to say which was the most interesting and beautiful location but she would love to be able to return to Kenya and Tanzania where she spent 5 weeks in 1988 which included Helen going on a safari. She has a niece who is a missionary nun in Tanzania. “Sister Mary” has lived in Tanzania since 1970 and helped establish a girl’s school there.

Helen has been to such exotic places as New Zealand, South America, Hong Kong, China, Europe and Greece. She took her first airplane ride at the age of 9 and even had the experience of riding in a hot-air balloon during one of her many vacations in California. Helen lives in Monroe Township and is still active in her community and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Robert & Pamela could be classified as a typical/atypical couple who have been long-term New Jersey residents. Bob and Pam have been together some 47 years now, and they are still talking….in fact they’re thoroughly enjoying life and retirement. Perhaps that is due in no small part to their habit of “taking lemons and making lemonade. ”   Bob & Pam’s first big dose of lemons started with a series of automobile accidents in 1984, which left their middle daughter nursing injuries and missing out on the end of junior/beginning of senior years in high school. This inspired her to adapt Ziggy as her role model for her college application essays (yes, the cartoon character, who takes a licking in life and keeps on plugging along). Apparently this went over quite well with college admission officials, along with her great grades, and she wound up off to Caltech with a great financial package. Pam was also injured quite badly in a car accident that year; as part of her lengthy recovery, Pam returned to finish the college degree she had started more than 20 years prior. The whole journey also strengthened the bonds within Bob & Pam’s family, as their three children took on more responsibilities, and Bob found himself being Pam’s number one cheerleader and pitching in more at home.

After graduation, as Bob and Pam’s financial situation improved with Pam’s new career, they decided to diligently save for retirement as well as pay off debts incurred with having three children complete college, and Pam’s education bills. They started to travel a little, mainly flights from NJ to CA to see their daughters and grandchildren on the left coast. One of their daughters is also a financial planner, but they did not think it wise to use a family member as their financial guru. Their daughter recommended Robert Walsh and as they will tell you, it has been a truly enjoyable relationship. Bob & Pam felt that they were normally extremely conservative when it comes to financial matters, but certainly not knowledgeable about making the best investments with their savings. With Robert’s guidance, Bob and Pam built up their retirement fund and also made plans to retire in CA to be near their grandchildren.

In 2004, Bob & Pam retired and moved to CA. They had already purchased their retirement home in CA, before the housing market hit its peak. They decided to drive from NJ, because although they had flown between the coasts, they hadn’t really seen much of the US in between. They took a rather wandering route, over a period of about a week and did some sightseeing along the way. They visited the Natural Bridge in Virginia, the Ryman auditorium, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Elvis’ estate in Tennessee, Flagstaff and Sedona in Arizona and left US40 in various places to travel the old Route 66. They vowed to see more of the US on future trips.

In 2007, Bob was diagnosed with cancer.   After a long year of treatment, and another 6 months to recover his stamina, Bob and Pam went back to making lemonade. Bob started going to the gym during treatment and today he is fit and also has many new friends. Pam had joined Jazzercise before the cancer was diagnosed, and discovered that not only is it a fun way to exercise, but the support they both received from her friends there was phenomenal.

Pam and Bob have made three cross-country drives since then. Each time they vary the route a bit to see something new. They have seen Pella and Amana in Iowa, Mount Rushmore and the Chief Crazy Horse monuments. They took a 20-mile detour from Route 80 in Illinois to see Ronald Reagan’s birthplace, have trekked parts of the Nebraska Badlands and made a loop through Yellowstone to see Old Faithful (and lots of bison). They have seen armadillos walking along the road in Texas, the Buddy Holly Museum in Lubbock, and his original recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the “new” Grand Ole’ Opry in Tennessee and toured the Corvette museum and the Corvette production plant in Kentucky. (They own an unrestored 1980 Corvette…Bob’s dream car.) Pam and Bob stopped at the national museum and memorial dedicated to the victims of the bombing in Oklahoma City of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. In Little Rock, Arkansas they visited Clinton’s Presidential Library.

Bob and Pam were in PA for the birth of their 4th grandchild, and visited with old neighbors, friends and co-workers from years ago. They have even attended 3 of Lighthouse’s client appreciation outings at Monmouth Raceway.   On one return trip, while headed for Bowling Green, Kentucky, rains flooded out much of the 40 in Tennessee, so they changed course and returned home on Route 70. Along the way, they went through Missouri, Kansas and Colorado and stopped in Independence, Missouri at Truman’s Presidential Library.

On their latest cross country drive, a 6 week road-trip, they attended a 4-day shindig for Pam’s 50th high school reunion.   They reconnected with people they hadn’t seen for the entire 50 years!   They also visited with Bob’s sister in northern NJ, a cousin in Asheville, NC and family in Mountainair, New Mexico, stopped in Las Vegas, spent time in Salt Lake City, and visited family in Columbus, Ohio. On trips back to the east, they enjoy spending time in their old NJ neighborhood and visiting their grandchildren in PA. They are a very busy, great couple!

Gloria was born in Brooklyn, NY. Growing up Gloria attended Woodbridge Township schools, was a member of the US Cadet Corp from 1943-45 and graduated from Norwegian Hospital School of Nursing in 1945.  Gloria later earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Jersey City State College where she also served as an adjunct instructor for several years.

Gloria worked for the Woodbridge Township Board of Education as a school nurse for 38 years. During this time she was instrumental in setting up and running the Districts School Drug Education Program and was a member of the Woodbridge Township Education Association serving several years as Treasurer.

Gloria was active in Avivah Chapter, B’nai B’rith of Perth Amboy, Congregation Beth Mordecai, Parkway Chapter of Deborah, Menorah Link Order of the Golden Chain, Woodbridge Township School Nurses Association, New Jersey State School Nurses Association, serving in leadership positions in each organization. Gloria and her husband, a veteran of WWII, were active members of the Fourth Armored Division Association.
Gloria was also a founding member and first President of the Ladies Auxiliary. Gloria is an avid knitter and dressmaker and has won many prizes in the New Jersey State Fair.

When she was not busy working or involved with her many organizations, Gloria and her family enjoyed camping, canoeing and traveling the country in their motor home, boat or airplanes. Over the years Gloria and her family visited 48 states and saw Hawaii 7 times. The 2 states she has never been to are Nebraska and Alaska.

In 2005 Gloria moved into an independent retirement community. She is responsible for organizing and running the Retired Nurses Group which meets monthly and hosts several dinners a year. Gloria also joint the Jewish Community in her retirement village where she just completed her second year serving as President.

Ted and Helene just celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary and are having the time of their lives. Ted is 75 and Helene 73 years young….and “young” they are!

Helene began her working career while still in HS.  She worked at a local bank in the bookkeeping department & within a year she moved to a larger bank in town to become their head bookkeeper.  Those were the days before computers and everything was processed by hand (making sure all checks were signed & looking for forgeries) in house before being posted to a person’s account.  Helene kept this job until their first child was born in 1963.

From 1958 and 1978 Ted and Helene co-owned Ro-Saul Gardens Florist in Lakewood, NJ with her parents.  They both designed the floral arrangements and Ted took care of 3 large greenhouses growing many of the flowers that they used as well as selling wholesale…and (of course), Helene took care of the books.  In 1965 they had their second child and life was full but Ted was getting antsy to get out of that business.

An opportunity to buy a thriving Janitorial and Hardware business in New York City presented itself and they decided to take the plunge. This business kept them very busy. By a stroke of luck, one day 2 people came into the shop looking to purchase a Spray-A-Spot cleaning gun. This couple happened to be from the wardrobe department of a new Broadway show that was opening soon. That purchase set up their business to become a complete one-stop shopping center for all wardrobe and hair departments for many Broadway shows which took their business in a very successful direction. Who would have known! Before long, Ted and Helene’s business was selling to major theatre companies all over the US and even received orders from theatre groups in other countries.

Ted had always said he wanted to retire at age 65….so…in Feb 2001 they decided to put their business up for sale. By April of that year it was sold. Shortly after that they met Robert Walsh. They credit Robert in being very instrumental in guiding them towards retirement, advising them on their investments and savings to help them reach their goal of moving to Florida. It wasn’t long before Ted started searching for something to do. He landed a job in Lowe’s and Helene began working for Macy’s which began as a holiday position but lasted for 4 years.

Ted and Helene enjoyed their vacations, taking their kids and grandkids on many of their trips. Since their final retirement they’ve spent time with friends in California and Spain and have also traveled to Alaska, China & Mexico. There are still more places they plan on traveling to.

Once their grandkids were all kept busy with high school, college and work, Ted and Helene took a giant step… and moved to Florida, something Ted had wanted to do since their honeymoon. They found a beautiful home in an adult community on a lake in Boynton Beach where they are both are involved in many different clubs. Ted keeps busy fishing, shooting and working out at the gym. He’s also involved with the construction of
scenery for their community theater group. Helene, having a love for photography, joined the photography club and started taking classes in “The Art of Seeing with the Camera”. She has a great interest in taking charge of their health from the nutritional side and takes non-cooking classes on how to prepare raw and “living” food recipes. She enjoys walking and riding her bike. They both just started doing Qigong.  It’s wonderful to see Ted and Helene enjoying life as they do!