Financial Planning

This was one class no one planned on skipping.In honors economics Wednesday at Severna Park High School, students talked CDs. But theconversation had nothing to do with music and everything to do with something else on high school seniors' minds -- money.Certificates of deposit, stocks, junk bonds, investment portfolios, inflation and risk were just a few topics John R. Hill touched on as part of a special eight-week program for high school students.Hill, a partner in the Columbia-based financial advisory firm of Hill, Solow, Jaso & Molesky, and another financial planner in a Severna Park firm have volunteered in two county high schools to teach financial planning and show students how to apply it.Hill's message: Start now."

Caren Pauley knows a lot more about financial planning than most high school seniors -- she's been lucky enough to learn it firsthand from a bank officer.But Caren and other students enrolled in consumer math classes with teachers Dorothy Schleupner and Frank Peterka at Northeast High, put aside regular classwork for a chance to hear what Kathryn P. Rolls, assistant vice president for Maryland National Bank, had to say about "the real world."Rolls left her office on Defense Highway in Annapolis for two weeks of instruction after seeing too many customers with limited knowledge of financial planning.

Looking for financial help, housing advice or foreclosure-prevention assistance? There's a free event for all that in Baltimore this Saturday. Money Power Day , organized annually by the nonprofit Baltimore CASH Campaign and its partners, is aimed at helping participants "change their financial futures" -- getting a plan in place and figuring out how to fix problems. Workshops include "preparing for homeownership" and "maintaining your home," along with non-housing subjects such as retirement planning, small-business startups and personal finance.

Robyn S. Iskoe specializes in financial planning for th wealthy. She knows the ins and outs of pension plans, can interpret the fine print of the tax code and recite obscure estate-planning rules.But when it comes to her own finances, Ms. Iskoe, 33, admits to a problem: For years, she put off the financial planning she knows is essential because she expected one day to be married and to do these things with her husband. Until recently, she lived in a studio apartment. And she has only recently begun to invest the way she urges clients to do. For years, she said, "I just let my money sit in a money-market fund."

IN THE wake of the terrorist attacks, how should we handle our finances? Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine for November says: "Of all the new kinds of security we need - extra awareness, strong national defense, protection against terror - financial security may not seem high-priority but it's the cornerstone of a well-led life. ... "Invest in yourself. Your earning power is the most valuable asset you will ever own, and it won't be wiped out in a market crash. Keep your earning power growing through continuous education and personal development.

June is wedding season, a time when couples often hear advice about starting their financial lives together. Spending habits, savings goals, debt management and estate planning are all topics that financial planners urge couples to discuss before venturing down the aisle. While young couples might have decades for trial and error, the stakes are higher for those in or near retirement who are planning to marry. "It's going to take a little more planning than perhaps you did the first time around," said Rande Spiegelman, vice president of financial planning for the Schwab Center for Investment Research in San Francisco.

For years, the financial responsibility for retirement has been shifting from the employer to the employee, which has led to large numbers of investors fending for themselves. Hungry for direction, they buy glossy money magazines, scan Web sites for advice or watch financial networks for analysts' latest recommendations. And these sources can be helpful. But a critical component to making savvy investments can be answered only by the individual. A person's age and changing financial goals and responsibilities throughout life are far more important to wise investing than, say, price-earnings ratios or the latest hot stock.

Two floors remain to be leased at Towson City Center, the 12-story building on York Road near the Towson roundabout that is being revived from its previous life as Towson's Investment Building. Leasing firm Cassidy Turley said Wednesday that only the fifth and sixth floors of the 157,712-square-foot building remained unleased. Towson City Center is slated to open in July. The largest single tenant for the building will be Towson University, which has leased four floors, totaling nearly 58,000 square feet of space.

I've always heard that it's a good idea to keep several months' salary readily available for emergencies. Up until now we've done so, keeping it in a money-market account. A financial planner suggested that another option would be to use the cash reserve to make a larger down payment when we buy a house - which we plan to do soon - and obtain a line of credit using the house equity for emergencies instead of keeping it on hand. Is this a good or not-so-good idea in your opinion? The problem with taking out a home-equity line of credit for emergencies is that you have to pay the money back, plus interest.

NEW ANIMAL HOSPITAL OPENS IN ARNOLDThe Bay Hills Animal Hospital has opened its doors at 1292 Bay Dale Drive in Arnold.The hospital is a state-of-the-art facility offering complete medical and surgical care for birds, cats and dogs. The newest technology in ECG's, x-rays, and critical care are some of the services available at the new facility, headed by attending veterinarian Stephen P. Romero DVM.Romero, who is experienced in internal medicine and surgery, recently left a multi-doctor animal shock trauma center in Baltimore.