Once upon a time, several decades ago, I took a creative writing class. I don’t believe anything I wrote was particularly memorable, but one of the things that has stayed with me after all this time was the way the instructor urged students to eliminate oxymorons and redundancies in stories they were writing. With very rare exceptions, she felt they cluttered and cheapened what could otherwise be good and even powerful work.
As you know, an Oxymoron is a figure of speech where one word (usually an adjective) paired with another (usually a noun) is contradictory - sometimes laughably so, as in “jumbo shrimp.” There are others if you look: “open secret,” “alone together,” and “meteoric rise” are three more. Meanwhile, a Redundancy – a figure of speech where a word adds no meaning - are also plentiful if one is sensitized: “past experience,” “unexpected surprises,” and (my favorite) the double redundancy when, reading from the script, Metro-North/LIRR conductors remind passengers to take “your personal belongings” off the train - when “belongings,” all by itself, would be enough.
But I’ll summon one of today’s common redundancies – the Free Gift – to describe a benefit available to you which really is Free and which very often becomes a Gift, too. Each of you can schedule no-cost, confidential, one-on-one meetings with a Certified Financial Planner® from Stacey Braun Associates. The program is covered by the Welfare Fund, and allows you to get professional, objective advice and information on financial topics like debt and credit management, budgeting, investing, taxes, and estate planning.
There is no sales pressure in these sessions because the Planners don’t sell any products. The goal of every meeting is solely to address topics of most concern to the member by providing information, ideas, and suggestions.
It is a great time of year to take advantage of Stacey Braun’s financial counseling benefit. And this year, it can be very important. Why? With July’s changes to the tax code – many of them effective for 2025, and some only effective until 2028 – a great reason for a meeting would be to sort out how these changes will affect and very possibly be of benefit to you.
A final, wonderful feature of the benefit is its transferability. You can actually give a family member – a spouse/partner, parent, or child – the Gift of one of your hours. With the Holidays approaching, it’s the time of year to reflect, relax, recharge, and rejuvenate. If a Stacey Braun Planner can provide you or a family member with financial advice or information which contributes to peace of mind at year-end, I would encourage you to schedule a meeting.
In the meantime, my best wishes to all readers for a safe, healthy, and happy Holiday Season.
Free, confidential telephone or Zoom sessions with a Stacey Braun planner can be arranged by calling 1-888-949-1925. No financial products are sold and there is no sales pressure
