Ahh, spring is here.  The flowers, the birds.  Sunny seventy degree weather.  It's time to scrape the rust off the grill, test drive the lawn mower (or call the gardener!) and order some running shoes.  And, of course, I always find this burst of renewal a great time to reflect on financial goals.  After all, it still rains in the spring, so take advantage!

For those of you that have been diligently reading my quarterly letters (thanks Mom and Dad).  You will remember that there is Financial Spring Cleaning that needs to be done.  The rest of you can catch up on that here.  It's also a good time to revisit your goals.  One goal that I have discussed often is saving for college.  But not only saving for college, saving for college with the 529 plan...

Dear Clients and Friends,

I always find the Fall to be a great time to slow down and take stock.  With all of the summer fun, vacations and activities providing a nice warm glow to our lives, we can turn our attention to personal and family goals.  And, of course, our finances.  Between Labor Day and Halloween there is a glorious couple of months of low activity that can be an excellent time to get things done.  After Halloween, it's a frenetic ramp up to the Holidays which will leave us sleep deprived, sun deprived and probably five pounds heavier!

With that said, I'd like to talk this quarter about ...

Dear Clients and Friends,

Summer is here!  For those of you who have not experienced it, San Francisco summers can be a truly brutal affair.  While people in other areas of the country enjoy warm evenings outdoors and sunny days filled with play, San Franciscans enjoy wind, cold and fog.  The brief three hours of sun in the middle of the day just leaves you wanting more.  All of this is compounded by the fact that if you drive 15 miles away from San Francisco in any direction it will most likely be sunny and warm.  Mrs. Bootstrap and I have dealt with this in the only sensible way we could imagine.  We moved!  As most of you probably all ready know, we have relocated to San Jose - about 30 miles south of the city.  Both for the weather and to shorten Colleen's commute.  Feel free to stop by for a barbeque!

I received more feedback on my last quarterly letter than I have on any other letter that I have written (click here if you haven't read it).  Most of it was along the line of... "Oh fudge, I really need to get my act together!"  But some questions were more along the line of, "OK, but HOW do I start saving more money?"  Which brings me to my topic this quarter...

Dear Clients and Friends,

Spring is finally here! Hopefully that means the rain will end in the San Francisco area. At least the stock market performance has been sunny!

Over the past few years, I've written a lot about investment strategy. I've talked about bonds: Bonds are the New Black (Oct 2010), inflation: Inflation Expectations and Portfolio Construction (July 2010), risk: Thoughts on Risk (July 2011) and bear markets: Investing in a Bear Market (January 2012). These are important topics and I want to be sure that clients understand the Why's of how their portfolios are constructed. But over the next several quarters, I'll be turning my attention to the financial planning side of the relationship. At Bootstrap Capital I offer two basic services: financial planning and investment management. Client interactions often focus on one or the other, but I strongly believe to address your total financial life, you need to focus on both. And whenever I start to talk about financial planning, I like to start with one of my favorite topics: saving money.

Dear Clients and Friends,

I hope you enjoyed a festive Holiday season!  Now that the wrapping paper is thrown away, the food is eaten and the dieting starts, my favorite time of year begins.  It's "Prediction Season" in the financial press.  No doubt you will hear breathless pundits talking about where the market is going, what the Dow will be in 2013, and if American Idol will be around for another year.  There are a couple ways to go when making predictions.  One philosophy is:

"If you are going to make predictions... predict often." - Anonymous

Dear Clients and Friends,

The sun has finally come to San Francisco!  If you're not familiar with the pattern of seasons here in SF, we have finally entered our sunny and warm fall season.  It's a relief after our extremely cold and foggy "summer".  In addition to the wonderful weather, I have additional good news to report.  If you haven't already heard, my lovely wife Colleen is pregnant with our first child!  She is due October 18th and we couldn't be more excited!  We've been busily nesting, arranging, preparing and simplifying our home in preparation for the coming whirlwind of activity.

Dear Clients,

By now, most of you are accustomed to hearing from me at the beginning of each quarter.  But due to the recent market volatility and increasingly negative news, I thought I'd drop a note just to let everyone know my thoughts on the current market climate.  Although in advance, I must commend all of you on your calm demeanor over the last several weeks and months.  At this point, I have communicated with most of you via phone or e-mail, and no one has displayed any desire to abandon their investment discipline or make any type of emotional trading decisions.  I have great clients.

Dear Clients and Friends,

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer!  Here in San Francisco, summer means it is cold, foggy and windy.  Fortunately, by the time you read this, Mrs. Bootstrap and I will have jetted off to sunny, hot Atlanta for a weekend of family, fun and warmth.  Before I leave, I wanted to share with you my view on a very important investing topic.

Dear Clients and Friends,

I hope you are enjoying your spring!  Wasn't it Tennyson that said "In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of ... finances."  Maybe I'm just remembering it wrong.  Certainly there has been a lot going on in the world.  In a few short months, the sentiment on the US market has turned decidedly more positive.  There is increasing consensus from economists and pundits that recovery in the US is tentatively taking hold.  Meanwhile, in what can be considered a big flip-flop of sentiment, many developed and emerging markets are suddenly seeming a lot more risky.  From debt problems in the Euro zone, to unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, to a hot real estate market in China, risks seem to abound in the world.  Watching events play out should certainly remain interesting.  I am confident that a globally diversified and disciplined investing program will continue to provide a sound basis for clients to realize their financial goals.

On a more personal note, the current change of seasons is probably prompting you to dust our your closets, pile up your donations for the Salvation Army (tax deductions!) and generally blow the cobwebs out of your home.  Of course, there is always more to it than just taking a load of junk down to the recycling center...