For nearly 30 years,

I’ve worked as a financial planner and helped steer my clients to a secure future through careful planning of their finances.

It takes self-discipline, patience and willingness to do the research and planning needed to achieve a safe, secure future for your family.

Lately, several of my younger clients have come to me with questions about “get rich quick schemes” that promise thousands of dollars in passive income, or money by the truckload with very little effort. Please warn your readers that accumulating wealth and financial independence usually comes slowly. There are all sorts of scammers out there on the internet telling people how they make $4,000 to $10,000 a month with little effort. Maybe they have an oil well in their backyard or won the lottery. For most of us, these get-rich formulas are phony.

I recently warned a client to stay away from such a scheme where he had to pay out several hundred dollars to get started (he had to borrow the money). It was a scam. The old adage applies here: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Do your homework, do research and ask for advice from successful people. Use common sense and live within your means. It’s not glamorous, but it works! — Victor T., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Dear Heloise:

I’m a volunteer at a local shelter for animals. We are bursting at the seams with cats, dogs, ferrets, large birds, snakes and an assortment of other pets that are no longer wanted for one reason or another. We’re not unusual because there are animal shelters all across this country that are overloaded with strays, rejects and litters of unwanted babies.

If you have a pet, get it spayed or neutered, have it microchipped and make sure it has all its shots. Never abandon a pet. Never dump an animal in a strange neighborhood and expect other people to feed and home what was your responsibility! When you get a pet, it’s for their lifetime. — Sherrie, Boston