Financial Planner Speaks on Fiscal Cliff

Financial planner John Dunn says additional phone calls are expected this time of year at his office.

But 20-12 is a little different.

The phones keep ringing and Fiscal Cliff concerns are flooding in.

"what's going to happen? How's this going to affect me?" Dunn says.

Questions that echo even louder, the closer we get to Dec. 31.

"They're scared. People are scared." Dunn says. "It's like the last-minute shopping. And they're rushing to make sense out of the whole mess."

While it may be too late to clean up this potential mess that really hasn't even begun,Dunn stresses that folks should concentrate on current finances, as opposed to the return on investments.

"What you need to be worried about more than return on your money is return of your money," Dunn adds.

He says education is key when it comes to preparing for potential financial diasters, like the Fiscal Cliff.

"You need to work with a financial planner that is willing to put the time in and craft a solution for you personally," Dunn says. "If you manage your cash flow properly, if you have a considered long-term approach and you do things carefully with an emphasis on safety; we can make the best of a bad situation."

Plain and simple: more taxes means less income, a problem that nowadaysis hard to prepare for.

"When I think of Fiscal Cliff, I think of all the emotion around it. I think of how it's going to adversely affect us across the board."