KNOW: It’s the end of 2009 and the end of the ’00s. Expect a barrage of decade-end punditry. Most of the economic commentary we’ve seen is pessimistic — no one is feeling especially up beat about the new business cycle we’re entering.

DO: Unless your clients are dogged contrarians or have a rich, 98-year-old uncle on life support, they’ll pick up on the malaise. Adapt your advice to them accordingly.

KNOW: Recent research among employers with 1,000 employees suggests that the policies related to the impact of retiring Boomers in the coming years are still up in the air.

DO: Your Boomer clients who work in large companies need to help shape the decisions about retirement options like phased retirement or delayed retirement, all which come with financial considerations. Encourage them to get involved.

KNOW: Despite increases in stock prices since March, most Boomers find their retirement accounts worth less than they were two years ago.

DO: Remind your older Boomer clients that certain tax rules enable them to “catch-up” their contributions to retirement accounts, rebuilding their nest eggs faster.

KNOW: As 2009 winds down and we turn our attention to what’s next, it is clear that economically, things will never be the same.

DO: Think about your approach to offering financial advice and guidance to your clients. Have you thought about how to modify your recommendations to reflect the changing mind-sets of your clients? If not, you need to.

KNOW: Sun Life’s latest Unretirement poll says more Americans seek financial advice from family and friends than from their financial advisor. Sun Life thinks financial advisors should be alarmed. We don’t. Data from the same study shows that the older people get (and presumably the more income and net worth they have), the more likely they are to seek counsel from a financial advisor.

DO: This is a non-story. You’ve got better things to worry about. Cheer up and drink some eggnog.

KNOW: The tax man cometh, maybe not so much in 2010, but surely after that, when the Bush tax cuts expire.

DO: Talk through the options for tax strategies with your higher income clients, as they are the ones most likely to see big changes come 2011, according to this story.

KNOW: The number of children’s savings accounts at ING Direct jumped 28% this year, suggesting that parents are teaching their kids the valuable lesson about a penny saved, according to a year-end review from Knowledge@Wharton. ING also reports employee turnover went from 18% in 2008 to 3% in 2009, suggesting people are holding on to jobs they may not like.

DO: Base how you advise your clients on what they tell you about their strategies with the recession. Actions reveal much.

KNOW: Millennials insist they’re getting more conservative in their personal finances and employment decisions but, according to a new Fidelity study, 25% say they may never be free of credit card debt in their lifetime.

DO: Millennials may be “growing up” in their attitudes towards money, but for many that means transitioning from adolescence to adultolescence. Based on findings from other surveys, in the past we described Millennials as the next generation of big savers and we urged financial advisors to cultivate the demographic. The Fidelity data makes us more cautious in that appraisal.

KNOW: There’s one concession Americans aren’t willing to make when it comes to their retirement, according to a new Charles Schwab & Co. survey: 95% are not willing to spend less money in their golden years.

DO: Many Americans are willing to work harder, work longer and save more in order to maintain the retirement dream of having leisure time and money to enjoy it. For all the talk of the “new normal,” that dream is still a great motivator. Appeal to it when you pitch your services as a trusted advisor.

KNOW: From now until year end we’ll get the usual features on the future from a range of pundits and experts. A good source for some perspective on the Boomer view can be found at Boomer Market Advisor’s round up.

DO: Read all the prognostications with a degree of cynicism and warn your Boomer clients to act on these predictions judiciously. The best advice is to respond to market indicators, not market prognosticators.