Retirement should be a time of freedom and enjoyment after decades of hard work. Yet there is a troubling trend: middle-class Americans who find themselves struggling financially during their retirement years. Understanding these common pitfalls can help you protect your retirement security and maintain the lifestyle you’ve worked so hard to build. Financial advisors, as put together by Yahoo Finance, identify eight key ways that well-intentioned retirees can find themselves in financial difficulty (Yahoo Finance). By recognizing these potential challenges…
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This Won’t Last Forever
The US stock market has delivered extraordinary returns over the past decade, even though the gains haven’t been evenly distributed across company sizes. Looking at the 10-year annualized returns through July 2025: These returns are above historical averages, with large-cap stocks clearly leading the pack by a significant margin. 2025 has been a solid year after some spring volatility related to the beginning of the tariffs. It’s been such a phenomenal run, particularly for large-cap stocks, that it leads many…
The $15,500 Mistake: Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your HSA to Your Kids
Your HSA might seem like the perfect inheritance for your kids, but there’s a nasty tax surprise waiting for them. Here’s what you probably don’t know: When you leave your HSA to anyone except your spouse, it stops being an HSA the moment you die. That entire balance becomes taxable income to your non-spouse beneficiary, and the account turns into a taxable investment account. Say you have $50,000 in your HSA, $50,000 in a Roth IRA, and your child makes…
The Tax-Savvy Way to Self-Fund Long-Term Care
The numbers are sobering: nursing home care now costs over $108,000 annually, home health aides run $60,000-80,000 per year, and the average person needs care for about 2.5 years. With only 7.5 million Americans carrying long-term care insurance, most of us will be paying these bills ourselves. But here’s what most financial advice gets wrong: the “best” account for long-term care isn’t always the one with the biggest tax advantages. The smart strategy depends on when you need care and…
5 Investment Types That Don’t Belong in Your Taxable Accounts
When building an investment portfolio, choosing the right investments is only half the battle. The other half? Putting them in the right accounts. One costly mistake many investors make is placing tax-inefficient investments in their taxable brokerage accounts, where they’ll face unnecessary tax burdens year after year. Not all investments are created equal when it comes to taxes. Some generate regular taxable income, others trigger unexpected capital gains distributions, and some are structured in ways that make them tax nightmares….
I Removed Myself from the Organ Donor Registry After Reading This
I talk a lot about estate planning with my clients, and organ donation often comes up in discussions about medical directives, so I wanted to share this New York Times investigation that revealed disturbing practices in the US organ transplant system that made me remove, for now, my donor status. Here’s what they found. Danella’s Story From the article: “In 2022, when she was 38 and homeless, Ms. Gallegos was hospitalized and went into a coma. Doctors at Presbyterian Hospital…
Trump’s New Tax Law 2025: Key Provisions That Could Affect Your Finances
President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4, 2025. The law had a number of provisions, with some of them not getting the attention they deserve. In this post, I’ll breakdown the key provisions that could impact your taxes and your finances. Tax Brackets Made Permanent The legislation permanently extends the seven-bracket tax structure established by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%….
10 Rules For Building Wealth
Your 20s and 30s are a powerful window of opportunity when it comes to money. The habits you build now will compound over time. Not just financially, but in your freedom, options, and overall peace of mind. Whether you’re navigating student loans, your first big job, or just trying to get organized financially, these 10 rules will help you lay the foundation for real, lasting wealth. 1. Spend less than you make. Living below your means is the foundation of…
Why Retiring Sooner Than You Think Might Be Smarter
Let me share a quick story about a family friend, someone close to my parents. He worked hard his whole life and waited to retire at 70. In great shape, plenty of money, and a list of dream destinations. But two months into retirement, he was diagnosed with cancer. Six months later, he was gone. While he lived a great life and was beloved by family and friends, it’s still a tragedy that he didn’t get more time to do…
Should You Choose the ASRS Pension or the ORP?
If you’re starting a job with an Arizona university (ASU, NAU, or U of A), you have exactly 30 days to make one of the most important financial decisions of your career: ASRS pension or Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). This decision could have a significant impact on what your retirement looks like, and how you can best prepare to retire comfortably. Here’s how to make the right choice for you and your family. Need to Make a Quick Decision University…