Welcome to December! The last month of the year always feels a bit overwhelming doesn’t it? The combination of a sharp turn in the weather, holiday to-do’s, and the looming change of the calendar does something to our nervous systems! One way I help soothe my overwhelm is to make lists (there are quite a […]

It’s never too early to formulate your savings plan for 2026 so I was happy to talk with clients this week about the recently announced retirement contribution limits for next year. Let’s look at the updated limits and a some new rules (from the Secure Act 2.0) that will take finally take effect in 2026. […]

Several years ago, when I was leasing my first car, a good friend (who had considerable knowledge of the car industry) gave me considerable advice to help me negotiate with the dealership. His first piece of advice – “they will try to sell you on payment. That is just math. What you care about is […]

The concept of leverage has been in the news as of late (in a few different capacities) and a client asked what exactly it means. Let’s take a look at what it is, why extreme caution is advised, and why its proliferation is a risk to markets. Leverage has multiple definitions but in the financial […]

It may seem far too soon to worry about 2026 taxes (many just filed 2024 taxes after all!) That may be what prompted a client to ask if there really was news last week regarding 2026 taxes. Turns out there were in fact some announcements made that are good to know – never too early […]

I reviewed a key investing concept with a client this week and thought it was worth highlighting it here as well. The concept? The inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices. Bonds (also known as fixed income securities) are a type of investment held in most portfolios. Bonds are a contractual promise made by […]

Luckily, this is NOT a question being asked about me (ha!) I pride myself on being responsive and never putting clients in this position. But it’s a good question in the event you or someone you know are not Windermere clients 😉 This is a question I received today from a potential financial planning client […]

In the US, a primary way to save for retirement is via employer-sponsored retirement plans. The primary type of these plans is the 401(k) – named after the tax code that established these plans. 401(k)s are in the news these days and a client reached out asking what I thought about the latest hot topic […]

I’ve written about 529 plans (tax advantaged accounts used for education savings) a few times in the past (you can find those posts by searching archives on the blog if interested). This week, I talked to a client about how to best invest funds within those accounts. Reminders Before Diving In Just a reminder about […]

If you took a break from all market news for the past month and a half, you might think April thru early May was an uneventful time. The S&P opened at on April 1 at 5597 and closed at on May 14 on 5893, resulting in a nice 5%+ return in just over a month. […]