The Master’s Minute

Helpful Tools and Tips

The Master’s Minute – From Save to Spend: Flipping the Switch in Retirement

by

Retired couple stands with a box of goods while finding purpose and using their savings well.

Retirement is undoubtedly one of the most prominent topics in financial planning — and rightly so. Saving and preparing for retirement should ideally begin early in your working years and be evaluated regularly leading up to and throughout retirement. To build a strong retirement foundation while also managing other large expenses and purchases, most people must develop the habit of saying “no” to certain spending opportunities. This discipline allows you… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Planning for the Future While Trusting the Process

by

Seedling growing to show how trusting the process is a lot about preparation for your finances.

Building Confidence Through Patience and Perspective When we talk with clients about planning for the future, one theme often comes up: sometimes it’s hard to stay patient. We live in a world that measures everything in instant results — but meaningful financial progress doesn’t happen overnight. A solid financial plan is like planting a garden. You prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and care for them over time – but… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Real Estate Investing for Small Business Owners

by

A small house in front of an out of focus stock ticker board representing real estate investments for small business owners.

As a small business owner, you devote most of your financial resources and energy to growing your company. It is not uncommon for a business owner’s net worth to be comprised of 70, 80, or even 90% of their principal business interest. Over time, diversifying a small portion of your assets away from your business equity can help to reduce financial pressure on the business, provide essential investment diversification, and… Read More

The Master’s Minute – What’s Going on with the Stock Market?

by

An advisor talks to his client about what's going on with the stock market.

These days, it seems like every minute brings a new headline: inflation surprises, interest rate changes, a central banker’s hint, new tariff signaling, or a CEO’s offhand tweet. It seems the market jumps, tumbles, and pivots on whatever dominates the news cycle. It’s no wonder so many investors feel overwhelmed and wonder: what’s really going on with the stock market? In today’s post, we’ll focus on the two simple forces… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Business Owners Should Know These 2025 Tax Updates (OBBBA) | 2025 Tax Series IV

by

Over the past four weeks, we’ve covered 401K changes and written a series of blogs exploring tax changes in 2025. That series started with a high-level overview for everyone and continued to specific audiences such as high-income professionals and retirees. For the final blog in our series on the tax changes introduced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we are focusing on the major changes affecting business owners, ranging… Read More

The Master’s Minute – High Income Professionals Should Know These 2025 Tax Updates (OBBA) | 2025 Tax Series III

by

High-income professionals reviewing tax changes on a clipboard together, with other professionals in business attire, men and women, seated at a conference table behind them.

Welcome to the third installment in our Q3 blog series covering the recently-enacted tax bill that was signed into law earlier this summer. In our first blog, the series introduction, we explored a high-level overview of the tax changes in 2025 related to the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA). Then, we moved on and covered the most important things for retirees or those quickly approaching retirement. The focus of today’s… Read More

The Master’s Minute – What Retirees Need to Know About 2025 Tax Updates in the OBBBA | 2025 Tax Series II

by

Retirees looking at the tax changes from 2025 on a sheet of paper while working on a laptop.

As you likely know, Congress recently passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and while there are many provisions, a handful are especially important for retirees. In the first blog in our series covering the changes to U.S. tax policies in 2025, we discussed overarching changes that could impact everyone. In today’s blog, we will cover the four most significant tax implications for those who are retired or will be… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Tax Changes That Impact You in the OBBBA | 2025 Tax Series

by

On July 4th, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law, and with it came a number of changes for current and future tax law. Over the next four weeks, we will break down these changes and how they will impact tax planning for our clients going forward. In Part I of our series, we focus on the big picture changes that the bill signed into law…. Read More

The Master’s Minute – Alternative Investments in 401(k) Plans: The Impact of the Recent Executive Order

by

Image of a hand over paper charts and graphs with puzzle pieces and a red pen working on their 401k changes. The puzzle pieces say stocks, bonds, and on the paper is written alternative investments.

On August 7th of 2025, President Trump issued an executive order with the intent to allow defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, to include alternative investments as an available investment option in their fund lineups alongside more traditional equity and fixed income funds. 401(k) plans are essential and powerful parts of many retirement strategies. It’s important to understand any changes that impact them and any potential benefits or risks that… Read More

The Master’s Minute – Types of Life Insurance | Series Part IV

by

By now, we hope you recognize the important role that life insurance plays in a financial plan. For this final installment in our series, we want to answer the question: What type of policy is right for me? The goal of today’s blog is to provide an initial framework for how to begin thinking about this question. We’ll discuss the basic types of life insurance, and move into how to… Read More