In Part II of our year-end blog series, we are exploring a few planning items that small business owners should be aware of before the year is over with a short, useful, financial checklist. 2025 brought a number of changes to the tax code that provide some opportunity to small businesses and also require careful planning in the years ahead. Our next blog post will give information for those in,… Read More
On the last day of every month, my wife and I sit down and fill out our whiteboard calendar that is attached to our fridge. We have a great color-coded system for her events, my events, together events, and miscellaneous. When we sat down on Sunday afternoon to update the calendar, we had the same two reflections: “Where did this year go?” and “December is full!” In the busyness of everyday life, it is… Read More
Welcome to another installment of the Master’s Minute! Through our comprehensive Total Wealth Management planning process, during the fourth quarter of the year, we analyze various tax planning strategies to determine which would be best to consider utilizing to optimize each client’s individual income tax situation. Our gratitude series last month ended with some particularly timely advice on improving the impact of your giving and ensuring the best tax advantages… Read More
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
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
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
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
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
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
Today’s blog post begins by asking a fundamental financial planning question: Does life insurance build wealth? Or, to make it more personal, you might be asking: Should I use a life insurance policy as a long-term investment? To answer these questions, we need to first understand some regulatory compliance issues and essential cautions that you need to know before purchasing certain kinds of life insurance. These are great questions…… Read More
