Back to the Basics: Am I Going to Be Okay?
What every married couple should understand about widowhood, before it happens. Of all the questions people ask in the weeks after losing a spouse, one comes up more than any other. It isn’t about tax brackets or beneficiary forms. It’s said quietly, often with a little embarrassment: Am I going to be okay? It’s a fair question. And the honest …
Briefcase Study: The Call You Can’t Plan For
Long-term care almost never announces itself. It shows up as a phone call. Mom fell in the driveway. Dad got lost driving home from a church he’s attended for thirty years. The hospital is ready to discharge on Thursday, and they’re asking where he’s going. In one afternoon, a family with no plan is making permanent decisions on a deadline, …
2026 Fall Newsletter: Kansas City
There’s a rhythm to fall around here that I’ve come to appreciate. The furnace gets its checkup. The gutters get cleared. Somebody drags the patio furniture into storage. None of it feels urgent on the day you do it. All of it is obvious in January. I think that instinct is worth borrowing. Fall is also the run-up to the …
The Cognitive Sweet Spot: Are You In It?
Cognitive changes and financial decision-making are not comfortable topics, but they are important for long-term planning, thus they deserve thoughtful discussion. A study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College highlights a notable pattern: the cognitive “sweet spot” for making sound financial choices tends to occur in our mid-50s, followed by a more rapid decline in the years …
In the Face of Greater Technology, Embrace Analog
Technology moves at a breathtaking pace. A smartphone – the same device you habitually carry in your pocket – has transformed from a simple phone into a powerful tool for banking, scheduling, entertainment, and even everyday errands. It can order a pizza from a car in a cornfield without a single human voice. Impressive? Yes. Comforting? Not always. Yet the …
Active or Passive Investing – What’s Your Plan?
Forecasting markets remains one of the oldest and most debated topics in finance. I’d like to pose a few questions aloud, not as a cheat sheet of statistics or charts, but as prompts for thoughtful reflection during those quiet moments we all treasure. How good are individuals and institutions at predicting the markets, really? The short answer, as many studies …
Running a Retirement Marathon
Getting To Retirement is a Marathon, But Do You Even Know How To Run? Running is something most of us do instinctively…until we don’t. We’ve all learned that there are right and wrong ways to move our bodies, even in a motion as natural as a jog. Poor form can lead to injuries, which explains why so many 40-year-olds switch …
What an Estate Sale Says About Us
Estate sales aren’t everyone’s idea of a good time, but they offer a surprising lens on our lives, priorities, and the legacies we’re building. I’ll admit: I don’t frequent estate sales myself, and I confess I’m often troubled by their bittersweet undertone. They can feel like a window into our relationship with possessions, time, and that which outlasts us. For …
Pain and Retirement Planning
Should Investing Hurt? Ask the “Queen of Pain” Amelia Boone earned global recognition as a premier competitor in obstacle racing. Known in events like the World’s Toughest Mudder and the Spartan Race as the “Queen of Pain,” she thrives in settings that test endurance for 24 hours or more, with mud, walls, barbed wire, and even electrical challenges. When asked …
2026 Summer Newsletter: Kansas City
Summertime! When we were all kids in school, summer marked the end of another school year, another formal step in our learning. We went from one grade to the next; it was neat and tidy. As adults, we continue to grow and learn, but it’s not as neat and tidy now. I share this because our firm has been very …
