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Thing One Choose Carefully Several years ago, the organization that oversees the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards conducted a revealing experiment. They wanted to see whether prospective clients would truly evaluate an adviser’s competence—or simply respond to confidence and presentation. They hired a professional DJ, gave him a crash course in financial buzzwords, dressed him in a sharp suit, and placed him in front of individuals actively searching for f

Thing One Why Starting an Exercise Plan Might Help You Understand How to Think About the Economy I was recently browsing health and fitness websites for exercise “secrets” when I came across an article that made me think about the similarities between an individual trying to get in shape and the political class trying to “get the economy in shape.” The article was called Why Crunches and Sit Ups Do Not Get You Six Pack Abs. The opening paragraphs hit me like a ton of br

Thing One To Save or Not to Save (When You’re Young) There’s an old saying often attributed to former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan: "There’s no fool like an old fool—except a young fool. The young fool just hasn’t lived long enough yet to realize it." It’s blunt, but it’s also remarkably accurate—especially when it comes to money. Every generation seems to rediscover the same idea: that youth is for living, not planning. Saving can wait. Retirement is decad

Thing One Tax Season 2026 Is Here: What’s Different This Year (and Why You Should Care) If you’re filing your 2025 taxes and things feel a little unfamiliar, you’re not imagining it. Tax season 2026 is the first one shaped by the new tax law passed last summer, and it brought a mix of bigger deductions, new credits, extra forms, and fewer free filing options. Even if your income didn’t change much, the rules around it probably did. The good news? Many deductions are lar

Thing One When Medicare Advantage Works—and When It May Be Challenging Recently, I worked with a client enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan who experienced a serious fall. Following the injury, the client required skilled nursing care. When the family began exploring facility options, they learned that the nursing home they preferred was not part of the plan’s provider network. This created additional challenges at an already stressful time and highlighted some of the p

Thing One Three Financial Resolutions That Would Be a Smart Move for 2026 As you’re working on maintaining those resolutions you made on New Year’s day, here are three financial resolutions you might considering adding. We believe they would serve most people well in 2026. First, resolve to get clearer on your cash flow. Before returns, before markets, before strategy—cash flow matters. Knowing where money is coming in, where it’s going, and what flexibility you have creates

Thing One Don’t Let the Court Write Your Final Plan Picture this: After a lifetime of hard work, you’ve built meaningful assets and settled into a comfortable retirement—then you pass away unexpectedly, without a will. It’s not something most people want to contemplate, and for you, there would be nothing left to contemplate. For those you leave behind, however, there would be much to consider, including the hardships that would ensue as a result of your not having a will

Yahoo FInance had a couple of good articles last week that we thought we'd share a synopsis of in this week's newsletter as they echo sentiments we have often expressed. See both below: Thing One What a Comparison of $500,000 vs. $1 Million Reveals About Retirement The first article titled “I Asked ChatGPT To Compare Retiring With $500K vs. $1 Million — The Difference Is Huge,” explored how dramatically retirement outcomes can change based on the size of one’s nest

Thing One How Lower Reinsurance Prices Could Put Money Back in Drivers’ Pockets After several years of rising premiums, the auto insurance market may be approaching a turning point. One of the most important forces behind the recent wave of rate increases — reinsurance costs — is beginning to ease, and that shift could set off a new phase of competition among car insurers, including selective rate reductions aimed at gaining market share. Reinsurance is essentially insu

Thing One Plain Talk From A Politician On Inflation The following is a transcript from a town hall where conservative Canadian politician, Pierre Poilievre, was asked a question about inflation. In answering it, he explained the concept in a way that can be easily understood by anyone. See below: Questioner (off-camera): What are the steps I need to take in fixing the damages done by inflation? Pierre Poilievre: “First and foremost, stop the overspending. Inflation,