We’re staring down a pipeline of potential trillion-dollar-scale IPOs like SpaceX and OpenAI. Expectations are high – really high. That has some seasoned investors wondering whether we’re flying too close to the sun.

The S&P 500 is up about 8% year-to-date, which feels really good on paper, but getting there has been a bumpy ride with plenty of volatility. Short-term interest rates are now likely to go up, not down. Then there’s inflation. At the time of this writing, prices on the things we use every day are rising at an annual inflation rate of 3.8%. The highest level we’ve seen in three years.

So yes, we all know the golden rule: ‘stay invested.’ But the real question everyone’s wrestling with is… invest where?

This is where having a network of more than 200 rigorously vetted, experienced fiduciary advisors comes in handy. Matt McKee, CFA, is one of them. He recently wrote on this topic explaining investment approaches in a fresh, understandable way.

As Matt puts it, after you’ve built the financial plan and figured out how much risk you’re really okay with, “now we have to put our money to work.”

Which brings us right back to the question: invest where?

There’s a good reason Matt, just like the other advisors I’ve vetted, doesn’t come out of the gate with stock picks, private investments, or even his latest ideas. Before recommending the investments, he has to know what role that investment is supposed to play in your portfolio.

He starts with purpose. What’s the job you need your investments to do? Because every investment should have a job.

A large U.S. stock fund has a job. An international stock fund has a job. Bonds have a job. And cash has a job.

As Matt points out, “We’re not choosing investments based on the gaudiest historical returns. We’re not chasing investment returns, either. We’re looking for the right tool for the right role inside a portfolio.” Too many investors focus on trailing returns. Matt says that’s a trap. Historical returns do matter, but they won’t tell you the whole story.

The best advisors aren’t trying to predict what happens next. They’re building portfolios designed to survive multiple versions of what happens next.

That’s one reason thoughtful advisors spend so much time evaluating how their clients’ investments interact with one another and pay close attention to taxes and fees.

The goal isn’t to own everything. It’s to own the right mix of assets that can help support the life you’re trying to build through different market environments.

What I appreciate most about Matt’s perspective is that it removes some of the mystery. There’s no secret sauce. No magic fund or perfect forecast. Just a disciplined process for deciding what belongs in a portfolio, why it belongs there, what it costs, and how it supports the life you’re trying to build.

What investing question trips you up most right now? Share it below. We’ll unpack it together.

Reach out to me anytime. And if you’d like to explore Wealthramp’s network of vetted, fee-only, fiduciary advisors who can help you with everything from a one-time financial plan to long-range support, you can do so here.

What I’ve come to realize is that most people have never gotten truly exceptional financial advice, let alone worked with an outstanding advisor. That’s why they often tell me, “I don’t know exactly what I want, but I know I want something better than what I have now.”

Why is finding great advice so messy? Let me assure you, it’s not you. It’s them. And by “them,” I mean the financial services industry.

This is a system largely designed as a sales business model, not an advice model. Still, truly excellent financial advice and exceptional financial advisors do exist. They’re just not in every strip mall down the street.

Many people have worked with the same advisor for years. Others have relied on the rep who works for their 401(k) plan, a broker, an insurance agent calling himself an advisor, a friend, or a family member for financial guidance. And many have just taken on all the financial planning and investment decisions themselves.

When I ask how the relationship with their advisor is going, the answers are quite revealing. The most common answer I get is: “Yeah, she’s okay…I think?” Or “We don’t really hear from him that much.”

Or if I ask what their advisor is actually doing to earn his fee, I get this: “He manages our investments but that’s about it.”

Just this week, someone told me, “The only time we really hear from him anymore is when he wants to sell us something.”

That’s the reality that’s been at the heart of my work for years. I admit it: I have a massively ambitious goal. I want to raise the bar and upgrade the quality of financial advice Americans are getting.

I’m doing this in two ways. First, I encourage people to raise their expectations. Exceptional advice exists. I want people to recognize good financial advice when they see it and understand that they don’t have to settle for an advisor who simply manages investments or checks-in once a year. It’s not about expecting your advisor to outperform the S&P stock index. It’s about your whole financial life. The planning that aligns with your investment strategy.

Second, I believe the industry itself must be held to a higher standard.

One of my biggest frustrations is that so many people operating under the title “financial advisor” are still working within a sales model, yet calling themselves “advisors.” They’re paid to recommend their products and services even if those recommendations aren’t the least expensive or in your best interest, yet consumers are often led to believe they’re receiving objective professional advice.

This is exactly why I keep getting asked: “Pam, how is anyone supposed to find a highly qualified fiduciary advisor – how can this be so messy?”

That’s why I’m pointing out the warning signs people should pay attention to. Not because I enjoy criticizing this industry, but because people deserve to know they have choices.

People deserve to know that financial services is an industry. Not a profession. There is no ‘high bar’ that advisors need to pass.

So who amongst all these advisors do act as professionals even when no one requires it? After more than 30 years covering this profession, providing advice, evaluating advisors, and building a network of more than 230 fee-only fiduciary advisors, my answer is always the same:

Not many.

There are roughly 300,000 to 330,000 people operating under some version of the title “financial advisor” in the US today. In my opinion, the number who are truly exceptional is fewer than 7,000.

That’s still a significant number of professionals, but it’s a very small community relative to the size of the industry.

What separates them?

Professionalism and running a fiduciary practice are the starting points.

These few advisors are the only ones who choose to operate as professionals in an industry that often doesn’t require it. Unlike doctors or lawyers, there is no universal professional standard. In many cases, someone can pass an exam, sell insurance or annuities, and legally call themselves a financial advisor.

The exceptional advisors choose a higher standard. They are students of their craft. They continue learning. They understand investments, but they also understand taxes, retirement income, estate planning, insurance, and the complex decisions families face throughout their lives.

I just had a conversation with a fee-only fiduciary advisor in my network, Jason Lilly, CFA about this. (A video of our chat will be out soon!) He explained that much of his work isn’t really about investments. It’s helping people make better decisions all the time.

That simple statement captures what I’ve observed among the best advisors I’ve met over the years. They listen before they recommend. They ask thoughtful questions. They connect dots. They identify blind spots. Most importantly, they create clarity.

You walk away with a much better understanding of your choices, your opportunities, and the decisions in front of you.

That’s what good financial advice looks like.

The best advisors help people make better decisions about their lives. They help clients avoid big expensive mistakes, think through important tradeoffs, and move forward with greater confidence.

Once you’ve experienced advice at that level, your expectations change forever.

Reach out to me anytime with questions. And if you’d like to explore Wealthramp’s network of vetted, fee-only, fiduciary advisors, you can do so here.

Now it’s about learning how to spend the money confidently after 40 years trying not to.

A million dollars still sounds like it’s enough to support a good lifestyle for the rest of your life, and it may be, but retirement math in 2026 looks very different than it did twenty years ago.

Morningstar’s latest research suggests roughly a 3.9% starting withdrawal rate for retirees seeking a high probability that their savings will last 30 years. That means someone with $1 million invested may realistically generate about $39,000 a year from the portfolio before Social Security.

Add another $35,000 to $45,000 from Social Security for a couple and suddenly the household may realistically be living on roughly $80,000 gross income before taxes.

Comfortable in some places. Tight in others depending on where you live, and how you live.

Now layer in inflation that averages 3% annually. I’m using 3% because it’s much closer to what many economists and retirement planners now view as a realistic long-term planning assumption.

Inflation erodes your money over time so a lifestyle costing $100,000 today could require roughly $135,000 in ten years.

This is where I see retirees often split into two camps.

One group becomes really anxious, almost paranoid about overspending. Every larger expense suddenly comes with huge consequences. They travel and spend but do it with a sense of constant worry.

The other group underspends almost reflexively. They hold back from experiences they could easily afford because they never developed real confidence about what was actually safe to spend. In other words, their retirement plan was never really a ‘spending plan.’

Many people I talk to share that they believed they already had a withdrawal plan because in 2018 they sat down with the guy at Fidelity who printed out a report with pie charts and projections, and confidently told them: “You’re going to be fine. You can retire.”

I’m going to say this very strongly and with a lot of confidence myself: this is one of the few moments in life where you truly need to sit down with a highly qualified, fee-only fiduciary advisor who specializes in retirement income planning. (You can always find one here).

Retirement today is too complex — inflation, taxes, healthcare costs, Social Security timing, withdrawal strategies, market volatility — and the stakes are simply too high to rely on old projections or assumptions, even for financially sophisticated people.

Frankly, I’m doing the same for myself. I know a lot about retirement planning after 30 years, but I’m going to be a lot more confident getting a pair of fresh eyes from an advisor — a peer who I know is highly qualified and won’t be afraid to tell me what I need to hear. In other words: an expert who’s objective.

I’ve also challenged my own thinking over the last few years about retirement itself. Why does retirement have to be one big ‘on’ or ‘off’ switch to work or not work?

I think the healthier model today is a dimmer switch approach. Flexibility and optionality become the real goal rather than unplug completely. Working because I want to means that even earning a small income dramatically reduces both financial and emotional pressure.

If that person with the $1 million portfolio earns even an extra $20,000 to $30,000 a year after taxes through part-time work, consulting, seasonal work, or remote work for a few additional years, it means they may only need to withdraw $10,000 to $15,000 a year from investments for a period of time instead of the full roughly $39,000.

Even just a couple of years of extra income adds up. That reduced pressure during the early retirement years while investments continue compounding can preserve tens of thousands, and sometimes substantially more, over someone’s lifetime.

Even more importantly, people feel less trapped. That’s why I think people should focus less on some mythical “perfect retirement number” and more on building a retirement plan that can evolve as life changes.

If you’d like to explore how a one-time financial plan can meet your needs, get started here.

I’d genuinely love to hear from you about this. What are you hoping retirement will actually feel like for you — security, freedom, purpose, flexibility, family time, something else entirely? Put your thoughts in the comments.

It’s like Grandma’s Toll House cookie recipe. You buy the S&P 500, load up on the big AI names and you’re diversified. Then watch your retirement fund balance grow. If you followed that recipe, you had a reason to feel pretty clever because the numbers backed you up.

But 2025 was a reckoning. The S&P 500 experienced an almost 19% midyear decline before recovering, while a broadly diversified portfolio returned 18.3% for the year compared with roughly 17% for the S&P 500 and 13.3% for a traditional 60/40 portfolio, according to Morningstar research.

It reminded everyone that real diversification isn’t just owning “a lot of stocks.” It’s owning assets that actually behave differently when the market shifts.

There aren’t many investing pearls of wisdom I can offer that work consistently but this one does: diversification wins all battles.

Morningstar’s 2025 performance research tells the story pretty clearly. A truly diversified portfolio spread across 11 asset classes: large-cap U.S. stocks, developed and emerging markets, Treasuries, bonds, small-company stocks, commodities, gold, and REITs. That mix returned 18.3% for the year, better than the S&P 500’s roughly 17% return and well ahead of a traditional 60/40 portfolio at 13.3%.

What got my attention is where those returns came from.

Gold had one of its strongest years in two decades. A roughly 70% move in a relatively short period of time is considered an unusually powerful rally for gold, which is why so many investors suddenly started paying attention to it again in 2025.

Some of the strongest areas in 2025 came from corners investors had ignored for years: emerging markets, international value stocks, metals and commodities, smaller companies, REITs, global bonds, and yes, gold.

Meanwhile, I’ve been hearing from lots of pre-retirees who thought they were pretty well diversified and realized they had too much risk in the same handful of mega-cap U.S. technology companies. That concentration worked beautifully on the way up. On the way down though, or even sideways, it becomes a very different experience. (If you have concerns about your portfolio, it could be a good time to speak with an advisor or get a one-time financial checkup. Wealthramp can help you with both.)

Money also started flowing outside the usual U.S. mega-cap tech trade. A weaker dollar, concerns over geopolitics, and higher inflation pushed investors to look for other places to put money, and international markets and alternative assets benefited.

This is what makes the advisor conversation more relevant than ever. For years, the standard question was simple: “Did you beat the S&P 500?”

That question still matters, but it’s no longer the only conversation. Today’s portfolios are more global, more multi-asset, and more dynamic.

The real work now often involves deciding how much international exposure actually makes sense for a particular client, whether commodities or gold belong in the portfolio at all, how to manage bond exposure after historic interest-rate moves, minimizing tax drag, rebalancing systematically, planning retirement withdrawals, and helping clients avoid emotionally chasing whatever just had the hottest run.

That’s one reason the advisory industry continues moving toward fee-only planning relationships, according to Cerulli Associates. Investors increasingly aren’t paying advisors just to pick stocks. They’re paying for portfolio construction, risk oversight, tax strategy, behavioral coaching, and ongoing planning around increasingly complex portfolios.

Here’s my point. If that diversified portfolio returned 18.3% while the S&P 500 returned roughly 17%, an investor paying around a 1% advisory fee might have ended up roughly in line with the broad market after fees while also getting comprehensive financial and tax-forward planning wrapped around the portfolio itself.

In other words, the value of diversification and professional risk management alone can effectively pay for the advisor’s fee.

None of this means a diversified approach will outperform every single year. Over longer periods, the plain 60/40 portfolio has still delivered solid results. But 2025 was a serious reminder that sustainable investing success rarely comes from piling into last year’s winners.

It comes from building a portfolio and a plan, durable enough that you can stay invested no matter what comes next.

P.S. If you’re ready for a financial checkup, get in touch here anytime. Our advisors are rigorously vetted, and we never sell your personal data.

Scams are getting so sophisticated, aren’t they?

Right now, one of the easiest scams to fall for looks like a normal little tax-season nuisance. A text or email says your refund has been approved, delayed, frozen, or needs one final verification step. Then there’s a link or a QR code, with very official-looking IRS language around it.

And your brain is thinking: Okay, good, let me just get this done. That’s the trap.

The real IRS is not texting you a link so you can fix your refund. It’s not asking you to scan a QR code to update your bank account. Knowing that could save you a lot of money and a lot of pain.

I’ll admit something – maybe it’s just me, but when my finger sees a QR code, it seems to want to click it and get me into trouble.

That’s the reaction scammers are counting on. Now criminals are using artificial intelligence to write cleaner messages, copy official language, build fake websites, and even clone voices. This is no longer the silly, obvious scammer using bad grammar and nonsense that begins with “Dear Sir or Madam…”

Here are three scams to watch out for.

1. The IRS “Refund Verification” Scam

It starts with a text, email, or fake IRS-looking message saying there’s a problem with your refund or identity verification.

Don’t click or scan. Don’t enter anything. The IRS recently put QR-code phishing on its official Dirty Dozen warning list because so many people are falling for it. Forward your suspicious IRS texts and phishing emails to phishing@irs.gov.

But what if you’re worried that you deleted an important notice that you thought was a hoax? Here’s what to do right now:

Log into your official IRS online account by going directly to IRS.gov, then clicking “Your Online Account.” You can then see any digital notices or letters, your tax account balance, payment history, and get transcripts This is the fastest way to see if anything is actually pending.

So when it comes to official IRS notices, here’s my rule:

IRS + QR code (or link) = don’t do it. Instead take the long, boring way and go directly to IRS.gov yourself.

2. The AI Voice Call from Someone You Love

This one is dangerous because it skips your brain and goes straight to your heart.

You hear what sounds like the voice of your child, grandchild, spouse, or friend saying they’re in trouble and need money right now. Hang up. Call back using the number you already know.

And do this: create a family ‘code word’. Think of it as a PIN number for your ATM card — except this one protects the people you love when a scam is trying to use panic against you.

Hiya’s State of the Call 2026 report finds roughly one in every four Americans says they’ve already received one of these fake AI voice calls.

3. The Online Relationship That Becomes an “Investment Opportunity”

This one is aimed squarely at people with money.

It starts as a wrong-number text, dating app banter, social media chat, or even a LinkedIn comment. It becomes warm and then personal. And then the conversation eventually turns financial.

If someone builds an online relationship, then steers you toward an investment opportunity, that’s not romance, friendship, or networking. It’s grooming.

AARP recently found that 1 in 10 Americans over 50 has interacted with someone online who later asked for money or pushed a crypto investment. And the FBI says investment fraud losses hit $8.65 billion last year, much of it tied to these kinds of scams.

Crypto, private platforms, screenshots that show big investment gains, or exclusive opportunities are red flags. You don’t have to decide anything at that moment. You don’t even have to take a look. We live in an online world where something is always pinging, nudging, pulling for your attention.

The protection is actually simple. Take a moment to verify the validity of the request. Closely examine the firm, the people, and the platform. If something feels off, turn away because it very likely could be a scam. (Speaking of verification, don’t forget to check out my guide on why it’s important to check your financial advisor’s background).

I’m old enough to remember Nancy Reagan’s famous line: “Just Say No.” You were right, Nancy.

Fast-forward to April 2026. That same primal instinct is alive and well, and it’s spreading like wildfire. We’re now building entire platforms around it. Welcome to prediction markets, where people are encouraged to bet on politics, sports, Federal Reserve decisions, weather events and even celebrity gossip. On Kalshi and Polymarket, two of the biggest prediction exchanges, traders were betting on whether Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce would get married, including wagers tied to timing. (I’m serious.)

Anything that can be turned into a yes-or-no proposition can now become an official bet.

Here’s how prediction exchanges work: Users buy contracts tied to a specific outcome, and the contract’s value rises or falls based on what the market believes the odds are. If the event happens and you were right, the contract pays out.

It’s gambling. The vocabulary has just gotten fancier. Prediction markets are described as information aggregation, price discovery, and crowd wisdom. Sometimes those labels are fair. For decades economists have studied whether markets can absorb information faster than polls or the pundits. That’s one reason the Iowa Electronic Markets, launched in 1988, became a respected early experiment in election forecasting.

And today it’s a really big business. Bernstein analysts estimated roughly $51 billion in prediction-market trading volume in 2025 and projected around $240 billion in 2026, with more optimistic forecasts touching $1 trillion annually by 2030. Combined 2026 year-to-date activity on Kalshi and Polymarket has been cited at roughly $60 billion.

For perspective, prediction markets’ trading volume is now second only to Las Vegas in scale among major U.S. betting arenas. Las Vegas Strip and Nevada casinos alone still generated roughly $15.8 billion in actual gaming revenue in 2025, before adding the U.S. sports betting industry’s record ~$17 billion in revenue. (I got those stats straight from the Nevada Gaming Control Board data via GGB Magazine and ESPN/AGA reports.)

Regulators haven’t quite caught up and are still struggling to define them, with some treating prediction markets as legitimate financial exchanges and others viewing them as just gambling halls.

Here’s the important distinction: A whole lot of frenzied trading volume doesn’t equal wealth creation. It’s just money being wagered and re-wagered, sometimes many times over. And much of the recent hyper-growth has come from sports-style contracts, which raises an obvious question: When does a forecasting market become a sportsbook with better branding?

Some regulators are asking exactly that. Brazil recently moved to block dozens of prediction platforms, arguing many were effectively betting products packaged as finance. If you want a reality check on separating the bets from real investing, that’s exactly where a fee-only advisor can help you, and you already know I can help you find the right fee-only advisor.

That matters because investing is something else entirely. And I believe it’s worth emphasizing.

Investing means committing capital to assets that generate value over time. Businesses produce earnings. Bonds pay interest. Real estate is a tangible asset. Ownership in innovation and productive enterprise can compound wealth for years.

Buying shares of a strong company and reinvesting dividends is fundamentally different from betting on whether the Fed cuts rates this quarter or a celebrity gets arrested by Labor Day.

Both involve risk. So do driving and skydiving. That doesn’t make them the same activity.

Prediction markets may provide signals. They may reveal underlying public sentiment. They may even be entertaining. But entertainment is not investing.

Years ago on my weekly MoneyTrack show, we interviewed Jim Cramer. A viewer called in and asked how much of a portfolio should be devoted to Jim Cramer’s favorite stock picks. My answer: What is his show called? Mad Money. That’s your answer then, and now.

If you want excitement, call it excitement. But maybe don’t call random prediction-making ‘investing’ just because it comes with a lot of charts, probabilities, and a polished interface.

Thag the caveman loved a side bet—but at the end of the day, he still needed to bring home the woolly mammoth to feed his family.

Most people never look at advisors’ background records.

At the risk of being emphatic: Please read the records. This may sound like the “don’t forget to floss every night” part. But if you skip it, and you’re serious about working with a financial advisor, you’re missing an important step. We place those SEC records right on each advisor’s profile on Wealthramp to make it easier to access. I’ll share some tips for high-level advisor vetting.

First, start by learning something about the individual advisor’s background.

1) A BrokerCheck for the Individual

Use FINRA’s BrokerCheck to look up the person you’re talking to. Just type in the individual advisor’s name.

What you’re looking for:

• Current registration: Is he/she a broker, a registered investment advisor, or both?

• Employment history: Does it make sense, or is it a revolving door?

• Disclosures: customer complaints, settlements, regulatory actions. This is where you’d spot red flags.

Give it to me in plain English: Who is FINRA and why do I care?

FINRA oversees brokers—the people who work at brokerage firms recommending investments like stocks, mutual funds, private investments and annuities.

Most people don’t realize that FINRA is a self-regulatory organization. It’s not the government. It’s the financial services industry overseeing itself. Let that sink in. It’s no different than high school students monitoring other students’ tests, or athletes refereeing their own games. There are rules, and they should be enforced. But it’s the same group policing itself.

Why fiduciary standard matters

A fiduciary is legally required to act in your best interest at all times. Brokerage firms are not willing to be held legally accountable when making recommendations or selling their products. They choose a lower standard of care.

That’s because brokers work under a commission-based sales model, not advice. Oversight comes from within that same structure. That doesn’t automatically make it bad. It just means you need to understand the incentives you’re stepping into. I know this because I worked under this model myself at a major brokerage firm decades ago.

After you’ve looked at the FINRA records, your next step for at-a-glance vetting is to go to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s site and pull the firm’s Form ADV.

2) Form ADV for the Advisory Firm

Every registered investment advisory firm has to file this document and update it every year. It’s public. It’s free. And almost nobody reads it. Shortcut: the narrative is Part 2.

Again, you’ll see it right below every advisor’s profile on Wealthramp. Here’s how to use it without getting lost:

Part 1: Facts about assets under management, number of clients, ownership, basic disciplinary history

Part 2A (the brochure): The real story about services, fees, investment approach, conflicts of interest, risks

Part 2B (supplement):The background, experience, and any disclosures for the individuals

What to zero in on

You don’t need to read every word. Here’s what matters:

• How they get paid: Fee-only? Commissions? Both? If you can’t explain it in one sentence, keep going.

• Conflicts of interest: Do they earn more if you buy certain products? It will be spelled out.

• Minimums and fee structure

• Disciplinary history: If it’s there, read it carefully.

• Services offered: Are they only managing money, or offering comprehensive planning?

Despite all of this being free and public, most people skip this step. One national FINRA survey found that only 14.2% of investors checked an advisor’s background over a five-year period. Separate research shows that about 7% of advisors have some form of disciplinary history, with much higher numbers of customer disputes at some of the largest firms.

The fact that only 14.2% of people look at background records surprised me. That tells me most people simply don’t realize these records are there, or how much they can reveal.

The resources are free. So, yes—read BrokerCheck. Read the ADV.

After these two important vetting steps, I conduct personal interviews and ask a whole different set of detailed questions. Background records won’t tell you everything, but it’s a strong starting point.

Connect With a Vetted Wealthramp Advisor

But by the time most people really need financial literacy, they’re making expensive decisions without enough of it. I’m talking about five-, six-, even seven-figure decisions that shape how the next 10 or 20 years play out.

It’s striking how many smart, capable people tend not to ask enough questions right when they should be digging in. Think about your own instincts for a second:

When the market drops sharply, do you feel more inclined to pull money out, stay invested, or take a step back and consider investing while prices are low?

When you hear about a “new opportunity” or private investment, do you pull the trigger feeling like you might be missing something big and important if you don’t jump at the chance in the moment?

Those first reactions matter a lot more than people realize. There’s a meaningful gap between the returns individual investors earn owning stocks, and what the stock market actually returns. DALBAR, an investment research firm that studies investor behavior, has shown for years that individuals consistently earn a few percentage points less than the overall market. That doesn’t sound like much, but over time it means hundreds of thousands of dollars you never capture.

That’s financial literacy in adult life. Why not slow down and ask questions like what’s driving this decision? What am I not considering? Who benefits from me saying yes to this?

When people admit they’ve made a bad decision, they tell me they weren’t willing to pause long enough to ask any questions because they didn’t know what to ask. And often it’s when they lean on someone else who appears to be ‘smarter than they are.’ But in many of those situations, that someone else hadn’t been properly vetted, the advice was not in their best interest, and now they feel self-conscious about their next decision. (If you’ve been reading Count Up for awhile, you already know why I’m a huge proponent of fee-only, fiduciary advisors—they’re legally bound to act in your best interest).

Find a Vetted Fiduciary Advisor

This happens every day with retirement plans. The number of choices keeps expanding—Roth or pre-tax, managed accounts, annuities, how much to contribute, how to invest, whether to consider newer, more complex options inside the plan. There’s more access than ever, but also more room to get it wrong if you don’t fully understand what you’re choosing.

I think that’s why this topic matters so much as an adult. Financial literacy is about developing the ability to step back and think clearly when something important is in front of you.

Every time you slow down and ask the questions that help you really understand a decision—how it works, what the tradeoffs are—you’re better equipped for the next one. Patterns start emerging and you can recognize situations you’ve seen before. You get more comfortable asking the right questions, which then delivers better results.

Take this approach when you’re in your 30s and by the time you’re getting closer to retirement, that financial literacy has compounded over the years. This becomes incredibly valuable at retirement and beyond. You’ve learned to not react at the moment. Instead you’re making decisions with context and perspective.

Someone once told me that the quality of the answer you get is only as good as the question you ask. That stuck with me. I was lucky—I became interested in money and investing early enough that I didn’t care if I asked “dumb” questions. (And I asked plenty of them).

Explore a One-Time Financial Checkup

And this applies to asking for advice from a fee-only advisor. An outstanding fiduciary advisor will encourage you to ask more questions because that advisor knows the more knowledgeable you become over time, the better your conversations will be about the details that impact your future.

That’s what I find myself coming back to this month. As an adult, financial literacy is something you build—over time, through real decisions, in real life.

And it keeps paying you back the more you stay engaged with it.

I feel strongly that if you’re getting anywhere close to retiring, this is the moment to make sure the plan you’ve built is truly holding up. Because there’s a big difference between things ‘seem to be okay,’ and actually knowing they are.

That’s what led me to write this article for Kiplinger. What people need right now is a real financial checkup. Not a quick, superficial look, or ‘cookie cutter answer’ but a thoughtful evaluation of how everything fits together.

The truth is, this kind of check up hasn’t been easy to find. Most financial advisors don’t offer it. That’s why I’m so glad to say it’s now accessible through Wealthramp. I have many advisors offering one-time evaluations so you can get real clarity without on-going fees or committing to anything long term.

Explore a Financial Checkup

If you have any questions or want to reach me, I’d love to hear from you.

See you next week!

The numbers genuinely surprised me. This year, Pew Research reports roughly 1 in 4 Americans are providing ongoing care, and among people in their 40s it’s closer to 54% juggling both kids and parents. The same survey shows now the majority feel financially exhausted. A lot are taking a drastic step: they’re actually stopping their retirement contributions to keep up. And according to AARP, out-of-pocket caregiving costs average around $7,200+ per year, and that doesn’t count lost wages or missed opportunities.

If you’re in this spot, you feel this constant tug-of-war of whether to help your family now or protect your own future. For most of us, stepping up isn’t optional, it’s a responsibility. But without a plan, it can seriously damage the financial security you’ve worked decades to build.

The numbers are growing thanks to longer lifespans, more expensive health care, and adult kids staying home longer. It really has become a perfect storm.

Here’s what I’ve seen that actually helps.

Don’t wait. Start the money conversation with your parents now. No doubt, it’s the elephant in the room. Be thoughtful and respectful and talk about this openly while they’re still independent. Frame the conversation so they understand you’re not taking control. You’re trying to prevent a truly unaffordable situation down the road. Keep it calm and collaborative.

Ask your parent(s):

• How do you see covering future health or housing costs?

• What income are you counting on (Social Security, pensions, investments)?

• Do you have long-term care insurance or any plans in place?

• Are there accounts, policies, or documents I should know about?

These talks can feel awkward, but having them now can help your loved ones understand that planning together is the single best way to avoid a financial crisis later.

Protect your own retirement first.

This can feel selfish, but it’s not. If you’re over 50, those retirement catch-up contributions are powerful — and once those years pass, they’re gone. Decide in advance what you can realistically afford to give without cutting your own savings. Make it a defined, sustainable number, not an open-ended tap that grows with every new need.

Need Help With a Plan?

Maximize your parents’ resources before you fill the gaps.

Many families overlook what’s already available. Help them explore:

• Medicaid planning (when appropriate)

• Property tax relief programs

• Veteran benefits

• Local services through Area Agencies on Aging

• Downsizing or housing changes

I’m usually not a fan of reverse mortgages, but in rare situations they can be part of the solution. The goal is to stretch their money first, not replace it with yours.

Structure family loans with clarity and avoid the big family fight.

When support starts flowing, you must document it. Treating help as a loan instead of a gift can prevent resentment and tax issues later. Keep siblings in the loop and consider pooling contributions when possible. A simple shared understanding of responsibilities goes a long way toward keeping family relationships intact. The last thing you want is to turn next Thanksgiving into a big drama.

Find a Fiduciary Advisor Today

If you’re still working, you might have some valuable (overlooked) employee benefits.

AARP broke it down this way: about 70% of us are balancing jobs and caregiving, yet these benefits often go unused:

• Flexible schedules or remote work options

• FMLA-protected leave

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) for eldercare referrals, counseling, and financial advice

• Dependent Care FSAs to pay for qualifying adult care expenses with pre-tax dollars

• Paid family leave or caregiving support where offered

Check with HR. These can provide real relief on both time and money. (I recently wrote a primer on maximizing employer benefits—check it out here).

Set clear boundaries. Plan ahead. Communicate openly.

The biggest asset is your mindset. Helping your parents matters deeply, but sustainable support is the only kind that will really work. Honestly, it comes down to how you set your boundaries, then how you plan, and how you communicate. That becomes the blueprint your own children will follow.

Remember, the goal is not to put yourself in a position where you’ll one day need to rely on your adult children for financial support.

P.S. If you’re looking for answers to complicated financial care questions, Wealthramp is here with a trusted network of fiduciary, fee-only advisors who work for you — and only you.

Last week I talked about the investing blind spots we all have that reveal themselves when markets drop day after day. This week, the question coming at me from all sides has more urgency: What should I do right now?

I want to point out an even more important question: what not to do?

Headlines give us a mix of information that comes with a lot of noise. Stocks are lower but bouncing back, energy prices are climbing, a full tank of gas is hitting $60–80 depending on where you are. That’s real, and it’s on the front page everyday.

But zoom out a bit, because what’s really moving underneath is what counts.

Oil prices have spiked to around $107–108 a barrel, and diesel prices matter because it’s the fuel that hauls almost everything we buy. When diesel gets over $5 a gallon nationally, it doesn’t just hit truckers; it ripples straight into the cost of groceries, goods, everything we buy on Amazon. That’s classic inflation coming through the supply chain.

For some context: over the past three years, the S&P 500 racked up total returns of roughly 26%, 25%, and 18%. That’s an epic run, and it’s what has shaped a lot of retirement portfolios. We’ve all been heavily exposed to the stocks that have been winning.

At the same time, advisor Jeff George, CFA in our Wealthramp network, pointed out when I was on Yahoo Finance last week that a lot of people simply don’t have enough exposure to the stocks that tend to hold up, or even shine, when inflation is rising. I’m talking about energy, commodities, mining stocks, real assets.

It’s not a mistake. It’s just what happens when you believe your broad S&P index fund is diversified in a meaningful way, but the S&P index has had little exposure to the kinds of stocks that protect you because tech is now so heavily weighted.

Right now, the markets are being pulled in different directions. The economic signals are mixed. Growth feels uncertain, inflation is real, and interest rates are anyone’s guess. It’s hard to build a plan around mixed signals.

Here’s my perspective. Don’t try to know everything. Instead, build your plan for resilience. (You can always find an advisor to help with a plan anytime at Wealthramp.com by answering a few quick questions. It’s free and we never sell your personal information).

Think of your portfolio like a really good shock absorber on your car. It doesn’t need perfect road conditions. It has to be able to handle bumps, potholes, and sudden turns without falling apart. That’s the mindset that matters.

What to Watch Right Now

• Energy prices: Rising oil and diesel feed directly into broader inflation and everyday costs.

• Interest rates: Higher rates add another layer of uncertainty.

• Your actual exposure: Not what you think you own, but how your holdings really behave in different environments.

What to Do Right Now

• Focus on resilience as your goal, not prediction or outsmarting the stock market. You don’t have to nail the next move. You need a setup that can weather more than one scenario.

• Ask: How does my portfolio hold up if inflation stays higher? If growth slows? If market leadership rotates?

• Look for gaps, not just trends. Where might you be light on assets that tend to move up when stocks move down?

• Make the adjustments where needed, if needed. This doesn’t need to be a full overhaul. It’s to fortify any weak spots so shocks don’t derail you.

What Not to Do

• Avoid chasing what’s already been working. By the time it’s everywhere in the news, the move has often already happened.

• Don’t confuse owning lots of funds with true diversification.

• Resist reacting to short-term noise and focus on your long-term plan.

The best question to answer right now is this: If things shift again, will my portfolio hold up the way I expect?

Most people haven’t really stress-tested it through that lens lately. And many don’t realize that fee-only advisors will help them do exactly this. Pressure-testing doesn’t mean making big, dramatic changes. It’s about knowing what you own, how it behaves in different environments, and making sure it’s built to handle more than just sunshine and blue skies.

Last week, a lot of people suddenly realized they had blind spots. This week, focus on resilience to move through them.

Diversification wins all battles. I’ve said it a thousand times on my MoneyTrack series. When people ask what resilience really means, it’s true diversification that allows you to bounce back quickly and strongly after challenges, setbacks, or stress. And that’s exactly what we’re aiming for, in portfolios and in life.

Don’t just assume you’re truly diversified. Let’s look under the hood.

I always love hearing your experiences. Drop me a line anytime.
Pam

“Financial advisors always want to manage my portfolio. I need advice, but I want to manage my own money.”

I understand why people say that. The dominant business model in this industry is assets under management. Most fiduciary advisors want to assume full responsibility for implementing the investment strategy because at the end of the day, they are accountable. So most require that you hand over control of your portfolio in order to work with them.

That never sat well with me.

When I built Wealthramp, I was intentional about curating a network of experienced, fee-only fiduciary advisors who offer flexibility in how they work with clients. Advisors who allow you to simply “buy some hours” for a one-time deep dive consultation. Advisors who offer ongoing planning retainers or flat-fee advice. Advisors who provide strategic oversight without automatically requiring portfolio control. And of course, they will absolutely manage your investments — but only when that’s what you want.

That choice had to be built in from the start; it’s what makes the whole thing feel right.

Which means you can choose the engagement structure that fits you — based on your goals, your level of involvement, and the complexity of your life. There are really only three ways to work with a fiduciary advisor.

1. The One-Time Second Opinion

This is ideal for the experienced DIY investor who wants a serious evaluation without turning over their portfolio.

I help a lot of people at moments like this. They’re not completely sure they’re on track. Retirement is five years away and they want to know if the numbers truly work. Or they’re deciding whether to exercise stock options, sell a concentrated position, buy property, or begin Roth conversions. They don’t want someone “managing” their money, but they don’t want to make the biggest financial decisions of their lives alone.

You pay a flat or hourly fee for a comprehensive review of your financial life. That may include portfolio analysis, tax-aware planning, withdrawal modeling, concentration risk evaluation, and retirement readiness testing.

You walk away with a clear roadmap. You know what’s solid, what needs attention, and where risk may be hiding — and you continue managing your own investments.

For many thoughtful investors, that’s exactly enough.

2. An Ongoing Planning Retainer (Without Turning Over Assets)

Some people want a long-term strategic partner. They value financial and tax planning, but they want to execute investment decisions themselves and avoid an assets-under-management fee.

In this model, you pay a flat annual retainer based on complexity and scope — not portfolio size. It’s an advice fee. The advisor provides ongoing planning, tax coordination, retirement income strategy, Roth conversion planning, and broader guidance around real estate, estate planning, and long-term healthcare decisions.

You are still implementing the strategy. But you are no longer doing it alone. You have a fiduciary sounding board who understands your entire financial picture.

This works well for disciplined investors who want structure and oversight without delegating implementation.

3. Ongoing Investment Management and Comprehensive Planning

This is the traditional model most people are familiar with.

Here, the advisor designs the plan, implements the investment strategy, then executes and manages the portfolio on an ongoing basis. It’s your asset allocation, rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, withdrawal coordination, estate considerations, and regular reviews of all of it as life evolves. Fees are often structured as a percentage of assets under management, though some advisors use flat or retainer pricing.

This approach makes sense when financial life grows more complex, retirement withdrawals begin, tax planning deepens, or you simply no longer want full responsibility for managing every moving part.

Those are your three options:

• A one-time second opinion.

• An ongoing planning relationship.

• Or comprehensive wealth management with implementation.

You’re not locked into one model. Many clients begin with a one-time engagement and later move into ongoing planning. Others start with a retainer and eventually decide they no longer want to handle rebalancing, Roth conversions, RMDs, or tax-loss harvesting themselves. Over time, trust builds. Circumstances change. And shifting into full wealth management becomes the natural next step.

I also need you to know you don’t need a million dollars to qualify for this help. These three options exist whether you’re 30 and building wealth, approaching retirement, or already there. The structure should match your needs – not the other way around. (You can always find the right advisor to meet your needs anytime at Wealthramp.com by answering a few quick questions. It’s free and we never sell your personal information).

What matters most is that the process is fiduciary-level. It’s clear, transparent, conflict-free, and centered entirely on your best interest. As I always say, I’m not settling for less, and I don’t want you to settle either.

But we’re still feeling it like it’s 2022. (If nothing else, you’re likely seeing it at the gas pump this week, as conflict in the Middle East has caused the price of oil to skyrocket).

Let’s put this into context. About five years ago, inflation was nice and low, roughly 1–2% a year, barely enough for people to mention it. Then inflation spiked after Covid and peaked in June 2022 at about 9%, with prices surging at a pace we hadn’t seen since the 1980s. Since then, inflation has gradually slowed back down toward the 2–3% range.

I keep thinking about the conversations I have every week with readers, clients, friends, and family members and how different their experiences sound. Prices still feel high, and that sense of financial strain hasn’t really eased. I hear comments like, “This economy is terrible. I hope it turns around.”

That disconnect is what fascinates me.

And it’s not your imagination. If it feels like prices are still rising when you’re buying meat, coffee, a pair of 18k gold earrings, or eating out, that’s because they are more expensive. Certain everyday items are rising faster than the overall inflation rate.

It’s not that people don’t believe the headlines. It’s that government statistics and real life are measuring two different things.

Inflation statistics are backward-looking. They tell us what prices did over the past year, averaged across the country. That’s essential for policymakers and economists.

But we don’t live life backward.

We live in the now and think about what comes next. We budget for the next rent increase, the next insurance renewal, the next grocery run. And we worry about future costs even when the headline inflation number improves.

When inflation was running at 7% or higher, prices jumped quickly and painfully. Now inflation is closer to 2–3%. That doesn’t mean prices came down. It means prices are still rising, just more slowly than during the spike.

The biggest price jump has already happened. Slower inflation today can’t undo that. And this is where things can get confusing. This is often described as ‘disinflation’, which simply means inflation is slowing. Not to be confused with ‘deflation’ that would mean prices actually fall. That’s not what’s happening so prices aren’t lower.

So when people hear “inflation is down” and it doesn’t feel like it, it’s because everyone’s cost of living is still higher, just not as fast as prices were rising before.

Inflation doesn’t hit everyone the same way. It’s national in how it gets reported but local in how it’s lived. Housing, insurance, food, and energy costs vary dramatically depending on where you live.

And for people who are already retired and relying on their savings, inflation isn’t just a concept. It’s personal.

And if you’re wondering about tariffs’ impact on inflation, they can push up the cost of certain imported goods and have contributed modestly to price increases in recent years, but they are not the primary driver of inflation trends overall.

Brett Spencer, CFP®, CEPA in the Wealthramp network puts it this way: “In 2025, CPI was up 2.7%. For investors, that’s a hurdle your portfolio has to clear just to stand still in real terms.”

That threshold becomes even more of a challenge for retirees prioritizing stability. A “safe” bond fund paying 3.7%, for example, would have only delivered about 1% above inflation before taxes.

After taxes, the real return may be close to zero. That’s a real risk, especially if you plan to live to see your 100th birthday.

That’s why you hear me say this often: if you’re getting closer to retirement, now is the time for a full financial checkup, just like an annual exam with your primary care doctor. You want an honest assessment of whether your portfolio is actually keeping up after inflation, taxes, and withdrawals. (You can read more about why I recommend fiduciary financial advisors here, and you can also email me with questions anytime).

Even moderate inflation will steadily erode your purchasing power if a portfolio isn’t designed to keep up, especially once withdrawals start. And it’s not just about the numbers. It’s about the peace of mind that comes from working with a fiduciary advisor who helps you make decisions that impact your entire financial life.

Inflation statistics are averages, but your personal cash flow is your reality.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we design these middle years in our career lives. Not just saving for retirement as a finish line, but considering the long stretch of years when we’re still working, probably in our peak years, still caring about our futures but also starting to care more about how we can live the fullest right now.

That’s where something called Coast FI comes in. It’s an idea that says, you’ve already saved enough early on so that if you actually stopped contributing to retirement today, your investments could grow all on their own to fund the future. In other words, you’ve reached critical mass and from now on, the focus can shift away from pushing harder for tomorrow to being more intentional about living the life you want today.

Some of you may remember that I was a guest late last year on the How to Money podcast, hosted by Joel and Matt, whose work I really respect. They do a great job breaking down personal finance in a thoughtful, grounded way, especially for people trying to make smart decisions without losing sight of real life.

I was excited when they asked me to write a piece for the How to Money blog, because it gave me a chance to go deeper on Coast Financial Independence — what it actually means, how it works, and why it’s coming up more often in conversations with people in their 30s and 40s.

You can read the full article here:

What to Know About Coast FI

Rather than simply repost the same article here, I’d really love to hear from you. Does this idea resonate with you? Does it feel practical for where you are in life? Or does it raise more questions than answers?

Write back or comment and tell me what you think. I’m genuinely curious how this lands with you.

Warmly,
Pam

P.S. Want more guidance about your own financial situation? Take a free, 2-minute survey to begin.

Keep that mindset when you log into your employee benefits portal and really get to know what’s there. Look beyond just your salary and health insurance. Get a good sense of retirement contributions and any employer matching, health savings accounts (which are triple tax free), and any free financial coaching programs designed to help reduce stress around money struggles, especially if you’re dealing with debt.

These benefits are right there hiding in plain sight, yet most people don’t touch them. Research from The Hartford found that 70% of employers say employees are not effectively taking advantage of the benefits available to them. Other surveys show that many employees don’t really understand what they have access to, which helps explain why participation stays low.

That’s money you may be leaving on the table.

For example, a typical retirement match of 3% to 6% can easily be worth $3,000 to $6,000 a year for someone earning $100,000. Over time, that alone adds up to six figures. Free financial coaching can save hundreds or thousands of dollars in outside fees. Emergency savings programs can prevent a single surprise expense from turning into high-interest credit card debt. Student loan assistance of even $100 or $200 a month can shave years off repayment. An HSA is one of the few benefits where contributing just a few thousand dollars a year can reduce your taxes now and create a dedicated, tax-free pool for healthcare costs in retirement.

All of that is truly useful. Helpful, even.

But what if you need real financial advice that goes beyond just what’s in your 401(k) menu?

So far, we’ve been talking about free workplace benefits designed to help you, things you should absolutely take advantage of because they put money back in your pocket and reduce financial stress. Now I’m switching gears to make you aware of what not to rely on. This is when that Me, Inc. mentality really matters.

There’s a whole different category of “financial guidance” that’s offered as investment or planning “recommendations” that feel just like the kind of personal financial advice you’d get from hiring your own financial advisor. But you need to know that recommendations that come from your plan’s representatives aren’t necessarily in your best financial interest.

Recordkeepers like Empower, Fidelity, and TIAA manage your retirement plan day to day. They know you only through what you’re doing inside that plan. And every day, they communicate with tens of millions of employees. Their systems are designed to stay in front of you. I talk to people all the time who tell me they’re getting four or five emails a week from their 401(k) record keeper promoting things like rollover solutions, managed accounts, and annuities — and that can feel a lot like very personal financial advice.

This is where I suggest you put yourself first and stop to ask the plan rep this simple question:

Is anyone here legally obligated to put my financial interests first? Are you acting as a fiduciary to the plan, or to me?

In other words, who is this recommendation designed to benefit most — me, or the provider offering it who makes money if I buy it?

Your plan’s record keeper works for the plan. Their legal obligation is to the retirement plan itself, not to you as an individual employee. That means their scope of help is severely restricted. They can explain what’s in your plan and how the tools work. That’s the boundary that few employees realize.

A big part of your financial life happens outside this one retirement account. Your taxes. Your spouse’s retirement plan. Your real estate. All your other savings, and most importantly, your future income and lifestyle after you leave this company. None of that is part of what they see.

It’s essential that you operate with this knowledge: plan representatives are allowed to recommend managed accounts, model portfolios, rollovers, and products that keep assets inside their system. It is not the same thing as financial advice.

No one is going to draw this boundary for you. You have to do it yourself. This is so important that I’ll repeat it again. Here’s your script:

Is anyone here legally obligated to act as fiduciary to me, and put my interests first — or are they acting as a fiduciary to the plan?

Unless the answer is “fiduciary only to me,” then it is not financial advice. It’s intended as education or as a product recommendation. But this is when you may need real financial advice from someone who is completely independent of their plan.

That means an advisor who is legally fiduciary to you alone. Someone who evaluates your whole financial life, including tax planning, Roth strategies, estate planning, and retirement income. A highly qualified, fee-only advisor who helps you understand how the decisions you’re making now affect the rest of your life, including whether you’re on track not to run out of money in retirement. (You can find an advisor like this in my Wealthramp network).

At that point, your most trusted resource isn’t a free employee benefit. So yes, use everything your employer offers that genuinely helps you. Take the match. Build savings. Learn what’s valuable to you. And ask questions.

Just be clear about what to accept and what to pass on. When you understand that boundary, that’s when you really start running Me, Inc. the way it deserves to be run.

Growing up, my dad had one piece of advice he repeated so often it became permanently lodged in my brain. He told me it was my responsibility to make sure I never became 100% financially dependent on a boyfriend or a spouse. Not because relationships are destined to fail, but because life has a way of changing. People change.

At the time, it sounded practical. Years later, it sounds prescient.

Women live about six years longer than men on average, and most will spend at least part of their later lives on their own — whether through divorce, widowhood, or choice. That reality raises the stakes. Even when money isn’t the biggest concern in your life at the moment, it’s the one constant that has to support you for as long as you’re here. And for most women, financial independence isn’t hypothetical—it’s part of how life actually works.

I took my dad’s advice.

Whether single or partnered, money is part of your daily life. It shapes decisions, influences stress, and money creates either freedom or friction. You might share it with someone close, keep parts separate, or manage everything solo — but you’re always in a relationship with your money.

For couples, money differences may have nothing to do with math. One partner wants structure and predictability. The other values flexibility and feels more comfortable taking risks, or spending freely. One feels calmer with a financial plan. The other feels boxed in by a plan. Most arguments about money aren’t really about spending or investing — they’re about feeling heard and not feeling threatened by a constant sense of financial insecurity. And that means talking about it can be uncomfortable.

Avoiding those conversations doesn’t create harmony. It just delays the day of reckoning. Silence doesn’t prevent financial decisions from happening — it just means they happen without shared understanding. The data back this up. According to Ellevest, couples who talk about money week-to-week report significantly higher relationship satisfaction (78%), while finances remain the top source of conflict for more than half of couples (56%).

Surprisingly, debt isn’t automatically a huge problem. Not having a plan for it is. What often helps eliminate frustration is structure — agreeing on priorities, timelines, and guardrails that reduce emotional decision-making and eliminate secrecy, which erodes trust faster than almost anything else.

Investing works best when couples agree on purpose, even if they differ on preferences. You don’t have to agree on every index fund or strategy, but you do need clarity about what the money is meant to support — education, retirement, housing, flexibility, or peace of mind.

Simple agreements help you:

• Separate the short-term needs from long-term investments

• Coordinate all the retirement and brokerage accounts as one household strategy

• Decide on a risk range both partners can tolerate

Those conversations are a lot easier when markets are calm, not when the stock market is in a tailspin.

If you’re single your relationship with money is your safety net, your independence, and your ability to make choices on your own terms.

This isn’t always how people think about financial advisors, but this is exactly the kind of moment when a fiduciary advisor can add an experienced, neutral voice to the conversation. A fee-only fiduciary is legally required to act only in your best interest, without competing incentives. The payoff isn’t just better decisions—it’s trust, alignment, and a clear game plan to move your life forward. (If you’ve been reading this newsletter for awhile, you know I’m a huge proponent of fee-only fiduciaries. It’s why I created Wealthramp!)

Taking care of your relationship with money is one of the most loving things you can do — for yourself and for anyone you choose to share it with. I didn’t just learn that lesson. I’ve lived long enough to fully understand why it matters.

The Treasury Department and the IRS are rolling out a new investment account designed to start at birth, with the money belonging to the child. More than a million families submitted early elections and hundreds of thousands more followed right after the game. The accounts themselves are expected to launch in July 2026, but the rules that determine how they work are being set now.

If you’re planning to have children—or may in the future—you’ll want to understand what these accounts are designed to do. While the launch is still ahead, the most important decisions are happening now.

They’re called Invest America Accounts (you may also hear them called “Trump accounts” or “530A accounts”).

How “Trump accounts” work

For children who qualify, the account is seeded with a one-time $1,000 government contribution to get it started.

A parent or authorized adult has to elect to open the account through the tax system. The Treasury and IRS have confirmed this election is tied to your federal tax return, not a brokerage firm. The newly released IRS Form 4547 is used to make that election and to request the $1,000 seed.

If no election is made, the Treasury has said the account may be created automatically when a tax return is filed. How that works in practice is still being finalized. Either way, it’s triggered through the tax system.

At the start, the account is administered by the U.S. Treasury through a designated financial agent. Parents don’t choose a brokerage right away. Over time, families may be allowed to move the account to a private custodian, but the Treasury’s custodian is the starting point. That structure keeps costs low and guardrails tight early on.

Once active, the money is invested only in broad, low-cost U.S. stock market index funds. Think: a 401(k) for a baby, with a very limited investment menu on purpose.

Parents control the account while the child is growing, but the child owns it. The money is locked up until age 18—by design. After that? Let’s be honest. An 18-year-old can still do something impulsive, like buy a cool new Jeep. The difference is there are real tax consequences and penalties if the money isn’t used according to the rules. Ouch.

Adding money

Before the child becomes an adult, families can add money over time, up to $5,000 per year. It creates a simple way for family members to make meaningful gifts that support education or other long-term goals.

Starting in July 2026, employers may also be allowed to contribute—up to $2,500 per year, tax-free to the employee, counting toward that same annual limit. Whether employers embrace this is still an open question, but it’s part of the design.

One important detail that’s easy to miss: the government’s one-time $1,000 seed contribution is limited to children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028. Timing matters. Older children can still have Trump accounts opened and funded by family contributions—they just won’t receive the seed.

Used alongside tools like 529 plans—and paired with clear, practical education—Invest America Accounts could become one of the most meaningful on-ramps to financial literacy we’ve ever had. For families already saving for college, this is also a moment when a fee-only fiduciary advisor can help connect the dots so these accounts work together instead of sitting in silos.

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The real opportunity

I served on the board of the California Jump$tart Coalition, focused on financial literacy from kindergarten through college. One thing has always been clear: it’s incredibly hard to teach kids about money when it’s abstract.

This changes that.

Having an account in a child’s name makes ownership real. Compounding isn’t theoretical anymore. Market ups and downs suddenly have context. It nudges families from just getting by toward planning ahead—especially those who’ve never invested before.

Even if a family never adds another dollar, a $1,000 seed invested at a modest 7% annual return could grow to roughly $3,300–$3,500 by age 18. Add just $83 a month starting early, and that number climbs to roughly $38,000–$40,000. That’s the power of time and consistency.

I can’t think of another program in my lifetime with this kind of structure and so little downside. Child investment accounts aren’t new—versions of baby bonds have drawn bipartisan support for years.

The real risk is education. If families don’t understand how to use the account, an 18-year-old could treat it like free money instead of a foundation.

Right now, families can take a concrete step by filing IRS Form 4547 with their 2025 federal tax return. Submitting the form doesn’t move money yet, but it locks in eligibility and requests the $1,000 government seed if the child qualifies.

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Account activation and funding come later. Treasury has said authentication details will be issued beginning in mid-2026, and no contributions—including the seed—will be deposited until the accounts officially open in July 2026.

That’s the real headline. The money comes later. The decisions—and the chance to get this right—are happening now.

And this time, we actually have the chance to get that part right.

I understand why this proposal is getting traction. I’m not against it – it would be like taking a stand against peace on earth. For many would-be buyers, the down payment is the single biggest barrier. And retirement accounts often represent the largest pool of money people can tap into.

But this is where I pause.

Because retirement plans were built for a very specific purpose: helping people accumulate enough money so they don’t outlive it. And we don’t have to look very far for proof of what happens when retirement plan guardrails loosen.

Research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College shows that retirement “leakage” — money taken out before retirement and never replaced — reduces retirement wealth by about 20% over a lifetime. When people leave jobs, roughly 40% cash out their 401(k) instead of rolling it over. Most don’t intend to drain it– they just never manage to rebuild it.

I think back to being in that exact position – in my mid-30s, when I was just at the point of buying a house on Cape Cod. I wanted a chunky 20% down to avoid paying PMI. That was the whole challenge. And when looking at the sources to fund that downpayment, my retirement plan was sitting there with its hand raised.

And yes, employees can already use their 401(k) for a down payment today — but only by taking a loan. That’s if their employer’s plan allows it. That option comes with strict limits ($10,000), mandatory repayment schedules, and real risk if someone changes or loses their job.

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Let me walk you through how I think about this. Say I needed $50,000 for the down payment. I had two choices: borrow that $50,000 as part of a 30-year mortgage, or pull it from my 401(k) to avoid borrowing it.

If I borrowed that $50,000 through a 30-year mortgage at around 5% — a typical rate back then — the total interest over 30 years would have been roughly $46,000.

If that same $50,000 stayed invested in a 401(k) earning a reasonable 7% annual return, over 30 years it would grow to more than $300,000.

So yes, using retirement money might save you $46,000 in mortgage interest. But is it worth costing you over $300,000 in lost retirement growth?

Looking through the lens of the actual trade-off you’d be making is a game changer. So you have to factor in what it’s really costing to raid your retirement plan, which forces an honest question: If you need to tap your 401(k) to buy a home, is that truly an “investment” decision, or is it a lifestyle purchase you want very badly at that moment? Can you really afford the house?

There’s nothing wrong with wanting the house. But policy shouldn’t drive your decision-making. Housing affordability matters. So does not becoming house-rich and cash-poor later in life.

There are many personal financial considerations that go into deciding whether a home is truly a good investment. Your employer is not your financial advisor and can’t offer the kind of deep-dive analysis you’d need to make that decision smartly.

Retirement plans already carry enough responsibility. Turning them into a housing affordability tool risks creating a problem that won’t reveal itself until it’s much harder to fix.

If this becomes law or rule soon, expect a gradual rollout starting perhaps in 2027 for early adopters, not an overnight change.

If you’re thinking about a home purchase, or any other major financial milestone, Wealthramp is here with a trusted network of fiduciary, fee-only advisors who work for you — and only you.

For those who consider themselves pre-retirees, it’s no longer just asking “How do I grow my money?” It’s, “How do I manage it without making a huge, expensive investing mistake at exactly the wrong time?”

When I think about that question, my thoughts turn back to one of the experts I’ve long respected: Christine Benz. I first met Christine more than 30 years ago, and over that time she’s become one of the clear-headed voices on retirement planning at Morningstar. She has a rare ability to take complicated ideas and explain them in depth in ways that actually help people make better decisions.

One concept she writes about frequently is the bucket strategy. It’s where you organize all of your retirement savings based on when you’ll need the money, rather than envisioning just one big investment account.

The first bucket is money you’ll need to spend now or next month — typically cash or cash-like investments that might cover the next year or two of living expenses. Bucket one money needs to be completely available. The goal isn’t investing it, it’s about having the money to pay your bills, and “just in case.” It’s your sleep-at-night money.

The second bucket holds money you’ll need a bit later. This is often invested safely in bonds or other relatively steady investments designed to support spending a few short years down the road without taking big risks. The point is to not commit this mid-term money to long-term investments.

Bucket three is for your longer-term investments. If you’re 60 now, you likely won’t spend this money for a long time. You have time to put it to work. This is where stock investments usually live. ETFs, index funds, individual stocks, or even real estate investments can be volatile in the short term, but over longer periods they’ve historically provided the growth retirees need to keep up with inflation. Inflation and longevity are two big risks to retirees’ savings that have to be mitigated.

Christine didn’t invent the strategy but she writes that this time-based structure helps retirees avoid one of the most stressful moments in retirement: being forced to sell stocks during a market downturn just to pay everyday expenses. If you know your near-term spending is covered, it’s easier to leave long-term investments alone and let them recover.

A simple example helps. A retiree might keep enough cash to cover the next year — or even two — of living expenses. A combination of bonds and conservative, dividend-paying stocks can help support spending after that. Stocks, ETFs, or index funds focused on growth are set aside for later years, when growth still really matters. As time passes, money is spent from the first bucket, and the others can be replenished over market cycles. It’s a way to mentally organize your money so it syncs up with how retirement actually unfolds.

Managing retirement money gets really complicated fast — taxes, lifestyle changes, family, health. One appeal of the bucket strategy is that it can reduce some of the stress of investing and make spending your savings feel more manageable.

Have questions about your own financial situation? Take my free, 2-minute survey.

It’s not perfect. Managing three buckets can feel a bit complicated itself, and some critics argue that a well-diversified portfolio with a thoughtful withdrawal plan can accomplish similar goals without dividing assets into buckets. Still, this three-bucket strategy has been around for years — and there’s a reason it continues to resonate, and why Christine Benz continues to write about it.

This way of organizing your money isn’t right or wrong. It’s simply one tried-and-true way to connect your money to real life — and sometimes, that clarity makes all the difference.

P.S. If you’re reading this because you’re preparing for that first conversation about your retirement plans, you’re already doing something powerful: you’re taking ownership of your financial life.

When you’re ready, Wealthramp is here with a curated network of fiduciary, fee-only advisors who work for you — and only you.

We weren’t even talking about the stock market at first. Just catching up. And then he said something that made me stop.

“Most pre-retirees don’t realize how many decisions are still affecting their money — even when they think nothing is happening.”

That stuck with me.

Because so many of the pre-retirees I talk to believe they’re invested in the simplest possible way: broad index funds, low fees, no second-guessing. Let the market work.

Imagine that’s you. You’re 62. You’ve done everything “right.” You saved consistently. You didn’t chase hot stocks or trends. You didn’t panic during downturns. Over time, you built a portfolio worth more than a million dollars, mostly invested in broad S&P 500 or total market funds at a place like Vanguard.

You don’t trade. You’re not trying to pick winning horses. You’re betting on the whole race — and for a long time, that worked very well.

But here’s the part many people haven’t revisited: “hands-off” doesn’t mean “nothing is happening.”

Even with an index fund, the index itself changes over time as companies are added, removed, or reshuffled. When a stock like Nvidia grows to represent a much bigger share of the S&P 500, your exposure to it increases automatically — without you doing anything.

When you chose a broad index strategy years ago, you made one big decision upfront: I’m going to stay fully invested, no matter what. You committed through good markets and bad ones.

That made perfect sense when retirement felt far away.

What’s changed isn’t your index fund. What’s changed is the market around it.

Markets move faster now. They react more sharply to news, fear, and momentum. A growing share of day-to-day market moves comes from investors and strategies that adjust quickly. You may not invest that way — but your index fund owns the same stocks they trade.

And that matters more as retirement gets closer.

Your index fund doesn’t slow down when markets feel expensive. It doesn’t reduce risk because you may soon need income. It doesn’t know when you plan to retire or how flexible you really are if the market drops.

It just stays invested.

That isn’t wrong or right. But it does present a choice.

As Marc put it, investing in a broad index fund doesn’t eliminate decisions — it means you made one big decision upfront, and then stopped adjusting unless you step in.

Here’s why that matters when you’re five years from retirement — or closer.

At that point, market swings aren’t just numbers on a statement. Timing matters. A sharp drop a year or two before you plan to stop working can affect how confident you feel, how flexible your plans are, and how long you’re willing to wait for a recovery.

Your index fund doesn’t know any of that. It doesn’t know when withdrawals will begin. It doesn’t know that a downturn now feels very different than one did twenty years ago.

It just stays invested.

So is “stay put” still a valid approach? Absolutely. But staying fully invested works best now when it’s paired with awareness.

This is also where it can be smart to talk with an advisor — not to change everything, and not to chase something new — but to pressure-test your thinking.

Find a vetted, fee-only advisor at Wealthramp. Take my 2-minute survey to begin. It’s completely free and we never sell your data.

I hear this all the time from readers who want to ask questions like:

What does staying fully invested mean for me over the next five years and beyond?
How would a sharp market drop realistically affect my retirement plans?
What would tell me that my comfort level has changed?

For a long time, investors were told the smartest thing they could do was stop thinking about their investments altogether.

At some point — especially when retirement is no longer abstract — being thoughtful again isn’t panic or second-guessing.

It’s paying attention.

Warmly,

Pam