Financial Planning & Wellness
Get guidance on budgeting, saving, and building a plan that supports your full life — not just retirement.
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Will the Fed hike interest rates in 2026? Key takeaways from the July FOMC meeting
The Federal Reserve made no changes to its interest rate target at their July meeting, but change could be coming. Not only is inflation running well above the Fed’s target, but it is clear some members of the Fed’s committee are ready to hike now. Here is why we think rate hikes could be imminent ... Read more
Can you use AI to build your investment portfolio?
Artificial Intelligence is likely to substantially change many parts of our lives. Investing is no exception. However, we would argue that AI can be helpful, but also harmful to making quality investment decisions. Because of some key limitations to generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude, we would be very careful using AI alone ... Read more
Q2 2026 performance review: What drove the market and what might come next
Global stocks had the best quarter since 2020, with the Morningstar Global Markets index gaining 14.7%. The apparent cease fire in Iran caused oil prices to plunge, which helped boost stocks. In addition, U.S. companies posted exceptionally strong earnings during 2Q, especially companies related to the AI infrastructure trade. U.S. bonds ended the quarter with ... Read more
How much can you withdraw in retirement? Beyond the 4% rule.
A major question for those thinking about retirement is how much can I afford to draw from my account? This is a complex question, involving a lot of factors. There are some helpful basic guidelines or rules-of-thumb that could be a good place to start. However, these are usually too simplistic for most real-life situations. ... Read more
Will the Fed hike rates? Takeaways from Kevin Warsh’s first meeting
The Federal Reserve held their first meeting with Kevin Warsh as Chair on June 17. Warsh comes into the job with many challenges. Warsh himself has said he wants a “regime change” at the Fed, and said he plans on being “reform-oriented, abandoning old models.” Now that he is Fed Chair, we’re going to find ... Read more
How do I perform an insurance review?
We all want to feel secure knowing that the people and things we love most are protected. Life moves incredibly fast, and the safety net you put in place a few years ago might not match the life you are building today. Taking a little time to align your protection with your current world brings ... Read more
Why picking individual stocks usually underperforms the market
A vast body of data suggests that picking winners in the stock market is extremely hard. Academic research in the 1960’s and 1970’s first provided some evidence that most active portfolio managers fail to outperform the broad market. This led to the popularization of index funds during the 1980’s and 1990’s, which continues today. However, ... Read more
Why did I get Form 5498 after filing my taxes?
If you just opened your mail to find Form 5498, don’t panic. Your heart might skip a beat thinking you’ve missed a deadline or made a mistake on your recently filed tax return, but breathe easy. This form is for your records and typically arrives well after the April filing deadline for a very specific ... Read more
What you need to know before buying the SpaceX and Anthropic IPOs
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, SpaceX is planning on holding its initial public offering (IPO) on June 12. This has the potential be the largest IPO of all-time, reportedly aiming to raise $80 billion. This IPO could soon be followed by Anthropic and OpenAI, both supposedly targeting IPOs in the fourth ... Read more