A year has passed since Anna first sat across from me, exhausted, grieving, and overwhelmed by a world she never expected to navigate alone. I remember her walking into that first meeting with a folder full of unopened mail and a heart full of fear.
“I don’t know where to begin.” Anna: "Rick, I sit down to sort things out and I freeze. I’m terrified of making the wrong decision. I get unsolicited advice from family members and friends on what I should be doing. My brother-in-law tells me I should sell the house."
2025 has been quite an impressive year for stocks. The unmanaged S&P 500 index is up over 15% year-to-date1 and closing in on what will likely be a third calendar year of strong double-digit returns.
How often do you use a debit card? Today debit cards are widely used, but are often not the optimal method for payments. When opening a checking account, banks and credit unions usually issue a debit card with the new account.
As a financial planner, one of my favorite questions to ask clients is: “What’s going on in your life?” It sounds simple, but you’d be amazed how often big life decisions happen first — and the phone call to me comes after.
Gold is very different from a stock or bond investment. It is a tangible store of value that has a long history. For centuries civilization has used gold for trade and commerce, making it a familiar commodity. Like other commodities, there is only so much gold on earth and only so much in circulation. While the ability to mine and extract has continued to improve, there is a finite amount of gold. Because there is only so much gold, the value of it tends to be governed by supply and demand. Gold is not like currencies where a government can decide to increase supply by just printing more money.