I've made a big change: I joined Rialto Wealth in Upstate NY as an advisor and partner. Here's why employee ownership matters to me, what I think makes a good client fit, and one small thing you can do with your retirement plan today.
Mid-July, I sat at the kitchen table with a notebook and did what I should have done in January: a real money checkup. Six things — 401(k) contributions, beneficiaries, tax withholding, QCDs, portfolio balance, and my organizational mess — took me one evening. Here's the list I'll never skip again.
Every year the headlines shout that Medicare's hospital fund runs out in 2033. But the real story is quieter and bigger: total Medicare spending will overtake Social Security in 11 years. I broke down the 2026 Trustees Report into what it means for my own retirement — and your next budget meeting.
I sat across from a woman who'd retired the exact same day as another client, with the exact same portfolio, and their outcomes could not have been more different. It has nothing to do with luck — and everything to do with what happens in your first five years.
Every January, my husband and I sit at the kitchen table with one simple goal: take a big-picture look at our finances. Here's the five-step template we use — no spreadsheets required.