Blog
Earth Month: How Everyday Choices Add Up
For Earth Month, let’s look at where we are and how everyday choices make a difference. images-assets.nasa.gov/image/art002e023175/art002e023175~orig.jpg Stand at the edge of Antarctica and look up. The air is so clear it almost hums. Researchers at the international stations there have spent decades watching the ozone layer overhead — counting it, measuring it, worrying about […]
Passport News
I read two separate articles about Passports this week. They caught my attention as it is that time of year when people are talking about travel! If you’re planning summer travel and having a valid passport is a part of your plans, here are important updates for you. The demand for passports has gone up, […]
Financial Literacy Month
April is Financial Literacy Month. While most of the advice you’ll see focuses on budgeting apps and retirement accounts, there’s a quieter, more generous form of financial literacy that rarely gets enough attention: organizing your financial life so that the people who love you can actually help you when it matters most. Whether it’s a […]
Social Security & Surviving Spouses
Losing a spouse is emotionally and financially difficult. I read an article this week on FinancialBuzz.com discussing ways to navigate different benefit types from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and use strategic timing to try to optimize what you receive. If it’s helpful, here are the points to consider. Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay […]
World Backup Day
Don’t Be an April Fool — Back Up Your Data! March 31st is World Backup Day! World Backup Day falls on March 31st, the day before April Fools’ Day, for good reason: don’t be fooled into thinking it can’t happen to you. Imagine waking up tomorrow and every photo from the last 20 years — […]
Social Security and Foreign Travel
Traveling when we’re older happens frequently! I was surprised by a quiet regulatory update from the Social Security Administration and wanted to share it today. As of December 2025, the SSA paid benefits to approximately 75 million people, of whom about 11 million were under age 65 and receiving disability benefits, and nearly 5 million […]
Caught Off Guard
You’re not alone, things catch me off guard, too! This week, I faced something I hadn’t given much thought to for years. My incredibly reliable car, which I maintain regularly, displayed the engine light and VSC light. Hmmm, yikes, I haven’t planned on a new car purchase, now what? The good news is that ignition […]
Spring Ahead
It’s that time of year again, except for Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii; Daylight Saving Time (DST) is in effect for 48 states in the USA (aka, we spring ahead one hour!) Daylight Saving Time originated in 1918 as a WWI-era measure to conserve fuel and energy by maximizing evening sunlight, officially established […]
Inherited IRA’s
Inherited IRAs have been in the news of late. Whether you are planning to leave your IRA to someone or you receive someone’s IRA, planning includes understanding the legislative rules that will apply. The Secure Act of 2019 mandated that certain heirs must withdraw all money from an inherited IRA within 10 years of the original account […]