Each September, National Preparedness Month encourages Americans to be ready for disasters or emergencies at home, work, and in their communities. I’ve written extensively about this over the years. Let’s look at practical preparedness through the lens of 2026 to get you thinking. In 2026, the most common disasters in different regions of the U.S.
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Incapacity is a topic near and dear to my heart. When dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the term incapacity took on new meaning for me. I realized it wasn’t something I could always “see” physically. And now I understood that incapacity had both medical and legal meaning. Incapacity medically refers to a person’s inability to
Biometric authentication – let me explain. A dear friend called me over the weekend. She relayed a story about a grieving widow who wasn’t able to access her late husband’s accounts due to his use of biometric authentication. She went on to explain that a computer person took the late husband’s devices to the funeral
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Photo by Artem Podrez: https://www.pexels.com/photo/car-with-open-hood-8985969/ I love this definition by Brainly: “The metaphor “under the hood” refers to the internal workings or complexities of a system that are not immediately visible, often used in contexts like technology or mechanics. It emphasizes understanding the details that support the surface-level functionality.” I must admit, knowing what’s under
Were you aware that Social Security is fully transitioning to Electronic Payments? The Social Security Administration is quietly removing one of its payment options in response to an executive order passed last fall. As of June 2026, 99.6% of all claimants receive their checks this way, but more than 283,000 still receive physical checks by
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Mark your calendars! The Parent Plus student loans will undergo changes on July 1, 2026. https://www.ppsl.org/ outlines the changes for you, so you can be ready to be ready. What’s Changing? New Borrowing Limits Starting on July 1, 2026: Loss of Access to Some Affordable Repayment Plans, also starting on July 1, 2026 Image by
Happy May! Watching the trees, grass, and flowers at this time of year invites us to celebrate and notice changes all around. If you had asked me twenty years ago about topics of interest, I doubt I would have considered the elements of contingency planning I focus on today! Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay Thinking
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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,
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
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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
