Certus Wealth Management

Certus Wealth Management Financial advice you can trust. The future you deserve.

09/02/2026

Most people set up beneficiary designations years ago on retirement accounts, bank accounts, and insurance policies, and never look at them again. Life changes though. Marriages, divorces, births, moves to a new state, all of it can make old designations outdated. It only takes about 30 minutes to pull up your statements and confirm everything still reflects your wishes. Reach out if you want to walk through it together, [email protected].

08/25/2026

Back-to-school season is here, and it's a good nudge to think about education savings too. If you have kids or grandkids, a 529 plan can be a powerful tool for covering future tuition and expenses. Let's talk about how education savings fits into your broader financial plan. [email protected]

08/18/2026

The Fed met at the end of July and held rates steady for the fifth meeting in a row. But the vote wasn't as unified as it looks. Three regional Fed presidents dissented in favor of raising rates, the first time in nearly a decade that three policymakers have pushed in the same direction at once.

Markets took notice, with stocks slipping and longer-term yields moving higher as investors weighed how much pressure is building inside the Fed. Stocks have since rebounded from this news.

Our latest newsletter breaks down what happened, what Chairman Warsh's approach signals, and what we're watching heading into the Fed's next meeting in September.

Read the full update here: https://tinyurl.com/3aajjrx2

08/04/2026

Summer tends to be when people put financial planning on hold. I get it. But it's also one of the better windows of the year for a conversation about Roth conversions, because you're in the middle of the year and can still estimate your income with some accuracy.

The basic idea is moving traditional IRA dollars to a Roth, paying taxes now, and enjoying tax-free growth and withdrawals later. Whether that tradeoff makes sense depends on your current bracket, your expected future income, and how it fits into your broader picture and goals. There's no universal answer, but strategizing in July rather than December usually helps to provide clarity and get ahead of the year-end rush.

If you've been curious whether a conversion belongs in your plan, now's a good time to find out.

07/07/2026

Mid-year is a natural checkpoint. Not to overhaul everything, but to ask a few real questions.

-Are you on pace with retirement contributions?
-Did something shift this year that changes your tax picture?
-Are there moves that make more sense to start now than in December?

The families I work with who feel most prepared in January are usually the ones who did a quiet review in July. If you want to do a quick pulse check, my inbox is open: [email protected]

06/30/2026

We're officially at the halfway point of 2026. If your financial situation has shifted this year, with a job change, a major expense, a windfall, or a life event, the second half is the time to recalibrate, not December.

Some of the most impactful planning moves I make with clients happen in the summer, when there's still time to act thoughtfully rather than scramble. If you want to run through where things stand for your unique situation, reach out: [email protected]

06/23/2026

Kevin Warsh chaired his first FOMC this past week. My take is in the newsletter I recently sent out. https://tinyurl.com/59pkny2f

A new Fed chair brings a different communication style and potentially a different framework for how policy gets made. That matters for interest rates, borrowing costs, and how the Fed responds when things get complicated. Understanding the shift now is more useful than trying to catch up when markets react.

06/16/2026

One of my favorite parts of my job is watching clients' kids grow up. From opening their first custodial account to helping them understand compound interest to celebrating their first job. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with more kids this year than typical, both with clients and through a speaking engagement with the Young Men's Service League (YMSL).

Financial education isn't just about the mechanics (though those matter). It's about building the right relationship with money early. Understanding that it's finite. That spending decisions have consequences. That starting early creates massive advantages.

If you're working on teaching your kids about money, I put together a guide on the 50-40-10 framework we use in our house. It's simple enough for a 10-year-old to understand but builds the foundation for lifelong money management.

Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/562z7e8b

What money lessons are you working to teach your kids?

06/09/2026

Most people file their return and move on. The return is actually one of the more useful planning documents you have all year.

Did you owe more than expected? Get a bigger refund than planned? See a shift from a job change, investment gains, or a life event? Those surprises are data points. They tell you something about what to adjust before the December scramble. The first half of the year is when good tax planning happens. Coordinating with your financial planner and CPA now, updating withholding, timing income strategically. That work pays off next April.

If your 2025 return turned up something unexpected, it's a good prompt for a conversation.

06/02/2026

Markets have had a lot going on this year. Geopolitical conflict, oil price swings, questions about Fed policy, and still, corporate earnings have continued to come in strong.

My latest newsletter covers where things stand, what adjustments we made to client portfolios this quarter, and why staying disciplined through the volatility has mattered more than most people might expect.

If you want a clear, plain-English read on the current market environment and the thinking behind how we're positioning, it's worth a few minutes: https://tinyurl.com/3fktbr9t

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