Envision Wealth, strategic partner of First Financial Group

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Envision Wealth, strategic partner of First Financial Group

Envision Wealth is a full service financial planning and wealth management firm. Envision Wealth.

Our holistic approach to business planning allows us to help our clients grow both their business and personal balance sheets. a Strategic Partner of First Financial Group is comprised of four Registered Reps: Jen Boldt, Jay DeVries, Tony Patterson, and Todd Thomas. Please reach out to the representatives directly to learn which states they are licensed to solicit securities and sell insurance.

06/10/2026

Most couples spend years preparing financially for retirement.

Very few have talked about what retirement will actually look like.

Not the number. The life.

• Where will you live?

• What will your days look like?

• What happens if one of you is ready to stop working and the other is not?

A 2025 Fidelity survey found that 48 percent disagree on the age they prepare to retire. And research from Ameriprise found that nearly two-thirds expect to retire at the same time, while only 11 percent actually do.

The gap between what couples assume and what they have actually discussed is where retirement quietly breaks down.

The good news is that most couples are not as far apart as they fear. They just have not had the conversation yet.

If retirement is somewhere on your horizon, the most valuable thing you can do right now is not check your portfolio.

It is to sit down with your partner and start asking the questions you have both been putting off.

06/03/2026

What would you do with a windfall?

A business sale. An inheritance. A bonus that lands bigger than expected.

Most people assume they'd handle it well.

But sudden money follows patterns. And the patterns aren't always flattering.

Psychologists call it sudden wealth syndrome: the anxiety, decision paralysis, and relationship pressure that arrive alongside a large sum. It shows up whether the windfall was a complete surprise or something you spent years building toward.

The 5 most common mistakes we see:

• Upgrading your lifestyle before a strategy exists

• Giving to family under emotional pressure

• Attempting to make decisions without professional guidance

• Freezing and making no decisions at all

• Missing the critical deadlines in year one

All five can be managed, but only if you get ahead of the emotions before the decisions start piling up.

The most important thing you can do in the first 90 days? Maybe nothing.

Tell very few people. Then consider building a team of professionals who can offer insights and guidance.

There is rarely a cost to waiting. There is frequently a cost to moving too quickly.

05/25/2026

Yes, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. But let's not forget what this day is really about.

Today, we remember those who gave everything. The men and women who served and never came home.

Some of us knew them. Some of us are here because of them.

However you spend today, take a moment to pause. Enjoy the long weekend, but hold space for what it actually means.

To the families carrying that loss: we honor them with you.

05/18/2026

Think you have to start claiming Social Security at 62?

That's a myth that could cost you.

Fidelity recently broke down this common misconception with the facts behind Social Security:

• Claiming at 62 locks in a permanent 30 percent reduction compared to waiting until full retirement age.

• Waiting from 62 to 70 can increase your monthly benefit by approximately 77 percent.

• If you're divorced after 10+ years of marriage and haven't remarried, you may be entitled to 50 percent of your ex-spouse's benefit, and claiming it doesn't affect theirs at all.

• Benefits are based on your highest 35 earning years, not just what you made before 65. Working past 65 can still improve your calculation.

• Once you claim it, that's your benefit, adjusted only for cost-of-living increases.

The decision of when to claim is one of the most consequential decisions when preparing for retirement.

For a benefit designed to last 20, 30, or more years, the math is worth getting right.

05/04/2026

Behind every small business is someone who believes in themselves.

Business owners carry a weight most people don't see.

You're the CEO, the HR department, and sometimes the night janitor, all in the same day.

The financial picture is more complicated, too.

Choosing a retirement account, balancing what you pay yourself with reinvesting in the business, and making sure the company serves your life, not the other way around.

Think about your local coffee shop, the local family-owned restaurant, and the flower shop—those places exist because someone took a risk and kept showing up.

This week, skip the chain and stop by a small business instead.

04/27/2026

A lot of what drives outcomes is below the surface.

For example, in 2022, when the S&P 500 fell more than 18 percent, two-thirds of mutual funds still made capital gains distributions, according to a 2025 Fidelity report.

That is not a headline most investors expect, and it is a reminder that taxable distributions from mutual funds do not always reflect market performance.

What’s really going on:
A mutual fund can distribute taxable capital gains when the manager sells underlying holdings at a profit, even if you don’t sell any shares of the fund.

It can happen in a down year; gains on individual holdings can occur while the overall fund value declines.

Buying a mutual fund late in the year can still leave you responsible for distributions tied to that full calendar year.

Fidelity cites a Morningstar study showing taxes may reduce portfolio returns by up to 2 percent annually on average when not accounted for.

There are ways to manage surprise distributions, including tax-smart account placement, tax-managed funds, and evaluating ETFs, where appropriate.

Remember, mutual funds and ETFs are sold only by prospectus. Please consider the charges, risks, expenses, and investment objectives carefully before investing. A prospectus containing this and other information about the investment company can be obtained from your financial professional. Read it carefully before you invest or send money.

This is not about avoiding mutual funds. It is about the benefits of working with a financial professional who can show you what mutual funds pay capital gains and what funds are designed to manage payouts. Your tax, legal and accounting professionals can show you how a capital gain will affect your tax situation.

04/20/2026

April is National Stress Awareness Month, and caring for aging parents is one of the biggest stressors many families face.

In our experience, stress drops when the basics are handled before there is urgency.

Here are 5 things to consider:

• Financial power of attorney, so someone can act if needed

• Healthcare proxy, so medical decisions are clear and legally supported

• Account access, so a trusted contact can see what is happening without scrambling

• Bill pay strategy, so nothing becomes a late fee problem on top of everything else

• A shared “where things live” file, documents, logins, contacts, including key professionals

These are not fun conversations, but they are often a gift to future selves and to siblings who may need to step in.

When preparations have been made, families can give more time and attention to what actually matters.

04/13/2026

What can a $5 Frappuccino teach your teen about building wealth?

April is National Financial Literacy Month, and here's a number worth sharing at the dinner table.

If your teen opens a Roth IRA at 18 with $1,000 from a part-time job and adds $1,000 a year, that single account could be worth nearly $500,000 by age 65. Tax-free.

Think they can't save $1,000 a year? Skipping the daily Frappuccino more than covers it.

But the best financial education isn't about the math. It's about real decisions with real consequences.

A few things that actually work:

• Hand them cash instead of a credit card for shopping. Let them keep what they don't spend.

• Give them a clothing budget for the year. If they blow it by October, that's the lesson.

• Have the college money talk before they fall in love with a school. As one counselor put it, "Have the conversation before they buy the hoodie."

• With the Roth IRA, you can show them that there are certain rules with certain accounts. For example, to qualify for the tax-free and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings, Roth IRA distributions must meet a 5-year holding requirement and occur after age 59½. Also, tax-free and penalty-free withdrawals can also be taken under certain other circumstances, such as the owner's death. The original Roth IRA owner is not required to take minimum annual withdrawals.

What's one money lesson you wish someone had taught you earlier?

04/06/2026

Ever had that moment where everything in the financial picture looks “fine,” but it is still not clear what to do next?

That is what Financial Literacy Month can be: moving from information to decisions.

A few ways it shows up in real life:

• Knowing which levers matter most: savings, taxes, and behavior during volatility.

• Streamlining overcomplexity, more accounts and products are not always better.

• Treating retirement as a cash flow strategy, not just about investments.

• Preparing for healthcare and longevity costs with intention, not assumptions.

• Keeping estate documents, titling, and beneficiaries aligned, so everything works when it matters.

The payoff is clarity, fewer reactive decisions, and a strategy that stays coordinated as life changes.

Working with a financial professional can help translate knowledge into action across the full picture.

Address

6912 University Avenue , Suite 1
Cedar Falls, IA
50613

Website

https://www.ewiowa.com/

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