Finer Wealth

06/25/2026

Fallen trees damage property and strain neighborly relations. Who pays when your tree falls?

Your liability for damages that occur when a tree on your property falls on your neighbor’s property is not clear cut.

06/25/2026

Which is the final word: your beneficiary designations or your will?

Your beneficiary designations. In almost every circumstance, it’s beneficiary designations.

It's one of the most overlooked facts in estate strategies. The beneficiary forms on file for your retirement accounts, insurance policies, and other accounts are legally binding—and they almost always override whatever your will says.

A former spouse still listed on a retirement account can inherit it. Someone written out of your will entirely can still receive an insurance payout. Assets intended for your children may pass to someone else because a form was never updated.

This applies across the board—even to payable-on-death bank accounts. 📋

The good news: a beneficiary review takes minutes. 💙

When did you last review yours?

06/24/2026

Paying your mortgage every two weeks instead of monthly could knock years off your loan. See the numbers and decide if bi-weekly payments make sense for you.

See how switching to bi-weekly mortgage payments could reduce interest and shorten your loan.

06/24/2026

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.

06/23/2026

What's the real rate of return on your portfolio? Learn about how inflation plays a factor in your investments. Read more now.

Learn about the role of inflation when considering your portfolio’s rate of return with this helpful article.

06/22/2026

How long will it actually take to pay off that credit card? See the timeline and total interest costs—then decide if you want to speed things up.

Find out how long it may take to pay off a credit card balance and what it costs in interest.

06/21/2026

Whether you are already retired or just starting to prepare, take a look at your home. Is rightsizing the right decision?

What does your home really cost?

06/21/2026

There's a version of your father you didn't know. The one who existed before you came along. Before the responsibility. Before the sacrifices, you may not have fully understood until you were older.

Most of us only piece that together with time.

What fathers leave behind isn't just memories. It's a way of moving through the world.

A standard.

A sense of what it looks like to take care of the people who depend on you.

That's worth honoring. 👔

Happy Father's Day weekend to every father and father figure out there.

06/20/2026

Is buying always better than renting? Not necessarily. Run the numbers on both sides to see which option makes more sense for your situation and timeline.

Compare the long-term financial outcomes of renting versus buying a home.

06/19/2026

With increasing wealth comes unique financial challenges.

Affluent investors face unique challenges when putting together an investment strategy. Make sure you keep these in mind.