Padilla Wealth Management

10/15/2026

Your child may already have a Trump Account. That doesn’t mean it’s set up.

The Treasury Department says automatic enrollment now covers every eligible child with a valid Social Security number. But a parent or legal guardian still has to formally activate the account, either at trumpaccounts.gov or through the program’s app.

📌 Babies who are U.S. citizens with a Social Security number and were born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, may qualify for a one-time $1,000 government contribution once the account is claimed.

A few details families are weighing: Yearly contributions are capped at $5,000, though government and charitable contributions don’t count toward that limit. The money generally can’t be touched until a child turns 18, and earnings are taxed when withdrawn. That’s a key difference from 529 accounts, which grow tax-free but are limited to education costs.

Which account fits best depends on what a family is saving for, and that’s a conversation worth having with a financial professional.

Your child may be enrolled in a “Trump Account” whether you realize it or not. Rolled out earlier this year, the Trump Accounts program allows parents to claim special investment accounts for children who are 18 years old or younger.

10/14/2026

Required minimum distributions can catch retirees off guard. Use this calculator to estimate your RMD and think through how it fits into your overall picture.

Calculate your required minimum distribution amount based on your account balance and age.

10/14/2026

A mother in California picked up the phone and heard her daughter's voice, panicked, saying she'd been kidnapped and needed money immediately.

What she'd heard wasn't her daughter. It was an AI-generated clone of her voice.

In a 2025 study, scientists found that when people heard a cloned voice, they correctly identified the voice as AI-generated only about 60 percent of the time.

The FBI attributed more than $890 million in 2025 losses to AI-enabled fraud, and voice cloning is one of the main drivers behind that number.

It is not only older adults being targeted. Younger family members get these calls too, often framed as a sibling or friend in trouble. Older adults just tend to lose the most per incident.

Two ways to protect your family.

🔐 Agree on a private code word or question with the people a scammer is most likely to impersonate (kids, parents, spouse)

📞 If a call like this comes in and you have not set up a code word yet, hang up, then call the real person back

When in doubt, slow down and verify.

10/12/2026

Today, we celebrate Columbus Day! 🚢

This day marks the incredible journey of Christopher Columbus in 1492, which led to the discovery of the Americas. 🌎

We honor the adventurous spirit and courage it took to explore the unknown. 🌟

Wishing you a day filled with curiosity and reflection!

10/12/2026

Celebrating Women Who Lead: Bianca’s Journey from Experience to Entrepreneurship

October is National Women’s Small Business Month, a time to recognize women who take chances, build businesses, create opportunities, and strengthen their communities.

For Bianca Flores, founder of Bianca Flores Consulting, entrepreneurship grew naturally from nearly two decades of experience in healthcare, nonprofit management, leadership development, and service to others. Throughout her career, friends and colleagues regularly sought her advice, trusting both her experience and her ability to help people navigate difficult challenges.

During the pandemic, that pattern became impossible to ignore. Within a short period, three first-time Latina nonprofit executive directors from San Antonio, Austin, and Houston reached out to Bianca for guidance. She responded by creating a virtual leadership circle where Latina nonprofit leaders could learn, share experiences, and support one another.

What began as a small leadership circle grew through relationships, referrals, and increasing demand for her expertise, eventually becoming Bianca Flores Consulting. Today, Bianca works primarily with nonprofit leaders and organizations focused on healthcare and social change, helping them strengthen leadership, operations, and organizational capacity.

Her advice to other women entrepreneurs is practical: build a strong support system, surround yourself with people who have expertise you don’t, invest in yourself, and value the relationships you build along the way.

Perhaps the philosophy that best captures Bianca’s journey is her belief in an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset.

“I have to believe there’s plenty. There’s more than enough out there for me.”

That mindset—combined with experience, strong relationships, and a willingness to take a chance on herself—helped Bianca turn her expertise into a business that now helps other leaders grow.

This National Women’s Small Business Month, we’re proud to celebrate Bianca Flores and the entrepreneurial spirit behind Bianca Flores Consulting. https://biancafloresconsulting.com/

10/12/2026

Does it make more sense to push back retirement, or not to retire at all?

A growing number of Americans are pushing back the age at which they plan to retire. Or deciding not to retire at all.

10/10/2026

⚠️ Money is one of the most consistently cited sources of stress in America.

For caregivers, that weight often increases! 😮

Having a clearer picture of where things stand can help ease some of the uncertainty that makes financial stress feel heaviest in the first place.

There's no clean solution to money stress.

Most of it is caused by the unknown. The uncertainty.

World Mental Health Day recognizes just how deeply finances can impact our well-being (and vice versa).

If financial stress has been sitting in the background of your life this year, a conversation with a professional can go a long way, be it a mental health professional or a financial professional. Pursuing comfort, understanding, and compassion is a team sport.

10/09/2026

Saving early could prove very helpful down the road. Share this piece with your family and consider your choices.

This early financial decision could prove helpful over time.

10/09/2026

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to prioritize health.

Early detection through regular screenings is one of the most effective tools we have in the fight against breast cancer.

Here are a few small things we can do this October:

✅ Schedule your annual screening if you haven't yet

✅ Educate yourself and others on risk factors and preventative lifestyle habits

✅ Support research and organizations dedicated to advancing breast cancer prevention and care

Taking charge of your health today makes all the difference for tomorrow. 🎗️

10/08/2026

Stocks finished the third quarter mixed. The S&P 500 gained 2.03%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.47%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 2.70%. Halloween is next on the calendar, with U.S. consumers expected to spend \$13.5 billion USD this year and 6.26 million Canadian children in their trick-or-treating years.

Stocks were mixed in the third quarter as economic, geopolitical, and corporate earnings news pushed the broad market higher while weighing on the Dow Industrials.