Trina L. Hanner

10/15/2026

More details about those Trump accounts

Trump Accounts auto-enrollment: Under new regulations issued by the Treasury Department, every U.S. child who is eligible for a TA has now had one automatically opened on their behalf. https://kitc.es/3VFpkRy

The new system is being described as 'auto-enrollment', but unlike many other forms of auto-enrollment, there's no way to opt out of TA auto-enrollment for eligible children or their parents or guardians. And once the auto-enrolled accounts have been established, there's no way to close them until after they've been converted to an IRA in the beneficiary's age-18 year.

In this article, Kitces Nerd Ben Henry-Moreland highlights how parents still need to claim their child's Trump Account to make most contributions, and why to claim an auto-enrolled Trump Account (even if it has $0).

10/12/2026

A surprise $90 deposit is landing for some Medicare enrollees this week. For roughly 40 million others, nothing is coming.

The payments are going to people in traditional Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits, outpatient care, and preventive screenings. Medicare Advantage enrollees, people who pay income-related premiums, and those who already receive premium assistance are not eligible. Most deposits arrive through the Social Security Administration, while some beneficiaries will get a paper check later in October labeled “Medicare Improvement Fund Payment.”

📌 The standard Part B premium is $202.90 in 2026 and is expected to reach $209.50 in 2027.

That context matters. Some analysts note the $90 helps but won’t fully offset rising premiums, and healthcare costs remain a top financial concern across age groups.

For now, the payment is a welcome bit of relief. The bigger question is how coverage costs keep pace over time.

Millions of seniors are getting $90 direct deposits from Social Security this week, prompting questions about the source of the money.

10/11/2026

There is freedom in remembering that what we have has been entrusted to us.

Our abilities. Our influence. Our relationships. Our work. Our resources. None of these begin with us, and ultimately, none belong to us.

That changes the question we bring to God. Instead of asking, “What do I want to do with what I have?” we can ask, “Lord, why have You entrusted this to me?”

Faithfulness may look different in every season. Sometimes God entrusts us with abundance and opportunity. Other times, He entrusts us with people who need our care, decisions that require courage, or circumstances we never would have chosen.

Our responsibility isn’t to control every outcome. It’s to seek the Owner, listen for His direction, and faithfully steward what He has placed in our hands today.

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” — 1 Corinthians 4:2

P R A Y E R
Father, thank You for everything You have entrusted to me. Remind me that You are the Owner and I am the steward. Give me wisdom to recognize what You are asking of me in this season and courage to follow where You lead. Help me hold Your gifts with open hands and use them faithfully for Your purposes and the good of others. Amen.

10/11/2026

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.

10/08/2026

Cash sitting in the bank earning very little? If you won't need some of it for 3, 5 or 7 years, these can offer a guaranteed rate, currently at 6%* for 5 years, which is often meaningfully higher than a typical bank account. The trade-off is limited access to the money during that period, so it's only for funds you've truly set aside.

Not right for every dollar, but worth a conversation. Call me if you'd like to talk it through.

*Rate is for a Nationwide 5-year guaranteed annuity as of [October 1, 2026] and is subject to change. Guarantees are backed by the issuing insurer's claims-paying ability. Surrender charges may apply to early withdrawals. Interest is taxable upon withdrawal. Annuities have a 10% premature distribution penalty for withdrawal prior to age 59 1./2. Not FDIC insured.

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.

10/07/2026

There's a reason so many women business owners half-joke that their real title is "everything."

More women than ever are starting and running businesses, and they're doing it at a faster clip than the market overall.

Census data show women now own more than 14 million businesses nationwide, a number that's grown 26 percent since 2012, compared with 19 percent growth for businesses as a whole.

A lot of that growth is happening online, where women-owned businesses tend to be more digitally integrated than those owned by men.

It also means millions of women are managing key decisions from scratch:

💼 How income gets paid (salary, distributions, or owner draws) and what that means at budget time

💼 Which retirement vehicle fits, and how much room there is to contribute

💼 How healthcare, disability, and other insurance get sourced without an employer default

💼 How the business gets valued, and what a sale or transition would actually look like

💼 How personal finances stay untangled from the business's finances

Wearing a tall stack of hats doesn't make entrepreneurship harder than it's worth. Plenty of women running these businesses would say the trade-offs are part of the deal. But it does mean the hats keep stacking up, one on top of the other.

This month is a good time to tip our own hats to the women doing it all at once.

10/06/2026

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. 🎗️

This is my Mom. She’s a breast cancer survivor and has been cancer-free for 19 years! My sister and I recently took her to see Niagara Falls.