Kristina Knecht - Financial Professional

09/08/2026

Pics from the storm. The warning said winds up to 60 mph and the possibility of quarter-sized hail. We got the hail and wind and saw a post about it being a mesocyclone.

I don't know what it ended up being but we spent two hours doing clean up after it left. Chris' truck has some hefty dents on the roof and my windshield is cracked.

Could have been worse but I swear these storms are getting crazier and more frequent every year.

09/07/2026

Not what I had on my Bingo card for Labor Day weekend.

Is it just me or are these storms getting crazier and crazier every year?!

09/01/2026

He showed up almost three years ago and said it would just be a few weeks.

Still here.

At first he'd grab a little extra here and there, nothing you'd notice. Now he's into everything. Groceries. Gas. Rent. He doesn't ask, he just takes.

Every time we think he's finally packing up, he finds a reason to stay longer.

Friends ask why we don't just kick him out already.

He's inflation, and tomorrow he's back and still hasn't once asked if anyone is okay with it.

08/31/2026

In my element. Don't mind my chicken scratch. 🤣

Spent the weekend planning my niece's bridal shower. I love planning literally anything. Trips, parties, events, work...you name it.

Give me a blank page and a deadline and I'm happy.

It makes my brain purr.

I don't know what you call that. A hobby? A personality flaw? A cry for help? Someone tell me. 😂

08/30/2026

Life moves fast, and sometimes the best investment you can make is a day with the people you love, your toes in the sand, and your phone on silent.

Here's a throwback from one of our many beach trips when the kids were little.

I wish I could go back for just one more day and tell myself to soak it all in.

Thankfully, the photos help.

08/26/2026

Happy National Dog Day!!!
We have 4 dogs. Yes, 4. Because apparently one wasn't enough of a lesson.

First there was Luna, a stray who essentially adopted us. Looking back, she was the slippery slope.

Then there was Gina, because Luna needed a best friend, and they were! Sadly, Gina passed away from cancer last year. RIP Gigi-Bear.

Next up was Loki, our COVID baby, who seemed like a great idea at the time. He still is... most days.

After that came Hopper, our accident child. He's adorable and convinced he's the biggest dog in the pack, despite being terrified of pretty much everything, and he'll let you know his opinion on that loudly and often.

And finally, after a few successful fosters, came Addy, our sweet, goofy foster fail who never quite made it to her forever home, because she was already home.

They've emptied our bank accounts, taught us patience, unconditional love, and took over the whole bed.

Happy National Dog Day to the pets who stole our hearts, our furniture, and any hope of having clean floors.

08/21/2026

What if your biggest financial obstacle isn't your income?
It's the map you're using.

Your brain wants you to believe you're stuck with the map you have today.

You're not.

Your brain is like a living city, constantly building new roads, rerouting traffic, and expanding neighborhoods.

The money habits, beliefs, and decisions that got you here don't have to determine where you go next.

Every new skill, conversation, question, and habit helps redraw the map.

You're not stuck with the one you're using today.

You can build a better one.

08/20/2026

A 65-year-old retiring this year can expect to spend $185,500 on healthcare over roughly 20 years in retirement and that's before long-term care is factored in.

That's up 7.5% from last year alone.

Women face up to 18% higher lifetime healthcare costs than men.

They tend to live longer, but often retire with less saved due to lower lifetime earnings and time out of the workforce for caregiving.

A few things worth thinking about now, whether retirement is close or still years out:

> HSAs can be one of the most underused tools out there.
Triple tax advantage, and if you can afford to pay current expenses out of pocket, letting that balance grow for later is powerful.

> IRMAA (the income-related surcharge on Medicare premiums) catches a lot of people off guard. Decisions made around age 63 can affect what you pay years down the road.

> Staggered retirement, where one spouse keeps working and keeps the health coverage, can buy real flexibility for a couple.

The costs aren't fixed. The timing and magnitude are unknown.

That's exactly why this deserves a real conversation, not a guess.

Full article here:

It's never too late to use HSAs and Roth conversions to help close the gap, Fidelity experts said.

08/19/2026

What are you passing down to your kids? Are you even talking about it?
I know my dad never did.

Kids learn about money long before anyone sits them down to teach them.

They learn it from watching.

A parent swiping a card without thinking twice. A parent's voice tightening when a bill shows up. That's the real classroom, and it never closes.

Jimmy and I talk about this with clients a lot, especially the ones with teenagers or kids heading off to college.

A few things we encourage:

Ask your kids what money habits you want them to carry into adulthood. And which ones you don't.

Talk openly about trade offs. "We're saving for this instead of that right now" teaches more than people think.

Give kids a chance to manage real money. Even a small allowance lets them make small mistakes while the stakes are low.

Notice the gap between what you say and what you do. Kids catch it either way.

Bring them into the conversation. Even one meeting can plant the right seeds early.

Financial planning isn't only about the client in front of us.
It's about what gets passed down.

08/18/2026

I've been in a relationship with the same guy for three years and I still don't trust him.

One week he's obsessed with tech, can't stop talking about it. Doesn't call, doesn't text, just runs.

Next week he's convinced the whole thing is ending. Sells off everything we built together. Disappears for the weekend.

He blindsided me in 2022. Did it again in April.

My friends ask why I stay with him.

Some mornings he's up 3% before I've had coffee. Some afternoons he wipes out a quarter's worth of progress before lunch.

I check on him before I check on myself. Every single day.

I've stopped trying to predict him. I just plan around the fact that he's unpredictable.

He's the stock market.

And he's got another mood swing scheduled for tomorrow.