Etiquette Financial Partners

11/02/2026

The Fed held interest rates steady in October, but not everyone agreed with the decision.

After raising rates in September, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.75% to 4%. Two officials voted for another quarter-point increase.

What's behind the disagreement?

The economy continues to grow, consumer spending remains strong, and unemployment is relatively low. But inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, with consumer prices rising 3.7% over the past year.

For consumers, the decision matters because the Fed's benchmark rate influences borrowing costs for credit cards, auto loans, and other types of debt. It can also affect interest earned on savings accounts.

Economists are now watching the Fed's December meeting for signs of another possible increase. For now, rates are holding steady, but the inflation debate is far from over.

The U.S. central bank left borrowing costs unchanged this month after hiking rates in September for the first time in three years.

10/31/2026

Hocus pocus! 🎃✨ Our team got the AI treatment this Halloween, and it turns out we've never looked younger.

(Yes, we've been in the financial planning game a long time.)

No tricks here, just treats: honest advice, a plan built around you, and a team that's still here for you year after year.

Happy Halloween from all of us at Etiquette Financial Partners! 🧙‍♀️

📍 900 Oakmont Lane, Suite 105, Westmont, IL
📞 331.229.4039

10/29/2026

Nationwide's 2026 study surfaced three key lessons from parents:

🎯 Not starting early enough.
More than 25 percent of recent retirees wish they had started sooner. Fifteen years of compounding early in a career can make a HUGE difference.

🎯 Not raising the contribution rate as your income grows.
Thirteen percent of recent retirees wish they had contributed more to their savings each year.

🎯 Claiming Social Security at 62.
More than a third of boomers plan to claim benefits the moment they become eligible, even though doing so cuts the monthly benefit by 25 to 30 percent for life.

According to the SSA, waiting past full retirement age adds 8 percent per year, up to age 70.

Across the research, three things seem to matter most:
1️⃣ Starting early
2️⃣ Getting an outside perspective rather than relying on instinct alone
3️⃣ Treating retirement as something that unfolds over decades rather than a single date on the calendar

10/26/2026

How many years before you are ready to be "retired"?

It's one of the most important numbers yet.

TIAA's 2026 longevity literacy research found that workers who expect a shorter retirement save less consistently than those who expect a longer one.

That makes sense, but it also means the people who assume their retirement will be short are the same ones who may be building portfolios with shorter time horizons.

Once someone has already reached 65, the numbers shift.

According to Social Security Administration data:

📌 A 65-year-old man has roughly a 24 percent chance of living past 90

📌 A 65-year-old woman's chances are higher, closer to 35 percent

📌 For a 65-year-old married couple, there is about a 50 percent chance that at least one spouse lives past 90

The practical implication is not "assume you will live to 100."

It's that a retirement income strategy built around the "average lifespan" often assumes a person will die on schedule. Most people do not.

If retirement is on your horizon, the question to ask is, "What happens to my income strategy if I live to 95?"

10/22/2026

Trust & Will's 2026 Estate Planning Report found that 56 percent of adults don't have core documents in place, including:

📝 A will: who gets what, and who is in charge of making it happen

🏥 A healthcare directive (or living will): what you want if you cannot speak for yourself

✍️ Two powers of attorney, one for medical decisions and one for financial decisions, each naming a specific person

📄 A letter of instruction: the practical map to where accounts live, who your professionals are, and what your kids or pets need

The friction is that estate work forces a family to sit with mortality, name specific people for specific roles, and make decisions that feel too permanent to rush.

Without something in writing, though, families are left improvising during one of the most difficult moments of their lives.

Most say they fully intend to get to it, but too many put it off until it's too late.

Don't put it off. Talk to a financial professional who can help.

10/19/2026

What happens to your cash flow when you stop earning a paycheck?

The 2026 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey caught something interesting about that shift.

📊 Among workers, 33 percent say they turn to a financial professional for guidance.

📊 Among retirees, that number climbs to nearly 40 percent.

National Retirement Security Week (October 19–25 this year) is a reminder to check whether your strategy is evolving with your lifestyle priorities.

If retirement is within a few years, the practical step is not rebuilding the strategy today.

It's identifying the two or three moving pieces that are no longer theoretical, the day you stop working, and consider working with a financial professional who can help guide you.

10/16/2026

Fidelity's 2025 wealth transfer study found that roughly 67 percent of parents age 55 and older have never told their adult children what they will inherit, or whether they will inherit anything at all.

About 33 percent would prefer the kids are kept in the dark about the amount.

Their reasons should feel familiar:
✔️ Worry that a specific number will dampen a child's drive
✔️ Discomfort talking about money at all

The same study found:
Most adult children say they are ready to handle whatever they inherit and would rather shape things while their parents are still around to explain the "why" behind decisions.

Families who have inheritance strategies share some similar habits:
💬 Kids know who the financial professionals are and how to reach them
💬 Everyone knows where the estate documents are
💬 They try to manage any surprises well ahead of time

So, do you tell your children or not?

There's no single right answer here.

Sharing exact numbers isn't necessary, but most families find that a broad discussion can help with priorities and expectations.

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

For some, the second Monday in October marks Columbus Day, a commemoration of exploration and its role in shaping American history.

For others, it’s Indigenous Peoples' Day, a time to honor the cultures, histories, and contributions of Native communities.

Both observances point to something worth sitting with: how differently history can be remembered and how many perspectives make up a single story.

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.