October has arrived, and it has brought with it crisp air and pumpkin spice everything. Election day is also just around the corner, and with that comes an endless array of financial doomsayers that are scarier than any haunted house. But just like those monsters under the bed, most financial doom-and-gloom loses its power once you turn on the lights and look at the actual data...
They say the hardest thing to do in all of sports is hitting a baseball. As if timing a 90 mph curve ball isn’t hard enough, there is a sweet spot on a bat that is only about two inches big. Hit that sweet spot and you’re potentially earning yourself a leisurely jog around the bases with a home run, but miss it and you’re weakly grounding out to the infield...
There are decades when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.” This quote, sometimes attributed to Vladimir Lenin, seems to appropriately describe the first quarter of 2026. Not that we have been cruising along without bumps here and there, but the “long” period of market stability with double digit upside we have enjoyed over the last three years has certainly given way to some rapid intense changes. Whether it’s war, technological shifts, or Supreme Court rulings, there is no doubt we are experiencing an accelerated history...
It is hard to believe that we are already a quarter of the way through the 21st century. It is even harder to believe that if you have older quarters made of silver, they went up 140% last year! Examples like this made 2025 into a year that stock picking mattered again. Many broad indexes were up 15% or more, but if you dabbled in individual positions you could have easily been either up or down 50% for the year. Will 2026 be another year for active management, or will the index investor be king again...
Tarheel Advisors, LLC has produced an educational text on financial planning available at Amazon. In order to have a successful retirement, you must have a plan that allows you to identify risks, reduce taxes, find good investments, understand insurance, save for education, and manage your estate planning. Preparing for Retirement: A Comprehensive Guide To Financial Planning does this with a 176 page guide that is full of easy to read charts, examples, and an appendix of commonly used financial planning forms. Whether you have managed your money for decades or you're new to financial planning, this 2026 edition of Preparing for Retirement provides the information and techniques needed to successfully create and maintain a financial plan.