Every spring, investors begin hearing the familiar phrase, “Sell in May and go away.” The idea is simple: avoid the stock market during the summer and return in the fall. But does that strategy actually lead to better financial outcomes? The historical pattern has some basis in long-run data. The practical value has been harder to capture. Transaction costs, taxes on any realized gains, and the challenge of knowing when to get back in have frequently offset whatever seasonal effect existed. The investor who sold in May often fared worse than the one who stayed put.
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Topics:
retirement,
retirement planning,
planning,
Stock Market
Financial crime is costing Americans more than ever before. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) recorded $16.6 billion in losses reported by victims in 2024, a 33% increase over 2023 and the highest figure in the center's 25-year history. Nearly 860,000 complaints were filed last year. The average loss per complaint came to just under $20,000.
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Topics:
Financial planning,
Cyber Fraud
As we reach the middle of the year, June is the perfect time to step back and evaluate your financial health. While many people begin January with goals to save more, reduce debt, or improve spending habits, everyday expenses and unexpected costs can slowly push budgets off track.
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Topics:
Budget,
budgeting,
Savings,
Inflation,
cash flow,
money check,
mid-year,
success
For many entrepreneurs, a business represents years of hard work, sacrifice, and financial investment. Yet surprisingly few small business owners know what their company is actually worth. A professional business valuation can provide far more than just a number, it can become an essential tool for growth, financial planning, and long-term decision-making.
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Topics:
business owners,
small business,
Building a Business,
valuation
Each May, the United States celebrates National Small Business Month, honoring the entrepreneurs and local companies that power communities nationwide. While large corporations often dominate headlines, small businesses form the backbone of the American economy, driving innovation, job creation, and community development.
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Topics:
small business,
community,
local
A risk profile, often determined through a risk profile assessment, is a foundational concept in financial planning and investing. Simply put, a risk profile is a comprehensive evaluation of an individual’s willingness and ability to take on investment risk. It combines emotional factors (risk tolerance) with financial realities (risk capacity), helping investors understand how much uncertainty or potential loss they can reasonably handle.
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Topics:
Smart,
Risk Profile,
investing
Financial stress is extremely common today. According to recent surveys, 66% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and nearly 65% do not have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency, highlighting how fragile many household finances are.
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Topics:
planning,
Finances
Experience In Demand: The Aging Workforce
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Wendell Brock
- Mar 10
- 2 min read
If your team is adding a new employee this year, don’t be surprised if your newest coworker remembers the screech of dial-up internet or the thrill of an AOL “You’ve got mail” alert. The average age of new hires in 2025 climbed to around 42, up from 40½ in 2022 and 40 in 2016, according to workforce data firm Revelio Labs.
This shift reflects an aging workforce and employers’ growing focus on experience in a rapidly changing economy. Hiring patterns have diverged sharply by age: since 2022, the share of workers 25 and under has fallen, while hiring of workers 65 and older has surged. Entry-level inflows are down significantly compared with pre-pandemic levels, even as older adults return to (or remain in) the workforce in record numbers.
Customer-facing roles such as sales, real estate, and office support have also skewed older, with average ages rising notably over the past decade. Traditionally, tight labor markets boost younger hiring, but today employers often prefer candidates who can “hit the ground running,” especially as technology and AI reshape job requirements. Experience, institutional knowledge, and adaptability have become even more valuable.
Demographics are a major driver. Americans are living longer, staying healthier, and often delaying retirement due to financial uncertainty. Many also simply want to stay engaged.
Workers 55 and older have become the fastest-growing labor force segment and now make up a substantial share of total employment. Industries like utilities, manufacturing, and wholesale trade rely heavily on seasoned employees with long tenure and specialized skills.
An older hiring profile offers both advantages and challenges. Experienced workers bring stability, mentorship, and deep expertise, strengthening teams and supporting knowledge transfer. Multigenerational workplaces thrive when collaboration is encouraged.
But the shift can tighten entry-level pipelines. In fields where experienced employees hold roles longer, younger workers may see fewer openings or slower advancement. Some industries could face future skills gaps if younger talent doesn’t enter at scale.
Meanwhile, concerns about age bias persist. Many older job seekers still worry about discrimination, even as employers increasingly depend on their skills.
The rise in older new hires reflects demographic realities and strategic choices. Employers are balancing immediate productivity with long-term workforce planning, often leaning toward experience during uncertain times. For younger workers, this means building skills early and showing readiness. For organizations, it highlights the need to preserve entry pathways while leveraging seasoned talent.
Today’s workplace is fully multigenerational. Companies that intentionally support collaboration across age groups will be best positioned to sustain strong talent pipelines and remain competitive.
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Marginal vs. Effective Tax Rates
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Wendell Brock
- Mar 10
- 2 min read
When people talk about taxes, phrases like “I’m in the 22% bracket” or “I pay about 13% in taxes” often get used interchangeably. But those statements describe two very different concepts: marginal tax rate and effective tax rate. Understanding the difference between them is essential for smarter financial planning, clearer budgeting, and avoiding costly misconceptions about how taxes actually work.
The U.S. tax system is progressive, meaning income is taxed in layers, or brackets. As your income increases, only the portion that falls into a higher bracket is taxed at a higher rate—not your entire income. This is where marginal and effective tax rates come into play.
Your marginal tax rate is the tax rate applied to your last dollar of income. In other words, it’s the rate you’ll pay on your next raise, bonus, or additional income. For example, if you fall into the 22% federal tax bracket, that does not mean all your income is taxed at 22%. It means the top portion of your income, the amount that spills into that bracket is taxed at 22%.
This rate matters most for decision-making. When evaluating whether to take on extra work, sell an investment, or convert retirement assets, your marginal tax rate helps estimate how much of that additional income you’ll actually keep after taxes.
Your effective tax rate, on the other hand, tells a different story. This is your average tax rate across all your taxable income. It’s calculated by dividing the total tax you paid by your total income from all sources. Because income is taxed progressively, your effective rate is almost always lower than your marginal rate.
For example, someone earning $120,000 as a married couple filing jointly might fall into the 22% marginal bracket. However, after accounting for lower brackets and deductions, their effective tax rate could be closer to 13–14%. This number is helpful for understanding your overall tax burden, comparing year-to-year changes, and planning household cash flow.
Confusion between these two rates is common and it often leads to bad financial assumptions. Many people believe that earning more money will push all their income into a higher tax bracket, resulting in less take-home pay. That’s simply not how the system works. Only the income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate, which means earning more almost always results in more net income, not less.
Deductions can further complicate but improve the picture. Taxpayers can reduce taxable income by choosing between the standard deduction or itemized deductions, whichever is higher. For most people, the standard deduction makes sense because it’s simple and generous. For others especially homeowners, high charitable givers, or those with large medical expenses itemizing may lower their tax bill even more.
The key takeaway is this: your marginal tax rate affects future decisions, while your effective tax rate reflects reality. One tells you what happens to the next dollar you earn; the other tells you how much you actually paid overall.
Understanding the difference helps you make better choices, avoid unnecessary fear around tax brackets, and plan with confidence. Taxes may be complicated but knowing how these two rates work puts you firmly back in control of the conversation and your financial strategy.
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AI Doesn’t know You, But It’s Advising You Anyway
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Wendell Brock
- Feb 4
- 2 min read
Artificial intelligence has quickly become a popular source of financial guidance, with tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini increasingly used for budgeting, investing, tax questions, and retirement planning, especially among younger generations.
The appeal is understandable: AI is fast, free, nonjudgmental, and available 24/7, and in just a few years it has gone from a novelty to being treated by many as an authority on personal finance. However, research and real-world experience show that relying on AI for financial advice can carry serious and sometimes costly risks.
Multiple studies find that AI systems frequently produce inaccurate or misleading information. One major analysis found that nearly 45 percent of AI-generated answers contained significant errors, outdated details, or fabricated information known as “hallucinations,” while other research shows AI-powered search tools return incorrect answers in up to 60 percent of queries. These issues are not rare glitches but structural limitations of large language models, which generate responses based on probability and patterns rather than verified, real-time facts.
When these errors affect financial decisions, the consequences can be immediate. A survey by Pearl.com found that about one in five people (27 percent among Gen Z users) who followed AI-generated financial advice lost at least $100. While that amount may seem modest, it reflects a broader pattern. In multiple studies, more than half of users reported making a poor financial decision after acting on AI advice, including mistimed investments, flawed debt strategies, unexpected tax bills, and compliance mistakes.
Real-world examples reinforce these findings. Wealth Strategies Journal reported on a user who turned to ChatGPT to learn stock trading; although he initially made a profitable trade, he later lost money because the AI relied on outdated market data. This highlights a critical weakness of general-purpose AI tools: they cannot reliably access real-time financial information or adapt to rapidly changing markets.
Several structural issues explain why AI advice can be risky. Hallucinations allow AI to confidently present incorrect information as fact, while generic, one-size-fits-all guidance fails to account for individual income, tax situations, risk tolerance, time horizons, or emotional factors. Additionally, AI lacks emotional intelligence and accountability, important elements in financial decision-making, especially during periods of market volatility.
There is also a behavioral risk. Many people turn to AI to avoid the embarrassment of asking “basic" financial questions, which can encourage learning but may also lead users to bypass qualified professionals and place undue trust in a tool never designed to manage real financial risk.
Financial professionals widely agree that while AI can be a helpful educational tool, it is not a replacement for human judgment, experience, or ethical responsibility. AI can serve as a starting point, not a final authority, and its guidance should always be verified and, when appropriate, reviewed by a qualified financial professional. As AI becomes more embedded in everyday life, critical thinking and human judgment remain essential because when it comes to your money and your future, convenience should never replace sound decision-making.
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