IRS sign

The Pay Raise the IRS Barely Touches

Most people assume the IRS measures a dollar of income as simply a dollar of income. That’s true for many income sources. Interest from a savings account, CD or bond is taxed as ordinary income, at the same federal rates as wages. But qualified dividends receive different federal treatment.
medicare thumbnail

Medicare 101: What You Need to Know for 2026-2027

On October 8th we hosted a webinar with Shane Thomas of Integrity Health Advisors. This webinar was designed to help you understand the many parts of Medicare, when (and how) to enroll, and what recent updates could mean for your choices going forward.
umbrellas over a street

The Cash That Protects Everything Else

How much cash reserve should a family keep for the unexpected, and how can you build it when every dollar already has a job? An emergency reserve will never be your most exciting asset. But with cash set aside, those expenses become annoying inconveniences instead of crises. 
mountain peak with snow
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The Snowpack Principle

Every spring, Coloradans watch snowpack reports with unusual devotion. We know the water filling our rivers in July often arrives as snow in January. The mountains collect it, then release it gradually when the valleys below need it most. Generosity also works like this.
for sale sign in front of a home

Thinking About a New Home? Move Wisely.

Most people think of a move as one transaction. But in reality, it’s usually two: selling the home you have and buying the one you want. The hard part is that those two events rarely line up as neatly as you might like.
blank check
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The Paycheck That Doesn’t Require You to Go to Work

For most of our adult lives, our financial arrangement is simple. We go to work, and somebody pays us. Every few weeks, a paycheck appears. Then one day, if we are fortunate and have planned well, something remarkable happens. We retire. But the bills? They don’t get the memo.
rows of crops on a farm

Your Portfolio Has Two Numbers — Are You Watching the Right One?

Imagine you own a productive farm. You’ve owned it for years, cared for the land, invested in equipment and watched its productivity rise. Every year, your farm yields a crop. The harvest varies each year, but over time, the crop and its income have grown. Now imagine that every morning, a stranger pulls into your driveway and offers to buy your farm.
denver circa 1970s

When the Dollar Buys Less

When I started my career in Colorado in 1978, I wasn’t thinking about how different prices would be almost 50 years later.
closeup of a monopoly board
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Do More Than Pass Go

Imagine playing Monopoly but never buying a property. Instead, you simply advance your token, collect $200 when you pass GO, pay rent and try to evade jail. It sounds ridiculous, yet that is how many people approach their financial lives. I think a useful investing lesson is hidden inside that cardboard box.
tree standing alone in a field

Building an Income That Gives You a Raise Every Year

One of the great ironies of personal finance is that most people spend their working lives pursuing raises, promotions and bonuses, yet devote far less thought to creating an income stream that can continue growing after they retire.
welcoming home in the mountains

The Assets That Pay You — and the Ones You Pay For

I believe in the value of home ownership and regularly encourage it. But beyond a primary home, the financial picture muddies. Put simply: Some assets help fund your life. Others require that your life funds them.
the white house

Trump Accounts: A New Savings Vehicle for Children & Young Adults

You may have seen recent headlines about the launch of the new 530A or “Trump Accounts,” a new type of investment account for children, available as of July 4, 2026. What Are Trump Accounts? A Trump Account is a new tax-advantaged investment…
man staring over edge of cliff

Retiring at Highs, Planning for Lows

As I write this column, the S&P500 is again hitting an all-time high. This isn’t unusual, all-time highs are much more common than they feel. But it leaves many near retirees with a nagging question: “What happens if I retire just before a bear market?”
man silhouetted climbing a mountain

The Business Beneath the Balance

There is an old saying on Wall Street that stocks climb a wall of worry. It persists for one simple reason: Investors constantly forget that markets do not require a peaceful world in order to advance. They require businesses capable of adapting, earning, innovating and growing … despite the worries.

Social Security in 2026:What You Need to Know

Join us for a timely Prosperion EDU session on social security in 2026, presented by Prosperion Advisor Danny Kellogg. He will walk through the key rules, numbers, and planning considerations that may affect your benefits.