Financial Sentiments

A market decline can look like an isolated crisis when it’s presented without context. But market movements are only one part of a financial journey that begins with our ability to earn and gradually shifts toward the savings and investments we build.

In this episode, Nick Haberling, CFP®, uses the idea of a “veil of uncertainty” to explore the risks we know exist but can’t predict in timing or magnitude.

Nick walks through three charts that map this journey: how human capital can become financial capital over a lifetime; how insufficient savings, an early death, long-term care costs, or panic selling can disrupt that transition; and how both human and financial capital can support meaningful life experiences.

The goal of a financial plan isn’t to predict every turn. It’s to prepare for risks we can identify and help us use our resources for what matters, rather than postponing every meaningful experience for some future day.

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2026/10/14/the-veil-of-uncertainty

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here:
https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

“Buy low and sell high” sounds like simple investing advice. The hard part is that you have to know what to buy, when to sell, when to get back in, and what to buy next.

In this episode, Nick Haberling, CFP®, explains why market timing is much more difficult than it sounds and how investors can sometimes end up timing the market without even realizing it.

Nick looks at the opportunity cost of sitting in cash and why missing even a short period of strong market returns can have a meaningful impact on long-term wealth. He also discusses a less obvious form of market timing: being unintentionally out of the market during a 401(k) rollover.

Using real market examples, Nick explains how a rollover check traveling between custodians can leave an investor temporarily uninvested and potentially cause them to miss significant returns.

He also discusses two strategies HFG Trust uses to help clients maintain their intended market exposure while retirement accounts are being transferred.

The goal is not to perfectly predict what the market will do next. It is to build a sound investment strategy, understand what you own and why you own it, stay disciplined, and spend as much time invested as possible.

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2026/9/24/how-investors-accidentally-time-the-market

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

In this episode of Financial Sentiments, Nick Haberling, CFP®, discusses some of the most avoidable mistakes investors make and why long-term success often has less to do with finding brilliant investments than avoiding unforced errors.

Like a turnover in basketball or an unforced error in tennis, some investing mistakes are entirely self-inflicted. Stock picking, high investment costs, market timing, and taking the wrong amount of risk can all quietly reduce the odds of reaching your financial goals.

Nick explains why even professional stock pickers struggle to consistently outperform the market, how investment fees can create a meaningful drag on returns, and why trying to jump in and out of the market can cause investors to miss some of its strongest periods.

He also discusses the difference between risk preference and risk capacity, and why the right investment allocation should reflect both your comfort with volatility and your ability to withstand it.

The goal is not to make the perfect investment decision every time. It is to avoid giving away unnecessary possessions and give your long-term plan the best opportunity to work.

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2023/2/21/unforced-errors

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

In this episode of Financial Sentiments, Nick Haberling, CFP®, discusses whether leaving an inheritance to your children all at once is always the best approach.

Research suggests that a surprisingly large portion of inherited wealth can disappear relatively quickly. But spending is only one reason families may want to think carefully about how an inheritance is distributed. Age, experience, divorce, creditors, commingling of assets, and other financial risks can all affect how much of an inheritance ultimately benefits the next generation.

Nick explains how a trust can be used to distribute an inheritance gradually, why beneficiaries can still benefit from trust assets before receiving the entire principal, and how phased distributions can give heirs time to learn how to manage significant wealth.

The goal is not necessarily to control your children from beyond the grave. It is to create an estate plan that gives them the best opportunity to turn an inheritance into a lasting financial foundation.

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2026/7/31/should-you-give-an-inheritance-all-at-once

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

In this episode of Financial Sentiments, Nick Haberling, CFP®, explores a surprising truth about stock market returns: stocks have been one of history’s greatest wealth-building tools, even though most individual stocks have produced disappointing results.

Over the past century, a remarkably small percentage of companies have generated nearly all of the stock market’s net wealth creation. This episode explains why most stocks underperform Treasury bills, how even successful companies can become poor investments when purchased at the wrong price, and why identifying the market’s future winners is so difficult.

Nick also discusses why these findings support an evidence-based approach to investing. Rather than trying to predict which companies will outperform, investors can broadly diversify across thousands of companies to increase their chances of owning the relatively small group of stocks that drive long-term market returns.

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2026/7/7/the-strange-truth-about-stock-market-returns

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here:
https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

In this episode of Financial Sentiments, Nick Haberling explains why investing for a child’s future is not simply a matter of choosing the account with the biggest tax advantage. The right choice depends on what the money is intended to accomplish—and how much flexibility the family wants to preserve.

Nick compares several common options, including 529 plans, custodial UGMA and UTMA accounts, Roth IRAs, and the newly created Trump Accounts. He walks through how each account handles taxes, financial aid, education expenses, access to funds, and long-term growth. Rather than treating one account as universally best, Nick explains how families can match different accounts to goals such as college, a future home purchase, retirement, or opportunities that cannot yet be predicted.

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2026/5/27/investing-for-children-its-not-about-the-account

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
 Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here:
 https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

This episode is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Please consult your own professional advisors before making decisions about saving or investing for a child.

In this episode of Financial Sentiments, Nick Haberling walks through a simple but powerful estate planning idea: when leaving money to both family and charity, which assets go to whom can matter just as much as how much they receive.

Using a real-world-style example, Nick explains why pre-tax retirement accounts like IRAs can be costly for heirs but highly efficient for charities, while appreciated assets such as a home or brokerage account may be better suited for family because of the step-up in basis. With the right structure, a charitable estate plan can potentially reduce taxes, simplify the transfer process, and increase the impact of every dollar left behind.

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2023/11/16/maximizing-your-charitable-legacy-smart-strategies-for-tax-efficient-estate-planning

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here:
https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

This episode is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Please consult your own professional advisors before making decisions about your estate plan. 

In this episode of Financial Sentiments, Nick Haberling, CFP®, discusses the hidden concentration inside the S&P 500 and why investors may not be as diversified as they think.

The S&P 500 is often described as a broad basket of 500 of America’s largest companies, but the index is weighted by market capitalization. That means the largest companies can have an outsized impact on performance. This episode explains what that means, why the Magnificent 7 have mattered so much in recent years, and how investors should think about diversification beyond simply owning “the market.”

Read the original article here:
https://financialsentiments.com/blog/2026/5/27/the-hidden-concentration-inside-the-sampp-500

Have a question or want to talk about your financial plan?
Email Nick at [email protected] or book a meeting here:
https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/[email protected]/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true