Friends, the stairs are one of the leading causes of falls and injuries, especially as we get over 75 years old. It happens more frequently, it hurts more, the recovery time is longer, and it could even lead to something worse than an injury or broken bone. If you (or your parents) are over 80, I would recommend avoiding the stairs every chance you get.

How to make your home easier as you age: https://forthrightfinances.com/5-ways-to-make-your-home-easier-as-you-age/

Legendary actor Gene Hackman passed away in February. Coincidentally, he passed away just 7 days after his wife. Yet it gets even worse than that. Gene, who had Alzheimer's, lived in his home with his deceased wife for 7 days before he passed away. And it took an additional week for their bodies to be discovered. In this episode I discuss what happened and how you can prevent this happening to you (or your parents).

It's been a bad month in the markets, which inevitably leads people to want to sell their stocks and head to cash. I don't love that idea (okay, I hate it). But there is one minor exception I'm okay with. Here's what it is.

It's been a wild 2 months (as of today) for Donald Trump's second term. While there's been a lot of news, the tariff wars have spooked investors and the market as a whole. Here's how I'm recommending my clients think about what we're going through right now and what the next few years could look like.

https://forthrightfinances.com/5-ways-to-make-your-home-easier-as-you-age/

Sheryl Rowling over at Morningstar wrote a great piece on financial retirement myths that you shouldn't fall for. I go through each point in the video as well as add in my own thoughts. You can read the whole thing here: https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/6-retirement-financial-myths-avoid

We all know we need an estate plan, but we also need to get our financial house in order for when we pass away. By getting organized now you can make the life of your spouse/kids much easier when you eventually pass away. This episode talks about some things to consider while getting organized.

https://forthrightfinances.com/planning-for-your-passing/

Last week, the Social Security Administration announced a rule change to a program called Supplemental Security Income, which will make approx 35M more Americans eligible to receive SSI benefits ($943/mo per eligible individual) from the federal government. In the video I go through the rule change via a CNBC article (linked below)

I don't love annuities, but this strategy does make sense for the right type of person in retirement.

Being diversified in your investment portfolio isn't always easy, especially when it leads to relative underperformance. Here's why that happens and why you should still stick to being diversified.