Leanne's Blog
Fed Rate Cut Explained: What It Means for Your Stocks
The Fed cut rates 0.25% for the first time in 9 months. Learn how lower rates help companies you own become more profitable and boost your portfolio value.
Oct 6, 2025Government Shutdown: Should Investors Panic? Historical Data
Government shutdown looming but S&P 500 gains 55% of the time during shutdowns and is higher 86% a year later. Learn what investors need to know now.
Sep 25, 2025Fee-Only vs Commission Financial Advisors: The Truth
Commission-based advisors earn 3-5% upfront on your investments. Learn why fee-only financial planners give unbiased advice without conflicts of interest.
Sep 18, 2025Living Trusts: Why Most People Never Fund Them Properly
Living trusts cost $2K-$5K but most people never fund them properly, making them worthless. Learn when you actually need one vs. simpler alternatives.
Sep 9, 2025What Your Will Can't Do: Beneficiaries Beat Wills Every Time
Your will can't override beneficiary designations, avoid probate, or help during incapacity. Learn what wills actually do and their major limitations.
Sep 4, 2025Probate Nightmare: Why Your Family Will Hate You When You Die
Probate takes 6-18 months, costs thousands, and makes your finances public record. Learn the 5 steps of probate hell and why your family deserves better.
Aug 28, 2025Mutual Funds vs ETFs: Why Fees Are Costing You Thousands
Mutual funds charge 4x more in fees than ETFs for the same investments. Learn why a $50K investment could cost you $47K in mutual fund fees over 25 years.
Aug 28, 2025RMDs Explained: The Retirement Tax Bomb Nobody Warns About
Required minimum distributions force you to pay taxes on retirement savings whether you want the money or not. Learn how RMDs work and planning strategies.
Aug 22, 2025Roth 401k: High Earner's Secret Backdoor to Tax-Free Money
Locked out of Roth IRAs? Learn how the Roth 401k lets high earners contribute up to $31,000 tax-free and avoid RMDs. Your backdoor to retirement gold.
Aug 11, 2025Why Your Customers Are Frozen: Business Strategy Guide
Consumer confidence is down and job market uncertainty has customers frozen. Learn how business owners can adapt their strategy during economic uncertainty.
Aug 7, 2025Why the Fed Won't Drop Interest Rates: Tariffs & Inflation
Fed Chair Powell explains why interest rates aren't dropping despite pressure. Learn how tariffs and inflation concerns are keeping borrowing costs high.
Jul 31, 2025Current Student Loan Changes 2028: What Borrowers Must Know
Critical student loan changes coming by 2028. Current borrowers have until July 2028 to choose new plans, but Parent PLUS loans need action by 2025.
Jul 28, 2025Student Loan Changes 2026: New Caps & Rules Explained
The Big Beautiful Bill ends unlimited student borrowing starting July 2026. Learn the new caps, simplified repayment plans, and what this means for your education planning.
Jul 17, 2025The Big Beautiful Bill Has Been Passed
Learn how the $3 trillion spending bill impacts your investment portfolio, from defense and infrastructure winners to energy sector changes that could affect your returns.
Jul 10, 2025The Tax Bill That Could Put Thousands Back in Your Pocket
President Trump wants this tax bill passed and the changes could directly impact your wallet—both now and for generations to come.
Jul 7, 2025How Trump’s Tax Bill Could Be a Game Changer for Your Business
The Senate is deliberating President Trump's big tax bill. We're going to talk about how this tax bill could affect those of you who own businesses.
Jun 26, 2025Iran Israel Conflict Impact: Energy Stocks Rally, Gas Prices
Iran-Israel tensions drive oil prices up 7% and energy stocks to highest gains since 2022. Learn how Middle East conflict affects your portfolio strategy.
Jun 19, 2025Why US Stocks Are Overpriced: P/E Ratios & Diversification
US stocks hit 21.4X P/E ratio vs 16.2X historical average. Learn why diversification with international markets at 12.1X P/E protects your portfolio.
Jun 3, 2025The Tariff Reality Before the Trump Era
When evaluating the current trade war's impact, it's crucial to understand where we started. The tariff landscape before the Trump administration painted a very different picture of international trade dynamics—one that makes today's trade tensions all the more striking by comparison.The Pre-2018 Ba
May 15, 2025Market Reality Check: From Liberation to Limbo
Let's get real about what's happening in our markets right now. April 2025 just went from zero to sixty with some serious trade policy fireworks, and if you're feeling a bit whiplashed, you're not alone. Time for a no-BS breakdown of where we stand and what it means for your investment strategy.The
May 14, 2025The Tariffs Now: Who's Paying What? May 14 update
The Current Tariff Landscape: We're living in a completely different trade universe than we were in April. The U.S. average effective tariff rate has skyrocketed to 17.8%—the highest since 1934. But here's where it gets interesting: this isn't some uniform “tax” hitting everyone equally. Let me brea
Apr 4, 2025Breaking Down the Tariff Tsunami
Let's talk about something that's shaking up the entire financial landscape right now—the new tariff policies that just dropped. And trust me, this isn't some boring policy discussion. This is about YOUR money, YOUR portfolio, and YOUR financial future.
Mar 29, 2024Investing made simple : Part 1
If you are going to invest in a company, then you want it to be a profitable company, right?In the world of stocks, you are essentially buying shares of ownership in a company. When that company is profitable, we hope to see the value of our ownership (shares) in that company increase over time. Fli
Mar 29, 2024My Big Fight Story
My biggest money fight:It was a dark, cold night in 2001. I was washing dishes after dinner.In the middle of our kitchen stood a white trash can, which was totally full.While doing dishes I made a business decision for the family: “The Sponge Thingy” with soap in the handle was stupid. It never let
Mar 29, 20246 Reasons You Need a Financial Planner as Your Guide During Divorce
When you are going through a divorce you are not thinking clearly and there are things that must be taken into consideration when agreeing on a final financial settlement. Divorce is a horrible process where you and your spouse legally divvy up three things: • Property • Debt • CustodyThat’s it!
Mar 29, 2024Investing Made Simple: Part 2
Market Mastery Ain’t the Solution!My clients don’t have to master or understand the markets to have a healthy relationship with their investments. Honestly, there are no secret whiz-bang investment strategies. Investing is a discipline, a habit and YOU are the biggest factor in the success or failur