Lake Hills Wealth Management

09/03/2026

If your income lands between $505,000 and $606,000, there's a tax cost most people never see coming.

The 2026 SALT deduction cap is $40,400. But above $505,000 of income it shrinks by thirty cents for every additional dollar you earn — so you're paying your tax bracket and losing deduction at the same time. Your next dollar costs somewhere between 42 and 46 cents, depending on where you land.

In Texas this is all property tax. For a family carrying a $38,000 Travis County bill, that's real money.

The moves that fix it happen before December, not at filing. We broke down which ones work — and why one line on your tax statement may not be deductible at all.

https://lakehillswm.com/your-property-tax-bill-is-finally-deductible-your-income-may-undo-it/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. Figures reflect the 2026 tax year and are adjusted periodically; individual results depend on your own facts. Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

08/27/2026

If your company's deferred comp enrollment opens this fall, the deferral percentage isn't the decision that matters most. The payout schedule is — that one follows you for a decade, and it runs into your retirement date, a possible business sale, and even which state you live in when the payments start.

While you're in that file, check your RSU withholding too. Vests come out at a flat 22%, which under-withholds badly if you're in the 35% or 37% bracket.

We wrote up what to look at before you sign: https://lakehillswm.com/your-deferred-comp-election-is-due-december-31-the-payout-question-is-the-one-that-costs-you/

Educational only. Not tax or legal advice. Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser.

Nonqualified deferred comp enrollment usually opens in the fall, and whatever you elect for 2027 pay has to be irrevocable before January 1. Performance-based compensation gets a longer runway — up to six months before the performance period ends. Miss your window and the year is gone. The form as...

08/06/2026

Pay cash or finance? For years, financing was the obvious move — money was nearly free. Not anymore.

With cash finally paying a real yield, the smart answer depends on your liquidity, your taxes, and what the debt is secured against. We run the numbers so you don't have to guess.

Read this week's Perspective: https://lakehillswm.com/pay-cash-or-finance-the-math-just-changed/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. LHWM is an SEC-registered investment advisor.

08/06/2026

Pay cash or finance? For years, financing was the obvious move — money was nearly free. Not anymore.

With cash finally paying a real yield, the smart answer depends on your liquidity, your taxes, and what the debt is secured against. We run the numbers so you don't have to guess.

Read this week's Perspective: https://lakehillswm.com/pay-cash-or-finance-the-math-just-changed/

For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. LHWM is an SEC-registered investment advisor.

Every high-net-worth family we work with hits the same question eventually: pay cash for the big purchase, or finance it? The house, the second home, the business outlay. For fifteen years the answer was easy—money was nearly free, so you financed and kept your cash working. That math flipped. Wit...

07/28/2026

You own an S&P 500 index fund — so you're diversified, right? Not as much as you'd think.

Just seven tech companies now make up about a third of the index, the most concentrated it's been since the early 1970s. These are great businesses, but when one theme drives most of the market, a single worry can move all of it at once.

The point isn't to sell. It's to know what you actually own — across every account — and decide on purpose.

We break it down in this week's Perspective:
https://lakehillswm.com/your-index-fund-isnt-as-diversified-as-you-think-this-week-shows-why/

Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Educational only; not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

07/23/2026

Everyone will be watching the Fed next week. We're watching something more useful.

The 30-year TIPS real yield just hit 2.97% — nearly 3% above inflation, and the highest since 2002. In plain terms: for the first time in over two decades, you can lock in a return that stays ahead of inflation for as long as you hold the bond.

For families near or in retirement, that reshapes the math on safe, inflation-protected income — whether through individual TIPS, a ladder held to maturity, or a low-cost TIPS fund. There are a couple of catches worth understanding first (duration and the "phantom income" tax quirk), and windows like this tend to close when the Fed starts cutting.

Our latest Perspective breaks it down:
https://lakehillswm.com/the-fed-meets-next-week-the-more-interesting-number-is-nearly-3/

Lake Hills Wealth Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Educational only; not investment, tax, or legal advice.

07/14/2026

Crude just hit a one-month high — and if your family owns minerals in East Texas, you'll feel it in the royalty checks.
Here's the catch: a spike driven by a chokepoint isn't a trend. Treat it as a windfall, not a new baseline. This week's Perspective covers the four moves worth making now, and the one thing NOT to do while prices are up.
https://lakehillswm.com/oil-just-hit-a-one-month-high-heres-what-it-means-if-you-own-the-minerals/
For informational and educational purposes only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.

07/07/2026

Everyone's Googling "warren buffett stock market warning" this week — 20,000+ searches and climbing.
Here's what he didn't say: sell.
High valuations aren't a timing signal. They're a condition — one that changes how you plan, not whether you stay invested. Our new Perspective breaks down what the numbers actually mean for your next decade:
https://lakehillswm.com/buffetts-warning-is-trending-heres-what-he-didnt-say/

07/01/2026

Earn over $150K and 50 or older? Your 401(k) catch-up just changed for 2026 — it now has to go in as Roth, not pre-tax.

That's not a tax hike; it's a timing shift, and there's an upside most people miss. Here's what we'd tell any client — including a detail business owners will want to see:

https://lakehillswm.com/earn-over-150k-your-401k-catch-up-just-changed/

06/25/2026

If you run a Solo 401(k), there's a July 31 IRS deadline worth knowing about — and missing it gets expensive fast. Once the plan tops $250,000, Form 5500-EZ is due, and the penalty climbs to $150,000. If you've slipped, there's a $1,500 fix — but the window closes the moment a notice arrives.
Here's the full breakdown:

https://lakehillswm.com/own-a-solo-401k-a-july-31-deadline-could-cost-you-150000/