Nickels Wealth

10/23/2026

Danette W. Starks started in financial services in February 2001. Seven months later came September 11, and she learned early that the relationship matters most when life is hardest.

She came to the work after earning her master's at Mississippi State, bringing years of banking experience with her and a desire to make a real difference in people's lives.

She joined Nickels Wealth in 2010.

Since then, she's walked with clients through the moments that change a life. Retirement. Medicare and Social Security decisions. College planning. The birth of a child. A divorce. The loss of a loved one.

She finds her work most meaningful in those stretches, helping people make sense of the decisions and settle into what comes next.

The title tells you what she does. The life around it tells you who she is.

10/21/2026

Most people treat Medicare enrollment like a calendar reminder. It's really a one-time decision with permanent consequences.

Your retirement date shapes the window more than most realize. Leave an employer plan behind, and the clock on your enrollment window starts in a way that doesn't wait for your paperwork to catch up.

Miss it, and the Part B late-enrollment penalty stays on your premium for good.

Social Security timing changes the math too. The age you claim and the age you enroll in Medicare are separate decisions, but they often move together, and the sequence you choose affects both what you pay and when your coverage begins.

The window is where most people see a deadline. It's where the real sequencing decision lives.

10/14/2026

A Roth conversion might make sense for your retirement plan, but could it also increase your Medicare premiums?

What many retirees don't realize is that Medicare premiums are based on income from two years earlier. That means a Roth conversion today could lead to an unexpected increase in premiums down the road.

In our latest blog, Spencer breaks down how Roth conversions affect Medicare premiums and why the amount you convert matters just as much as the decision to convert.

Read more:

A few times a year, we get new clients coming into our office a little stunned due to a conversation that they never had with anyone before coming to meet with us. They've just opened a letter from Medicare. Their monthly premium went up by a couple hundred dollars, and they cannot figure out

10/08/2026

Introducing our guest speaker for our Client Appreciation Dinner!

Jeff Struecker!

Twenty-three years in the Army, most of it with the 75th Ranger Regiment. Winner of the Best Ranger Competition in 1996. Inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 2017. He earned a Silver Star in Mogadishu at twenty-four, leading a convoy back through the city under fire, the battle told as Black Hawk Down.

He finished his career as a chaplain and spent the years since as a pastor and author.

On November 5, he'll tell his story himself.

10/07/2026

Today is the final clue for our guest speaker at our Client Appreciation Dinner!

You've probably already seen the movie. Tomorrow we get to tell you his name.

10/05/2026

Clue number two for our guest speaker at this year's Client Appreciation Dinner!

10/02/2026

Our guest speaker this year spent twenty-three years in uniform, most of them with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He finished his career as a chaplain.

That's all you get today. We'll introduce him properly on October 8.

Don't forget!

Client Appreciation Dinner · Thursday, November 5

10/02/2026

Today we’d like to highlight not just another of our financial planners but someone that is also the president of Nickels Wealth, Bain Nickels CFP®, CKA®.

He's a dad to four boys, a Mississippi State grad, and a familiar face around the community.

Bain joined Nickels Wealth in 2005, and since then, he's earned both the CFP® and CKA® designations and is among some of the highest recognized advisors at LPL Financial.

Still, when he talks about his work, none of that comes up first.

"I love what I do. I consider it a tremendous privilege to work with our clients as an educator, guide, and financial life coach."

That's the part clients feel. He helps them turn their most important goals into a plan they can follow. He keeps things organized. He keeps things simple. And when life shifts, he's their sounding board.

The credentials tell you what he knows. The relationships tell you who he is.

09/30/2026

Social Security, Medicare, investments, healthcare, insurance. We help you fit the pieces together into one clear retirement plan. That's worth a conversation.

09/28/2026

Founded in 1973, we've helped families across Columbus, MS plan for retirement for over 50 years. When your advisor knows your name, the plan feels a lot less overwhelming.