Hinman Financial Planning, Inc,

07/13/2026

AI is popping up in corners of financial planning, just as it is everywhere else.

I've been testing out AI tools in my own practice, and my experience has been a mix of pleasant surprises and healthy skepticism.

Some tools have helped me spend less time on meeting notes and research, giving me more time for conversations with clients.

Others have needed so much double-checking that they've added more work instead of reducing it.

AI is becoming a helpful assistant, but careful thinking, real experience, and personal conversations are still what help people feel confident about their financial decisions.

Technology will keep changing, but good financial planning still begins with understanding the person sitting across the table.

Have you started using AI in your everyday life? I’d love to hear about one task that’s been genuinely helpful, or maybe one that left you scratching your head.

Read my latest blog to see where I believe AI adds value, where I think it still falls short, and why the human side of financial planning remains central.

Financial planning has always evolved alongside technology. When I started my career, I had file cabinets full of paper folders and a calculator I trusted more than anything else. Today, nearly everything is digital.

07/07/2026

Six months ago, she was planning her next vacation.

Today, she's helping care for her aging mom.

I was talking with someone recently who shared how quickly life had changed.

At the beginning of the year, she was excited about traveling more and finally spending money on experiences she'd been putting off.

Then her mom's health changed, and her family needed her in new ways.

The plans she'd made in January no longer fit the reality she was living in June.

We make the best decisions we can with the information we have. But life has a way of changing the picture.

As we head into the second half of the year, it's worth asking:

- Am I spending my time, energy, and money on what matters most right now?

- Have my priorities changed since January?

- Does my financial plan reflect the life I'm living today — not the one I expected six months ago?

The best financial plans adapt as real life unfolds.

Has anything changed in your life this year that's worth revisiting?

06/30/2026

We all like to think about what we'll do in retirement.

Where we'll travel. Time with the grandkids.

The healthcare costs? Those usually don't make the vision board, but they should make the plan.

A 65-year-old couple retiring today with Medicare is estimated to need about $230,000 for out-of-pocket healthcare costs during retirement, and that doesn't even include long-term care.

On top of that, about 70% of people over age 65 will need some type of long-term care at some point.

Those numbers remind us that healthcare deserves a place in retirement planning.

Here are a few questions to consider:

Do you have a rough idea of what healthcare might cost you in retirement?

Have you thought about how you'd pay for long-term care if you ever needed it?

Is your current retirement plan accounting for those costs?

These are conversations I have with clients.

Most people expect them to be stressful, but they usually leave feeling relieved.

Once you put real numbers to it and make a plan, it may become much more manageable.

If you've been meaning to think through this but haven't gotten around to it, this is your nudge.

06/22/2026

Fathers pass down countless lessons to their children.

About work, resilience, and how to treat people. And whether they realize it or not, they're also passing down lessons about money.

Not always through what they say. Often through what they don't.

Growing up, money wasn't something we talked about openly in my house.

That experience stayed with me, and it's part of what drew me to financial planning.

I saw how much the unspoken stuff shapes us.

A perfect financial history isn't required to give your kids a healthy relationship with money.

A few things dads can do:

- Let kids see you make a decision and explain your thinking out loud
- Say "I don't know, but let's figure it out" when money questions come up
- Talk about tradeoffs in real, simple terms: "We could do X or Y, but not both right now"
- Ask them what they think money is for

Those conversations matter more than you know.

Hope all the dads out there had a great weekend. 💚

06/16/2026

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

You probably heard that at one point growing up. Maybe out of frustration when you asked a parent for something you wanted, but didn’t need, or as a warning when you were about to blow your allowance on a candy stash.

Somewhere along the way, a lot of us took phrases like that and turned them into rules.

“Money is scarce.”

“Don’t ask for more.”

“Spending is irresponsible.”

These are called money scripts — the beliefs about money that form in childhood from what we watched, heard, and felt in our families.

Spoken and unspoken.

Money wasn’t discussed openly in my house growing up. The stress it created left a mark on me long before I understood anything about finance.

I saw in myself how much those early experiences shaped how I felt about money.

Working through those beliefs allowed me to find joy, not stress, in my financial life.

If you want to get there, too, start with the question I ask every client: What’s your earliest memory of money?

Financial anxieties people carry as adults often come from what money meant in the house they grew up in. Researchers and financial therapists call these money scripts: the beliefs about money that take shape early in our lives. We might not even realize they’re there, but they can influence every...

06/09/2026

Have you ever found it easier to save $1,000 than to spend it?

I sometimes hear this from people who have worked hard, been careful, and done everything right, and still feel a flicker of hesitation when it's time to actually use what they've built.

It makes sense. The habits that got us here, discipline, patience, and thinking ahead, don't just turn off when the account balance looks good.

For a lot of people, spending still feels risky, even when it isn't.

A trip you've been putting off. Time with family you can't get back. A cause that means something to you.

Even when the money is there, that quiet voice in the back of your mind might still whisper, "But what if I need it later?"

That's a very human response, and it usually comes from doing things right for a long time.

And it's also a sign that good financial planning may need to do more than protect what you have.

It may also need to give you permission to actually enjoy it.

Because money can also help you create time, connection, and experiences that matter.

What's something you've been holding off on, even though you probably could?

06/04/2026

The sun shines warm and bright when you slip into the water off the coast of Cozumel.

Perfect visibility, able to watch as technicolor fish dart around the coral reef and sea turtles coast along.

A few hours later, you’re sitting at a table with a glass of wine and a meal that absolutely lived up to the hype.

That was me last week.

It could be you, too — with authentic paella in Barcelona, or on a road trip with your kids, or finally taking that trip you've been putting off for years.

The point of it all is to go without guilt.

Guilt comes from spending money you haven’t planned for.

We planned and saved for Cozumel long before we booked it, which meant the whole trip felt like it was supposed to — a break, not a bill waiting back home in the “real world.”

Building fun into your financial plan means the money is handled.

All that’s left is to enjoy it.

Where are you hoping to go this year? I want to hear all about it!

05/28/2026

One partner says, “We should do it.”

The other starts doing the math.

That’s often how big financial decisions begin.

Making a major purchase can bring out very different feelings in two people.

One partner sees new possibilities. The other starts thinking about responsibilities, tradeoffs, and what this decision could affect down the road.

Before buying a vacation home, renovating the house, or helping family financially, it’s worth talking through a few important questions first:

- What does this mean for our other goals?
- Are we both equally excited about this?
- Can we comfortably afford it without feeling pressured later?

By this stage of life, many couples have spent years building financial stability. The decisions may be bigger now, and so are the tradeoffs.

A purchase that feels manageable today can still affect your flexibility, travel plans, retirement timing, or future caregiving needs.

Sometimes, talking it through confirms that the purchase feels completely right.

Other times, it surfaces hesitation that had not been fully shared.
Either way, having these conversations ahead of time usually leads to greater confidence and fewer regrets.

05/18/2026

How do you help an aging parent with their finances without making them feel like you're taking over?

It’s one of those conversations many adult children know they need to have, but often put off because it feels uncomfortable.

A helpful way to start is not by asking for account balances or documents, but by asking a simpler question:

“If something happened, would I know what to do?”

That approach tends to feel less intrusive and more practical.

Once the conversation begins, it’s worth discussing:

➤ Do they have a will, durable power of attorney, and healthcare directive?
➤ Do you know where important documents and logins are kept?
➤ Could you access accounts if you needed to?

These aren’t always easy conversations, but having them before there’s an urgent need can make a difficult season much more manageable.

If you're navigating this with a parent right now, I wrote about it on the blog this month, including how to support them while still protecting your own financial future.

Key Takeaways Before the logistics, understand where your parent is financially, emotionally, and what they want. Getting the foundational paperwork in order while things are calm is one of the most useful things you can do. Your retirement matters too — being honest about your own limits early ma...

05/11/2026

Underneath the brunches and bouquets, Mother's Day has a way of reminding us how many hats we're wearing and how much those hats have changed.

One moment you're researching the best preschools, and the next you're on the phone with your mom's doctor trying to make sense of a new prescription.

This is the reality of the sandwich generation.

Supporting aging parents while still raising or launching your own family quickly sneaks up on you. A health scare, a conversation at the dinner table, or a phone call that shifts your priorities overnight.

It's a lot to carry.

But you don't have to figure out both directions at once.

Families who tend to move through this season with the most confidence are the ones who started the conversation early, before everything felt urgent.

Getting ahead of the decisions, even in a small way, tends to make a real difference when things get complicated.

It doesn't change the reality of watching your parents age. But it may change how you experience it. Less scrambling for answers at midnight, more confidence that you're prepared.

And when the plan is in place, you can focus on what actually matters: being present for the people who need you.