Ben Batiste, Wealth Adviser at Crestmark Wealth Group

10/29/2026

Your situation is not average. No ones is.

10/27/2026

Have you ever contemplated failure?

Sounds really fun, right?

But we all know failure is a wonderful opportunity to learn. As I was thinking about that word recently, I realized nothing about its definition says it stays that way. Which means there is an even greater chance of growth with failure.

Let me put this thought into my realm of expertise. When does a financial strategy fail? On a down day in the markets? No plan should fall short because of one day or even one month. If anything, a good financial strategy should set rules for buying great assets at great prices.

Of course, the same is true for positive days, months, and years in the market. They don’t, in themselves, define a financial strategy's success. In fact, if your financial strategy relies on short-term returns to avoid failure, we need to talk.

If you feel your financial strategy is doomed to failure or that it isn’t covering all the areas of your life I’ve mentioned here, we should talk. Your financial plan should allow for learning from short-term failures. It should document everything that will help you succeed throughout your financial life.

10/26/2026

Did you get a letter from the IRS called CP321J?

Do not throw it away. It is not a bill.

It is a heads-up about something new called the Saver's Match, starting in 2027. If you qualify and you put money into a retirement account, the federal government matches up to 50 cents on the dollar, up to $1,000 a year, deposited right into your account. A married couple could see up to $2,000.

There is no minimum contribution. Even small amounts count.

The letter does not guarantee you qualify. Your 2027 income and filing status decide that. You do not need to do anything in 2026. Keep the letter with your tax records, and know this is coming before 2027 contributions start.

Want help figuring out if it fits your plan? Send me a message, or grab a time here: https://oncehub.com/DiscoverymeetingBen

10/26/2026

The 2027 Social Security COLA is official: 3.6%. That works out to about $75 a month on the average check, starting in January. It's the biggest bump since 2022.

Here's the part nobody headlines: most retirees say it still doesn't keep up with what groceries, health care, and everything else actually cost. A raise is good news. It's not a plan.

10/22/2026

When I was in the military, I learned something about trust that I have never forgotten. When you are in the field with your unit, you don't leave anyone behind. You go in together, you adapt together, and you don't walk away until...

10/16/2026

10/15/2026

Yes, it’s a meme – but I come across this type of situation almost every day as a financial advisor. Here’s why.

People are used to being faced with binary choices. We’re taught from an early age that you “can’t have your cake and eat it, too.” As a result, we tend to apply binary choices to almost every situation. Even when there’s actually more than one option!

One of the things I love most about being a financial advisor is solving problems like this – by looking for every possible button to push, not just the two I see directly in front of me. When you get right down to it, that’s what “financial planning” really is, isn’t it? Exploring EVERY POSSIBLE OPTION until we find the exact right one for a specific person’s specific situation.

I’m really lucky to do what I do.

10/13/2026

One of my favorite subjects to learn about are stories of people who have done great things despite having enormous obstacles in their path.

I find it gives me the inspiration I need to achieve my own goals in life…and to help my clients achieve theirs.

For example, take the story of Elizabeth Blackwell.

You may not have heard of her, but she holds a prominent place in history…because she was the first woman to ever earn a medical degree in the United States.

The year was 1847.

Blackwell had just moved from Charleston to Philadelphia to apply to one of the medical schools there.

This was the response she received:

“… [no] female could become acceptable to us, either as a teacher or practitioner of medicine … In the responsible duties of relieving ills which flesh is heir to, it is appropriate that man may be the physician and woman the nurse.”

Despite this, Blackwell refused to get discouraged.

She saved up the $3,000 she needed for medical school saying:

“My mind is fully made up.

I have not the slightest hesitation on the subject; the thorough study of medicine, I am quite resolved to go through with.

The horrors and disgusts I have no doubt of vanquishing.

I have overcome stronger distastes than any that now remain, and feel fully equal to the contest.

As to the opinion of people, I don’t care one straw personally.”

Despite feeling that women were not intellectually capable of becoming doctors, the faculty at one medical school in New York allowed their male students to vote on whether to admit her.

It would only take one “NO” vote to reject her.

Fortunately, every student voted “YES”.

After several years of study, Blackwell became a practicing physician!

Unfortunately, her dreams of becoming a surgeon ended when she was forced to have her left eye removed due to an infection.

Still, she would not give up her dreams.

She opened her own practice, established a medical school for women, published a book on women’s health, and fought for women’s rights.

Hopefully most of us won’t ever have to overcome the same kind of barriers Blackwell did.

But no matter who we are or what we want, we, too, can achieve our goals if we follow her example.