Retire Once Financial Management

09/04/2026

Retire Once. Travel Often.
Asheville is a Blue Ridge long weekend, and this is the last stretch of summer to go. From St. Louis it is a short flight into AVL, or a long drive if you prefer the road.

Things to do:
- Biltmore Estate. A historic Châteauesque-style mansion built between 1889 and 1895. Make sure to give it a full morning.
- Blue Ridge Parkway. Pull off, sit, take in the scenery.
- Downtown and the River Arts District at your own pace. Galleries, a slow lunch, no itinerary required.
🎆 If you are there Sunday night, Grove Park Inn has fireworks viewing as part of its Labor Day weekend.

🏨Places to stay:
- The Omni Grove Park Inn. Historic, mountain views, a real porch, and an easy base if you want the resort version of Asheville.
- Kimpton Hotel Arras downtown. Walkable to restaurants and galleries if you would rather skip the car after you land.

🍽️What/where to eat:
- Cúrate on Biltmore Avenue. Spanish tapas, downtown, Just make sure to book ahead for the holiday weekend.
- Sunset Terrace at Grove Park Inn. Steak and seafood outside with the mountain view. This restaurant is seasonal, so catch it while it is open.
- Posana at Pack Square if you want a quieter sit-down dinner in town.

Retirement is when a trip like this stops being “we should sometime.”
Have you been to Asheville, or is it still on the list?

09/02/2026

Are you on Medicare? Watch the mail this month!

That Annual Notice of Change is not a bill and not junk. It is your plan telling you what shifts in January, and open enrollment begins October 15 and runs until December 7.

Have you opened yours yet, or is it still in the pile?

08/28/2026

Retire Once. Travel Often.
Door County is Wisconsin's quiet peninsula trip, and early September is a good time to go. Labor Day weekend is the summer finale up there. After that, the crowds thin, the water is still warm, and the villages feel like themselves again. From St. Louis, fly into Green Bay and drive up the peninsula, or make it a long road trip. Highs are usually in the 70s.

🏨 Places to stay:
- The Landmark Resort in Egg Harbor. Suites with kitchens, bay or woodside views, and an easy base near the village.
- Eagle Harbor Inn in Ephraim. Steps from the bay, walkable shops and galleries, quieter and more inn-like if you want that pace.

Things to do:
- 🚲 Drive or bike Peninsula State Park. Bluffs, shoreline, and the best stretch of the peninsula to slow down.
-👣 Walk Fish Creek, Ephraim, and Sister Bay at your own pace. Shops, galleries, and harbor views without rushing.
-🦐 A traditional Door County fish boil if you are there before the season winds down. Whitefish, potatoes, and the boil-over flame. Make sure to reserve ahead for Labor Day weekend!
- 🍒 Cherry picking or a farm stand stop if orchards are still open. Early September is the handoff from summer fruit into fall.

🍽️ What/where to eat:
- Pelletier's in Fish Creek for the classic fish boil. Nightly through October in season; book it.
- Al Johnson's in Sister Bay. Swedish comfort food, and yes, the goats are still on the roof.
- White Gull Inn in Fish Creek if you want a sit-down fish boil with breakfast the next morning worth staying for.

Retirement is when a trip like this stops being "we should sometime."
Have you been to Door County, or is it still on the list?

08/26/2026

📅September 15 is the next estimated tax date.

If you take IRA withdrawals or have income that doesn’t withhold taxes, missing it can mean a penalty even if you pay later.
Unsure whether this applies to you? We can walk through it this week so it isn’t a December surprise.

Keeping more of what you earn is often just as important as growing it. 💸📈

08/21/2026

Retire Once. Travel Often
🏌️‍♂️ BMW Championship is coming back to St. Louis!
The world’s best golfers are heading to Bellerive Country Club August 18–23 for the 2026 BMW Championship — the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Top 50 players. High stakes. Pure golf drama right here in our backyard.

What’s your favorite golf destination? Drop it in the comments (and share a picture if you have one)! ⛳🔥

08/19/2026

✏️Back to Finances📚 Time for a Fall Money Reset 🍁

The transition from summer to fall often brings a return to familiar routines. Vacations come to an end, school schedules resume, and many households begin thinking about the final months of the year. This seasonal shift can also provide an ideal opportunity for a money reset. By reviewing spending habits, evaluating savings progress, and revisiting financial goals, individuals and families can gain clarity on where they stand and identify opportunities to make adjustments before year-end.

The return to routine offers more than a calendar transition. It provides an opportunity to pause and evaluate your financial progress before year-end. A money reset does not require major changes. Sometimes a simple review and a few thoughtful adjustments are enough to help keep your plan aligned with your goals and priorities

08/17/2026

Curious what's driving the latest rally in the stock market? Find out here! https://conta.cc/4bSTEgP

Email from Retire Once Financial Management You don't want to miss this.     Two developments from last week that we think matter the most. 1) What's driving consumer debt, low consumer sentiment and

08/14/2026

Travel Often. Retire Once.
🦁 Kenyan Safari in August: Your Short & Sweet Guide
August is peak safari season in Kenya — dry, clear skies, shorter grass for easier wildlife spotting, and the absolute height of the Great Migration in the Maasai Mara. Cool mornings, warm days, and nonstop action.

Things to Do
- 🦓 Witness the Great Migration in the Maasai Mara — the world’s largest mammal migration. Watch thousands of wildebeest and zebras dramatically cross the crocodile-filled Mara River.
- 🦏 Game drives for the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino) plus cheetahs, hyenas, and endless plains game.
- 🪂 Hot air balloon safari at sunrise over the Mara — pure magic followed by a bush breakfast.
- 🐘 Visit a Maasai village for cultural insights, or head to Amboseli for massive elephant herds with Mount Kilimanjaro as the backdrop.

Optional: Combine with a night in Nairobi or a beach extension on the coast.

🏨Places to Stay
- Angama Mara — Stunning escarpment views over the Mara Triangle. Floor-to-ceiling glass suites and some of the best photography opportunities.
- Mahali Mzuri (Sir Richard Branson’s camp) — Sleek, modern luxury in a private conservancy. Excellent for big cats and fewer crowds.
- Mara Plains Camp — Intimate, high-end tented camp in the predator-rich Olare Motorogi Conservancy. Outstanding guiding and wildlife density.
- Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp — Classic colonial-style luxury on a private concession with a strong sense of old-school safari romance.
Book well in advance — August sells out fast!

🌟Fun Fact
The Great Migration involves around 1.5 million wildebeest, plus hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles, making a continuous 800+ km loop between Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara every year. The dramatic river crossings you see in August are just one (spectacular) chapter of this never-ending journey.

💡Pro tip: Pack layers for cool early mornings, binoculars, a good camera, and book early. This is one of those trips that stays with you forever. 🦒🌅

08/12/2026

⚖️Don’t Leave Your Legacy to Chance — Plan It 📝
Most people spend decades building wealth but only a few hours (if any) deciding what happens to it. A solid estate plan is one of the most loving gifts you can give your family.

Key elements every retiree should revisit regularly:
• Updated wills, trusts, and powers of attorney — especially after life changes like marriage, divorce, births, or grandchildren
• Beneficiary designations on IRAs, 401(k)s, life insurance, and annuities — these override your will and can create major tax surprises if outdated
• Healthcare directives and living wills so your wishes are followed if you’re unable to speak
• Charitable giving strategies — using Donor-Advised Funds or QCDs from IRAs can reduce taxes while supporting causes you care about
• Minimizing estate taxes and probate through proper titling and trust structures

At Retire Once, we’ve made this easier with Estate Guru software. We can create or update wills, trusts, and POAs quickly and help integrate them with your overall retirement plan.

Protecting what you’ve built for the next generation (or your favorite charities) doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

Plan today. Retire Once. Live well.



*This is general educational information. Estate and tax laws are complex — personalized legal and tax advice is essential.*

08/10/2026

Learn what led to July's soft employment numbers and what Roger Federer and the stock market have in common!
https://conta.cc/4goggbu