Financial Planning Alternatives

09/03/2026

🩵 Life Insurance Awareness Month 🩵

Life changes over time, and your life insurance coverage should evolve with it.

Whether you've recently gotten married, purchased a home, welcomed a child, changed jobs, or are preparing for retirement, it's important to make sure your coverage still aligns with your goals and responsibilities.

At Financial Planning Alternatives, we offer life insurance solutions designed to help address a variety of financial planning needs and objectives.

Life Insurance Awareness Month is a great opportunity to review your current coverage, evaluate whether it still fits your situation, explore available options if your needs have changed, and keep your beneficiaries up to date.

Making informed decisions today can help you prepare for whatever tomorrow may bring.
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💬 When was the last time you reviewed your life insurance coverage?

09/02/2026

Washington's Interest Rate Standoff
In this week’s Markets in a Minute, we explore the growing tension between policymakers and the bond market. After the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level in nearly two decades, the U.S. Treasury stepped in by expanding its buyback program for long-dated bonds. Why did the move attract so much attention from investors? And what does it reveal about the forces driving long-term interest rates?

Read more in this week’s Markets in a Minute.

We explore the growing tension between policymakers and the bond market.

09/01/2026

🩵 Life Insurance Awareness Month 🩵

September is a great reminder to revisit an important part of your financial plan: life insurance.

Why buy life insurance?

Life insurance can help provide financial security to your loved ones in the event of your death. There are two primary categories of coverage, each designed to meet different goals and needs:

• Term Life Insurance: Coverage for a specified period of time, with a variety of policy lengths and features available.

• Permanent Life Insurance: Lifelong coverage that may include additional features, such as cash value accumulation, depending on the policy type.

Life insurance may help provide funds for:
✓ Income replacement for loved ones
✓ Mortgage or other debt obligations
✓ Final expenses
✓ Estate planning needs
✓ Business succession planning
✓ Charitable giving
✓ Legacy/Inheritance
✓ Estate taxes

Making informed decisions today can help you better understand the options available and evaluate how life insurance fits into your overall financial strategy.

08/27/2026

Money with Murphy – Back to School, Back to Student Loan Payments

Back-to-school season brings tuition bills into focus, but the effects of student debt can last for decades. Borrowers are facing missed payments, damaged credit, and difficult tradeoffs involving spending, homeownership, and retirement savings. In this week's Money with Murphy, Kara looks at what those challenges mean for individual households and why the broader consumer remains on relatively solid footing.

Back-to-school season brings tuition bills into focus, but the effe...

08/25/2026

The psychology of money changes as we age.

In our younger years, we tend to discount the future.

In midlife, rising income and lifestyle upgrades quietly become the new normal.

Later in life, we often become more focused on protecting what we've built and avoiding difficult financial decisions.

The investments change. The markets change. The biases change.

Every decade is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves about money.

Financial success is often less about intelligence and more about recognizing the behavioral biases that influence our decisions over a lifetime.

Every stage of life creates a different financial challenge. What makes this especially difficult is that the behavior that serves us well in one decade can become a liability in the next.

The risk-taking that may be appropriate at 25 can be dangerous at 65. The caution that protects wealth at 65 may have limited wealth creation at 25.

The goal isn't to eliminate behavioral biases. It's to recognize when they no longer serve us.

The most successful financial plans don't just account for markets, taxes, and investments. They account for behavior.

Because understanding money is important.

Understanding ourselves may be the greatest advantage!

08/20/2026

Iran, Oil, and the Long Road to Resolution
In this week’s Markets in a Minute, we revisit the economic and market implications of the conflict with Iran and explore several questions that remain top of mind for investors as it grinds on. What could a prolonged conflict mean for the economy and markets, particularly after many expected the initial shock to be short-lived? And even if the conflict ended tomorrow, how quickly could global oil supplies recover? Read on for our take on these and other key questions.

Read more in this week’s Markets in a Minute.

We revisit the economic and market implications of the conflict with Iran and explore several questions that remain top of mind for investors as it grinds on.

08/18/2026

📚 It’s Almost Back-to-School Season!

Parents, the start of a new school year is right around the corner. While it brings excitement, fresh opportunities, and new routines, it can also bring added financial pressure.

Between school-related expenses, sports and extracurriculars, and the many other costs that come with a new academic year, a little preparation can go a long way. That's why we've put together a simple Back-to-School Saving Checklist to help families stay organized and approach the season with confidence.

Taking time to plan ahead now can help reduce stress, avoid surprises, and make the transition back to school a little smoother for everyone.

If you'd like help creating a family budget that evolves with your needs and helps you prepare for future expenses, the FPA team is always here to support you.

Wishing all students, families, and educators a successful year filled with learning, growth and new opportunities! 🍎✏️

08/12/2026

Money with Murphy – Is AI a Bubble? Why Diversified Investors Shouldn’t Panic

From the dot-com boom to the housing crisis, market bubbles have come and gone. In this week's Money with Murphy, see what happened to diversified portfolios when those bubbles burst and why the same lessons matter in today's AI-driven market.

From the dot-com boom to the housing crisis, market bubbles have co...

08/05/2026

Beyond the Frame: Art as an Investment?

When two paintings change hands for $500 million, it's fair to ask why some of the world's most successful investors put that kind of money into art, and whether everyday investors should follow. Fractional ownership and online platforms are opening a market once reserved for the wealthy, but greater access doesn't make art a simple investment. In this week's Markets in a Minute, Ryan Chang weighs art's potential diversification benefits against its very real risks, from limited liquidity and high costs to the challenge of valuing a one of a kind asset.

Art investing is becoming more accessible through fractional ownership and online platforms, offering diversification potential but also carrying risks such as illiquidity, subjective valuations and uncertain future demand.

07/30/2026

🌟 Happy International Day of Friendship! 🌟

Today we’re celebrating the people who support us, cheer us on, and make life a little brighter. At FPA, we’re grateful to work with clients who often feel more like friends. Thank you for every conversation, milestone, and moment of trust.

If you have a friend or loved one who could benefit from a little more support and confidence in their financial life, feel free to send them our way. We would be honored to work with the people who matter most to you.

Wishing you a day filled with appreciation for the friendships that make life meaningful. 💚