What's in store for you:

1. Photo From My Life
2. Financial Thought: State of Retirement
3. Life Thought: Agency Triangles
4. Good Sh*t:

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Photo From My Life:

Financial Thought:

State of Retirement: Morningstar released their 2025 State of Retirement Income study. It’s one of the most thoughtful pieces of research on retirement spending. While my client base isn’t in the retirement phase yet, I think it’s still worth paying close attention to.

The main headline is that Morningstar estimates that a 3.9% withdrawal rate gives you a 90% chance of making it through a 30-year retirement without running out of money. That’s up slightly from 3.7% last year, and it reflects improved return assumptions across both stocks and bonds. Still, it’s a sobering reminder that retirement planning needs to be grounded in real math, not optimistic guesses.

But here’s what stood out to me most. Portfolios with 30–50% equity exposure produced the highest sustainable withdrawal rates. That’s a shift from conventional thinking, where more stocks = more growth = more income. Turns out, volatility and early losses in retirement can wreck even the best-laid plans.

Morningstar also highlighted how much flexibility helps. If you’re willing to adjust your spending over time (cutting back in tough years) you could start retirement at a 5.7% withdrawal rate. That’s a pretty big difference.Most people I work with are still in the accumulation phase. Retirement is 10, 15, 20+ years away. So why do I care about this stuff now?Because the way we’re investing today directly affects what’s possible down the line. And the margin for error isn’t as wide as many think.If your financial plan assumes you’ll withdraw 5%+ in retirement with zero flexibility, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. On the flip side, if we start planning for flexibility now—with thoughtful asset allocation, tax efficiency, and a realistic spending plan—we put ourselves in a far better position to live the life we want later

I’m not trying to make everyone obsess about their retirement at age 38. Bu5, t if you care about future freedom, this is exactly the kind of data you should be paying attention to.
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Life Thought:,

The Agency Triangle: When I meet entrepreneurs or small business owners, I often find myself thinking less about their current success and more about their mindset. I'm just curious how they think. Over time, I’ve noticed a pattern.

The ones who succeed long-term don’t have it all figured out. They just believe they will.

Recently, I came across two visuals that explain this better than I ever could.

The Low Agency Triangle is a place most of us end up at some point. I'm afraid to admit that I fall into this too often. You don’t know what to do. You’re afraid of what people will think. You’re worried the plan might fail. So you hesitate. You get stuck. You stay there longer than you want to.

Then there’s the opposite.

The High Agency Triangle is where progress lives. You don’t need all the answers. You just trust you’ll figure them out. You’re not afraid of being misunderstood. You believe that if something breaks, you’ll fix it. People with this mindset don’t dwell in fear or perfection. They move. And that movement creates clarity.

In business, this mindset doesn’t just lead to better outcomes, it leads to faster ones. When you’re building companies, speed compounds. Speed of decision-making. Speed of learning. Speed of execution.

This isn’t just about founders, either.

Some of the best employees I’ve ever worked with are high agency. They don’t constantly escalate small problems. They don’t wait for direction on every little thing. They think critically, take ownership, and move things forward. They ask good questions, but they also take initiative. That mindset is a force multiplier inside any team.

And even outside of work, high agency is a good way to live. Whether you’re raising kids, planning a trip, fixing something at home, or just navigating a tough season, life rewards people who act.

It’s a choice. One we can all choose to make on a daily basis.

Good Sh*t:

Peppermint Mocha: I usually only have one espresso a week, but two kids and a busy job has me flirting with the idea of bumping that number up. Around the holiday season, I opt for a peppermint mocha instead of my usual espresso.

Lets be honest, it's the adult version of hot cocoa. Dessert in a mug with a side of caffeine. If you ignore the sugar crash or the fact that it probably clocks in at 1,000 calories, there's nothing better than it.

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