Envision Wealth, strategic partner of First Financial Group

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Envision Wealth, strategic partner of First Financial Group Envision Wealth is a full service financial planning and wealth management firm. Envision Wealth.

Our holistic approach to business planning allows us to help our clients grow both their business and personal balance sheets. a Strategic Partner of First Financial Group is comprised of four Registered Reps: Jen Boldt, Jay DeVries, Tony Patterson, and Todd Thomas. Please reach out to the representatives directly to learn which states they are licensed to solicit securities and sell insurance.

There's a reason so many women business owners half-joke that their real title is "everything."More women than ever are ...
10/12/2026

There's a reason so many women business owners half-joke that their real title is "everything."

More women than ever are starting and running businesses, and they're doing it at a faster clip than the market overall.

Census data show women now own more than 14 million businesses nationwide, a number that's grown 26 percent since 2012, compared with 19 percent growth for businesses as a whole.

A lot of that growth is happening online, where women-owned businesses tend to be more digitally integrated than those owned by men.

It also means millions of women are managing key decisions from scratch:

• How income gets paid (salary, distributions, or owner draws) and what that means at budget time

• Which retirement vehicle fits, and how much room there is to contribute

• How healthcare, disability, and other insurance get sourced without an employer default

• How the business gets valued, and what a sale or transition would actually look like

• How personal finances stay untangled from the business's finances

Wearing a tall stack of hats doesn’t make entrepreneurship harder than it's worth. Plenty of women running these businesses would say the trade-offs are part of the deal. But it does mean the hats keep stacking up, one on top of the other.

This month is a good time to tip our own hats to the women doing it all at once.

Cyber criminals pay extra attention to accounts tied to money.A 2026 FBI study found that over 12,400 of those victims l...
10/07/2026

Cyber criminals pay extra attention to accounts tied to money.

A 2026 FBI study found that over 12,400 of those victims lost more than $100,000 each, and the average reported loss across elder fraud victims that year was $38,500. Here are a few habits to fine-tune your digital security this month:

• Turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere it's offered. Yes, it’s annoying, but according to a 2026 CISA report, using it makes an account roughly 99 percent less likely to be broken into. It only takes a minute to set up.

• Give every account its own password. Reusing one password means one leaked login unlocks everything else. A password manager handles this without requiring you to remember dozens of them.

• When you go to the dentist, put a reminder on your calendar to also change your passwords. Changing passwords often makes your accounts just that much harder to reach.

• Pause before clicking. Phishing remains the most commonly reported cybercrime in the country, more than any other category the FBI tracks.

• Check statements regularly, and turn on account alerts. Catching something small and wrong early is a lot easier to unwind than catching something large and wrong months later.

• Consider freezing your credit if you're not actively applying for new credit or loans. This takes 15 minutes, one time.

None of this requires becoming a security expert. Pick the one or two that you've been putting off, and do it this week.

What’s one financial decision you’ve made that helped you feel more prepared for your future?For many of the people we w...
10/05/2026

What’s one financial decision you’ve made that helped you feel more prepared for your future?

For many of the people we work with, it’s not a single investment or product; it’s taking the time to create an overall strategy.

October is Financial Planning Month—which is all about how the pieces of your financial picture fit together to help pursue your financial goals.

It's about putting together a comprehensive approach that manages your investments and retirement, provides for your loved ones—all while staying flexible enough to adjust as things change.

If you’ve been meaning to update your strategy or to create one for the first time, it’s never too late to start.

What would you tell your 25-year-old self about money?Getting insight from people who’ve been in your shoes can be power...
09/23/2026

What would you tell your 25-year-old self about money?

Getting insight from people who’ve been in your shoes can be powerful when you are young.

Time is more powerful than timing.

At 25, it can feel like you have forever to start investing. But the biggest advantage you have isn't picking the perfect investment—it's giving your money more years to grow.

If we could go back, we'd say:

• Start investing before you think you're "ready."

• Build sound habits over chasing returns.

• Lifestyle inflation is sneaky; don't let every pay rise become a spending rise.

• An emergency fund isn't boring. It can help when you least expect it.

• You don't need to know everything to get started.

What would you add?

Drop your best insight in the comments. Someone who's 25 today may need to hear it.

Will your future income keep pace with the life you are preparing for?In October, the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adj...
09/17/2026

Will your future income keep pace with the life you are preparing for?

In October, the Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2027 will be announced.

The annual adjustment is designed to help benefits keep up with inflation, but the same principle can be applied more broadly.

Your retirement income may need to be adjusted as your life, expenses, and priorities change.

Healthcare, insurance, travel, home maintenance, and support for family members can all affect the income you may need to generate.

Ask yourself:

• Has your expected retirement spending changed?

• Are certain future expenses rising faster than you thought?

• Does your income strategy account for inflation?

• Are you strategizing for the lifestyle that you budgeted for years ago?

A thoughtful retirement income strategy should evolve as your life and expenses change.

More and more people are now using AI for financial questions.And with tools like ChatGPT adding bank account integratio...
09/14/2026

More and more people are now using AI for financial questions.

And with tools like ChatGPT adding bank account integrations, personalized financial guidance is starting to feel more accessible than ever.

So yes, AI can help organize information, model scenarios, and answer technical questions faster than most people could on their own.

BUT… financial insight isn’t just a math problem.

AI cannot talk to you about the pros and cons of making a portfolio adjustment when stock prices are falling. It might struggle to fully weigh your family dynamics, health concerns, risk tolerance, competing goals, or what will actually help you feel confident in your decisions.

That is where human guidance still matters.

Vanguard’s long-running Advisor’s Alpha research highlights behavioral coaching as one of the most valuable aspects of a relationship.

Not stock picking. Not market timing.

Helping people manage emotion when the stakes are high.

The future is not AI vs. financial professionals.

The future is for those who use better tools while still bringing judgment, context, and a real understanding of the person behind the strategy.

Which month historically gives the S&P 500 its biggest headache?If you said October, think again!Although October has a ...
09/08/2026

Which month historically gives the S&P 500 its biggest headache?

If you said October, think again!

Although October has a reputation for market events, September is actually the month that's experienced more downturns.

September finishes higher less than half the time (historically around 44 percent).

There are theories behind it.

Institutions often rebalance their portfolios at the end of the third quarter, adding to the volatility.
Traders return from a slower summer, which can shake up trading.

And the federal government's fiscal year ends September 30, so budget uncertainty also tends to land in September.

Did you already know this? Or is this new news?

The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index that is considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Index performance is not indicative of the past performance of a particular investment. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index.

Most families think they have until next June to file the FAFSA.For a lot of state and school aid, that's already too la...
09/03/2026

Most families think they have until next June to file the FAFSA.

For a lot of state and school aid, that's already too late.

FAFSA for the 2027-28 school year is set to open on October 1.

The federal deadline runs through June 30, 2028, but most states and colleges set their own deadlines, some as early as January, and aid is often awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

File in October, and you're near the front of the line. Wait until spring, and the aid you were counting on may already be spoken for.

Tip: Create your FSA ID at StudentAid.gov before October 1 arrives, ahead of the day-one rush.

If you have a student applying to college this year, make a note in your calendar.

Two retirees can earn the same average return and have very different outcomes.Why? Because in retirement, timing matter...
08/24/2026

Two retirees can earn the same average return and have very different outcomes.

Why? Because in retirement, timing matters.

An early market downturn in retirement can be more damaging than the same downturn later.

That is the sequence-of-returns risk.

The risk is not simply “the market went down.” It’s “the market went down while income still had to come out.”

A strong retirement strategy should look beyond average returns and address:

• Where income will come from
• How much cash or short-term reserves make sense
• Which accounts to draw from first
• When to rebalance
• How RMDs and Social Security fit into the withdrawal strategy

Sequence-of-returns risk does not make many headlines.

But for anyone entering retirement, it can be one of the most important ideas to understand.

The goal is not to predict the next downturn. It’s about being prepared.

There's a difference between leaving money to your family and giving it to them.One happens after you're gone. The other...
08/17/2026

There's a difference between leaving money to your family and giving it to them.

One happens after you're gone. The other lets you see the impact.

The annual gift exclusion is one straightforward way to do the latter.

For 2026, the IRS says that each person can give up to $19,000 per recipient, free of gift tax. A married couple can combine up to $38,000 per recipient, with no gift tax return required and no reduction to the lifetime exemption.

For example, a couple with two adult children and four grandchildren can transfer up to $228,000 this year under the current rules.

Done consistently, annual gifting can help manage a taxable estate while putting money to work for the people you care about, now.

If you haven't reviewed your gifting strategy for 2026, there's still time. The window closes on December 31.

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6912 University Avenue , Suite 1
Cedar Falls, IA
50613

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