Strategic Wealth Partners

10/09/2026

𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞.

Retirement is a goal too far away for a lot of them to even picture. 𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔, and it looks like trips, time with friends, a job that lets them breathe, and enjoying life while they're in it.

I'm not here to argue with grown-ups, whether they're 28, 58, or 78. What I am here to do is show you what the decisions you make now can do to the choices you have later.

You want to take a major trip now because your dad died at 52? I'm not going to stop you. But I do want you to have a plan for if you live to 53 and beyond.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞. 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧. 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐲. Don't just go out to dinner every night and drink the best w**e because life is short, without knowing the cost may be working longer.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨: show you what each choice means and what it potentially creates down the road.

No one has a crystal ball 🔮. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.

10/08/2026

𝐇𝐢𝐤𝐞 #4 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬. 🍂
The 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 lived up to its name — Meadowlark Plymouth Creek Trail through Deer Creek Canyon Park on a perfect October morning, with Neill and Karen leading the way.

Canyon walls, golden foliage, and views of Denver stretching out behind us on the climb. Four hikes. Four trails. One incredible year on the Colorado foothills.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for any of the 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 series this year. This is what 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝. looks like on a Friday morning.

𝑺𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒏 2027. 👣

10/07/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲.
A competitor wanted to buy his company. Serious buyer, good number, and they wanted an answer within sixty days.

He'd spent twenty-two years building that business. In all that time, he had never sat down and asked what it was actually worth, what he wanted from it, or what his life would look like the morning after he signed.

𝑺𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒈.

Most owners figure the exit is something to plan once things slow down. Then a buyer calls. A partner wants out. 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑾𝒆'𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

The owners who come through those moments well usually knew their answers before anyone asked:
🔶What is the business really worth, and to whom?
🔶What do you need from a sale to fund the life you want after it?
🔶How do taxes, your family, and your team fit into the way you leave?

You can start designing your exit years before you're ready to sell. That's how you get to leave on your terms.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.
Let's Chat.

10/06/2026

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲🏃🏼‍♀️‍➡️💪🏼
Today's a good day to think about the coaches who shaped us. The ones who cheered from the sidelines and pushed when we wanted to quit. The ones who believed in us before we believed in ourselves. Some of them yelled when we needed it, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅.

They held us to a higher standard than we'd have set on our own. They taught us to shake hands after a loss, and to win in a way the other team could respect. 𝘈 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦.

𝐈𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲. Most of them are a text, an email, or a LinkedIn search away. Tell them what they taught you and where it's taken you. It'll take you two minutes, and they'll likely hold onto it a lot longer than that.

Coaching doesn't show up only in sports. It shows up in a manager who sees something in you, a teacher, a parent, a friend who asks the hard question. At SWP, it's what we try to do every day for the clients we work with: 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚.

𝐓𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔! 💗

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.

10/05/2026

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲.
Read this before the next call: https://www.mystrategicwealth.com/blog/caring-for-an-aging-parent-isnt-a-checklist-its-a-conversation

𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆.

You’ll notice the confusion. The pause. The question he has already asked twice.

You may not know which phone call will be the one that changes everything. But you can start having the conversations that matter before it arrives. ❤️

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.

10/02/2026

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧.
It started at a family dinner when the 28-year-old mentioned they'd pulled from savings for a trip and paused their 401(k) contributions for a while. Their parent heard 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, and out came the unsolicited "advice." The kid heard: 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 what it costs to live now.

Each of them was defending their 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆. Whatever wild year they had in college is long gone, and at 28 their kid should buckle down. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 28-𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓-𝒐𝒍𝒅, 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘. With today's home prices, student loans, and wages, owning things feels like a long shot. A SoFi survey reported by CNBC found 59% of Americans define financial progress as being able to enjoy life, and 27% said owning a home.

Nobody at that table asked what the other person meant.

𝐒𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤. Parent and kid, both directions:

❓What does doing well look like to you?

❓What does your future look like? A house like this one, or roommates and renting?

❓What did stability cost you? What are you afraid of if you don't have it?

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝.

Full article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/23/lifemaxxing-financial-goals-spending-saving.html

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.

10/01/2026

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞-𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐬.
That's the uncomfortable part nobody says out loud. Everything else in your financial life has been recoverable. Bad year in the market at 40? You had 25 years to make it up. Overspent in your thirties? You earned your way out of it.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥:

📅 When you claim Social Security, and whether your spouse's claim was part of that math
💰 What you pull first, and what that does to your tax bill for the next fifteen years
📉 What happens if the first three years are bad ones — that one hurts more than people expect
🏥 Whether the health-cost line in your plan is a real number or a placeholder
📝 Whether the beneficiary form from 1998 still says what you want it to say

Any one of those can be fine on its own. It's the combination, and the order, and the fact that the consequences don't announce themselves for a decade.

We're not going to tell you it's too complicated to handle yourself. Some people do it well.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬: it's worth having someone look at the whole thing before you commit to it. Not to sell you something. To find the gap you can't see from the inside — because everybody has one, and yours is in your blind spot by definition.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.

09/30/2026

The Fed raised rates last week for the first time since 2023, and the question I keep hearing is "𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑰 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅?"

Nolan Mauk, CFA, at Orion wrote a clear breakdown of the move. The 25 basis point hike puts the Fed Funds range at 3.75% to 4.00%. The Fed's own projections show one more hike this year, a hold through 2027, and cuts after that. His read is that a light tightening like this has historically been something equities can work through, which sets it apart from 2022.

I'll leave the market forecasting to the economists. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤:
🔸Cash reserves. When did you last compare what your savings are actually earning?
🔸Variable-rate debt, like a HELOC or a credit card, feels a rate change first.
🔸Money you'll need in the next few years should be invested for that timeline, whatever the headlines say.

Headlines will keep coming. 𝐀 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞.

Read Nolan's full breakdown here: https://orion.com/blog/wealth-management/what-does-fed-hike-mean-equities

If you're not sure how any of this fits your situation, that's a conversation we're always glad to have.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝.

09/29/2026

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝑨𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉?

Read https://www.mystrategicwealth.com/blog/i-like-ai-but-i-worry-about-the-midnight-questions

The answer may still sound convincing. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

09/28/2026

🐻 Fat Bear Week is back, and the competition is looking VERY well-fed.

From September 22–29, fans can vote for their favorite brown bears at Katmai National Park and Preserve as they pack on the pounds before hibernation. 🐟

This year’s field includes 11 contenders, including reigning champion 32 Chunk, who’s back to defend his title after winning the 2025 crown. 👑

The bracket also features familiar faces like 128 Grazer, 856, 901, 909, and 910, along with several other salmon-fueled heavyweights hoping to become the internet’s next favorite bear.

Fans can watch the bears on Katmai’s live cams and vote through the single-elimination tournament until one gloriously chunky champion remains. 🏆

So, who gets your vote this year? 🐻❤️


Source:

The internet's favorite bear contest is back. See details on Fat Bear Week 2026.