Priority Financial Planning - Evan Knight, CRPC

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Priority Financial Planning - Evan Knight, CRPC Evan Knight
Financial Planner
Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor conferred by the College for Financial Planning I'm not a stock picker.

Retirement isn't about the size of your nest egg. It's about replacing your paycheck and knowing exactly why you're making each decision along the way. I work with two kinds of clients: people within 10 years of retirement who are still building their savings but need to start reducing risk and positioning their assets for the income plan ahead, and people already retired who are living off what they've built and need that plan managed and refined over time. My focus is asset allocation and tax planning that goes beyond the surface, since taxes are often the biggest expense retirees face. You'll understand the plan you're building, not just approve it. Before this career, I spent 11 years coaching college football, and that's where the teaching comes from. Based in Hutchinson, Kansas, active in the community through Rotary, AMBUCS, and the Hutchinson Community Foundation. I work with clients in person and virtually. Retirement Income Planning | Investment Planning | Tax Strategy | Inherited IRA Planning

This is the face of someone who just realized they're retiring without a plan.(Okay, it's my daughter at two, upset abou...
10/23/2026

This is the face of someone who just realized they're retiring without a plan.

(Okay, it's my daughter at two, upset about something far less serious. But you get the idea.)

A new MarketWatch article reports that over 40% of Americans are heading toward retirement without a plan. Nearly half haven't even calculated what they'll need.

Why so many?

I have a theory: building a financial plan feels a lot like going to the doctor.

Sometimes we skip it because we think we already know what they'll say. "I know I need to lose a few pounds." Other times we're afraid of what they'll find. "What if my blood pressure is too high?"

Spoiler alert: skipping the appointment doesn't make the problem go away. It just means you don't know about it.

Your finances work the same way. Avoiding a plan doesn't mean everything is fine. It means you don't know where you stand, whether things are better than you feared or worse than you hoped.

Like a good doctor, a financial planner is here to HELP, not to judge.

Starting a business was the best decision I was too afraid to make.I told my clients that when we got together recently ...
10/15/2026

Starting a business was the best decision I was too afraid to make.

I told my clients that when we got together recently at 25 Steak and Social here in Hutchinson.

Mostly, it was a night to share a good meal and say thank you. I'm grateful to be where I am and to get to work with people like this.

I love the work I get to do with people who are nearing retirement or already there. I love digging into different retirement income strategies to figure out which one fits someone best. I love matching asset allocation to timeframes and goals. I love analyzing a tax return with the goal of reducing lifetime taxes. (Sounds dry and boring, right? It isn't!)

It's not all fun. It's not fun telling someone their retirement date needs to move back a couple of years. It's not fun helping adult kids sort through a parent's accounts while they're still grieving. It's not fun sitting side by side with someone as they pick up the pieces after losing a spouse of 40 years.

But it's meaningful work.

Jesus told us to love other people. Not to look down on anyone or think we're better than them, but to put others first. For me, a lot of that looks like showing up for people in the moments that matter most.

I was too afraid to start this business. Thankfully, God's plans don't depend on me being brave.

Big thanks to Sara McClure McMillian for the great photos and to Walker Mays for sponsoring the evening. Also, a big shout out to 25 Steak and Social for being an awesome host. I appreciate you all!

I failed to take my own advice!My daughter had a minor surgery last week. I spent no time thinking or envisioning what i...
09/29/2026

I failed to take my own advice!

My daughter had a minor surgery last week.

I spent no time thinking or envisioning what it would be like.

It was minor, so no worry right?

That led me to overlooking many things that could have helped:
- picking up subscriptions the day before
- bringing basic medicine in the car
- bringing a blanket so she could be more comfortable in the car
- buying over the counter items that we needed prior
- getting food that would fit her needs while recovering

"Minor surgery, no problem" I thought.

And it isn't a problem, but that doesn't mean it didn't need preparation. And just thinking about how she might react would have shed light on how I could have better prepared.

Retirement works the same way.

Spend time thinking about:
- How will you spend your free time?
- Who will you hang out with?
- Where will you travel?
- Who will you care for?
- Who will eventually care for you?

By thinking about these things, it brings things that feel far away closer. It makes them real. It allows you to prepare.

Spend some time thinking about what you want your retirement to look like.

How Much Stock Should I Still Own?It's one of the first questions that comes up as retirement gets close. And it sounds ...
09/24/2026

How Much Stock Should I Still Own?

It's one of the first questions that comes up as retirement gets close. And it sounds like it should have a simple answer.

It doesn't.

Time horizon, other income sources, how flexible your spending can be, how you'd react to a bad year, none of that fits into one number.

There isn't a single stock percentage that's right for everyone approaching retirement.

But there's a research finding worth knowing, purely as information, not a recommendation.

Morningstar's research on withdrawal rates found that portfolios holding somewhere between 30% and 50% in stocks, not the more aggressive 70% or 80% mixes, have supported the highest starting withdrawal rates in their data.

More stock didn't automatically mean more spending power. The extra volatility that comes with a heavier stock allocation can work against a portfolio that's ALSO being withdrawn from.

That's one data point among many that would go into answering the question for any individual. It's not a target to aim for on its own.

Not all your money has the same job.Ask most people what they've saved for retirement, and you'll get one number.But tha...
09/22/2026

Not all your money has the same job.

Ask most people what they've saved for retirement, and you'll get one number.
But that one number is quietly doing several different jobs at once, and they're not the same job.

Money you need next year has one job: be there, without drama.

Money you won't touch for fifteen years has a completely different job, it can afford to pursue growth, ride out a bad stretch, and recover before you ever need it.

A flat withdrawal percentage treats all of that money the same. It doesn't ask what any of it is actually for.

The real mindset shift isn't "how much can I withdraw?" It's "what is this specific money for, and when do I actually need it?"

Once you can answer that, the withdrawal question gets a lot simpler. You're not making one decision for an entire portfolio anymore.

You're making several smaller decisions, each one sized to the job it's actually doing.

The Number Moves Every Year.In 2021, Morningstar's research put the starting withdrawal number around 3.3%. By 2023, it ...
09/17/2026

The Number Moves Every Year.

In 2021, Morningstar's research put the starting withdrawal number around 3.3%. By 2023, it had climbed to 4.0%, the one year it actually matched the famous "4% rule."

For 2026, it's back down to 3.9%.

Same research team, same rigorous process, a different answer nearly every year. That's not inconsistency, it's forecasting.

The estimate is built on where interest rates and markets sit today, so when those shift, the number shifts with them.

Most financial rules of thumb work this way. What sounds like a fixed truth is often just a snapshot of current conditions.

Use the research. Just don't treat it like a law of physics.

Same $80,000. Different Tax Bill.If you're sticking to a 4% withdrawal rate, tax efficiency is what makes that number la...
09/15/2026

Same $80,000. Different Tax Bill.

If you're sticking to a 4% withdrawal rate, tax efficiency is what makes that number last.

Two retired couples. Same amount needed for the year: $80,000. Same 2026 tax rules. Completely different results.

Couple A pulls it all from a Traditional IRA.

The full $80,000 counts as taxable income.

After the standard deduction, they owe roughly $5,240 in federal tax.

Take-home: $74,760.

Couple B pulls from three places instead of one.

$30,000 from Traditional, $30,000 from Roth, $20,000 from a brokerage account, mostly already-taxed principal, with a portion of long-term gain.

Their federal tax bill: $0.

Take-home: the full $80,000.

Same withdrawal. Same year. A $5,240 difference, and it has nothing to do with picking better investments. It comes down to which account the money came from.

(Hypothetical example. Assumes 2026 federal tax brackets, no other income sources like Social Security or a pension, and doesn't include state taxes.)

Every Retirement Decision Has a Trade-Off. That's the Point.Retirement isn't one decision. It's a stack of them, and eac...
09/10/2026

Every Retirement Decision Has a Trade-Off. That's the Point.

Retirement isn't one decision. It's a stack of them, and each one comes with a real trade-off.

Claim Social Security early and the check is smaller for life. Wait, and you need years for the larger check to pay off. What’s happening with social security anyway?

Take a pension as a lump sum and you gain control, but carry the risk. Take the monthly check and you gain simplicity, but give up flexibility.

Keep the house and you keep the memories, but your net worth stays locked up. Downsize and that equity goes to work, but you start over somewhere new.

Lean into stocks to pursue growth, and a bad year early can hurt more than a bad year late. Lean into cash and bonds for stability, and inflation becomes the quieter risk instead.

Spend more now and you get more of your own retirement. Spend less and you leave more behind.

None of this has a universal right answer. It depends on you. Why money matters to you. What’s important to you.

That's why I love this work. Eleven years of coaching taught me people want to understand why, not be told what to do. My job is helping you see each trade-off clearly enough to choose the one that fits your life.

They'd saved for twenty years. Did everything right, at least on paper.Here's the problem nobody had flagged for them: a...
08/28/2026

They'd saved for twenty years.

Did everything right, at least on paper.

Here's the problem nobody had flagged for them: almost all of it sat in one place.

Pre-tax retirement accounts.

Which meant every dollar they ever pulled out in retirement would be taxable, full stop, no matter what bracket they landed in that particular year. One bucket. One outcome, over and over.

We built two more.

A Roth, so some income comes out with no tax owed on it at all. And a non-retirement account, plain taxable brokerage money that isn't tied to retirement account rules.

No early withdrawal penalty if they need it before 59 and a half.

No required distributions forcing their hand later.

Capital gains treatment instead of ordinary income tax on withdrawals.

Three buckets means three levers instead of one.

Need cash before retirement age technically allows it? The non-retirement account doesn't care what age you are.

Need to manage your tax bracket once you're retired? Roth and pre-tax split the difference between them.

Saving enough gets you to retirement.

Having more than one kind of account is what gives you choices once you're actually there.

08/28/2026

One out of every four dollars the federal government spends this year is borrowed.

Net interest on that debt is now projected to cost more than the entire defense budget.

That has real implications for how we should think about locking in tax rates before they're decided for us.

Here's the breakdown.

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