Financial Fuel with Emily Agresta

Financial Fuel with Emily Agresta Financial Fuel with Emily Agresta, CFP®

Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc..

GFI Wealth Partners is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

09/30/2026

💍 15 Things to Remember When Changing Your Name After Getting Married:

1)Social Security card
2)Driver's license or state ID
3)Passport
4)Bank and credit card accounts
5)Employer and payroll records
6)IRS records
7)Health insurance
8)Car insurance and vehicle registration
9)Mortgage or lease documents
10)Retirement and investment accounts
11)Student loans and other loan accounts
12)Utility and phone bills
13)Voter registration
14)Airline and travel rewards accounts
15)Wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations

Save this checklist for yourself—or share it with someone preparing for their big day! 💒

09/29/2026

Fall is officially here—which means we are heading into the final quarter of the year.

Before the holidays, open enrollment and year-end deadlines take over, now is a good time for a quick financial reset:

• Review your retirement contributions
• Check your emergency savings
• Prepare for open enrollment
• Review potential year-end tax strategies
• Make sure your beneficiaries are current
• Confirm any required distributions are scheduled

You do not need to completely overhaul your financial life.

Sometimes, you just need to pause long enough to make sure nothing important has been overlooked.

09/28/2026

"I started collecting Social Security as soon as I could—before it runs out."

I've heard this phrase countless times over the last five years. But Social Security doesn't work like an individual savings account.

Your F**A taxes aren't placed into a personal bucket labeled "Suzie Smith." Today's workers help fund today's beneficiaries, while your benefit is calculated using your highest 35 years of earnings.

Is Social Security expected to disappear completely? No.

According to the latest projections, if Congress makes no changes, the combined trust funds could be depleted in 2034—but ongoing revenue would still cover approximately 83% of scheduled benefits.

There are valid reasons to collect early. Fear of Social Security completely disappearing shouldn't be the only one.

Your claiming decision should be based on your health, longevity, income needs, taxes, spouse and overall retirement plan—not an infamous phrase.

EA

09/28/2026

You know what's music to a financial planner's ears?

Having THREE young adults in their early 20s ask me about their savings and whether they should move it into a high-yield savings account. All in one week, I couldn't believe it.😂

Not how do I get rich quick or not what crypto is going to take off, just their savings.

09/23/2026

Things I wish I had been taught at an earlier age that probably would have helped me later:

~How to write out a check.
~Those expensive little stamps? Yeah, apparently you need to put one on an envelope. Somehow, nobody told me that before I mailed more than 20 thank-you cards after my high school graduation party.
~How to file my own taxes.
~Building off No. 3—what even are taxes? Income tax, sales tax, property tax, capital gains tax…I mean, hello, if I'm going to be paying into the system, I would have liked to understand a little more about what it.
~How workplace benefits actually work.
~The different types of retirement and investment accounts—and why starting early matters.
~The different types of mortgage loans.
~How to read a pay stub.
~How credit scores and credit cards actually work.
~What deductibles, premiums, and copays mean before choosing insurance.

Looking back, it's a little wild how many important financial decisions we're expected to make as adults without ever being taught the basics.

09/21/2026

As you can probably imagine, because of what I do for a living, I occasionally make comments about spending or buying something that get me accused of being "cheap."

So, I feel like we need a quick definition breakdown:

Frugal: Not eating out every single night because you're trying to be intentional with your money.

Cheap: Not tipping your waitress because…eh, you just don't feel like it.

Frugal is caring about how you spend your own money.

Cheap is saving your money at someone else's expense.

09/18/2026

Advice from a financial advisor:

Sometimes, I would rather spend $40 on takeout than spend $80 at the grocery store buying 14 different ingredients, use every dish in my kitchen, and waste an entire evening…just for the meal to turn out incredibly mid.

Could eating at home technically be cheaper? Sure.

But your time and sanity have value too.

It's okay to eat out sometimes. It's okay to pay for convenience. Your financial plan does not have to eliminate everything that makes your life easier.

Enjoy it. And let someone else do the dishes. 😂

The Fed meets today, and after all the talk leading up to it, a rate hike is widely expected.I get why most people hear ...
09/16/2026

The Fed meets today, and after all the talk leading up to it, a rate hike is widely expected.

I get why most people hear "rate hike" and think, great, borrowing just got more expensive. That matters if you're buying a home, carrying debt, or running a business.

But I'm also looking at what's happening across U.S. markets. Treasury yields have climbed, stocks have been uneven, and market strategists are watching whether weakness spreads beyond a few sectors.

So the question I'm asking for my clients isn't just, "Will the Fed raise rates?"

It's: Does your portfolio still make sense for the market we're in now?

That's a conversation worth having before the headlines make the decision for you.

Besides the cost of borrowing, how does an increase rate hike affect you and your investment portfolio?Is it even releva...
09/15/2026

Besides the cost of borrowing, how does an increase rate hike affect you and your investment portfolio?

Is it even relevant to your portfolio?

Headlines like these are not something I simply scroll past. I have already reviewed—and, where relevant, adjusted—certain client portfolios in response to the changing interest-rate environment. Let's see if this calms a hot economy.... 👀👀👀

09/14/2026

Do parents talk to their children about their wealth?

Of course, when they're responsible enough...and while we're all still alive. 😅 But seriously.

Do your kids know what you have? More importantly, do they know what to do when one day they're responsible for it?

Whether it's investment accounts, retirement assets, life insurance, the family home, or simply knowing where important documents are, these are conversations many families avoid.

The reality is, one day those decisions may have to be made in a very short period of time, while your family is grieving the loss of someone they love. That's a heavy burden to carry if no one has ever talked about the plan.

What if those conversations happened ahead of time?

What if your children understood not just what they may inherit someday, but why you made the financial decisions you did throughout your life?

At the end of the day, no material possession or bank account balance is worth more than one more day with someone you love. I think we can all agree we'd choose the time over the money.

Since we don't get that choice, having these conversations and putting a plan in place may be one of the greatest gifts you can leave your family.

Address

9410 Calumet Avenue STE 403
Munster, IN
46321

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Financial Fuel with Emily Agresta posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category