Fraser Wealth Management, Inc

09/30/2026

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.

09/29/2026

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.

Here’s ours:

💡 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.

09/28/2026

🌴 More Americans are deciding that enjoying life now matters just as much as making financial progress for later.

A recent SoFi survey found that 72% of Americans would be willing to make slower progress toward their financial goals so they can spend more time with family, travel more, and prioritize meaningful experiences.

That doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning long-term goals. In fact, 59% of respondents said enjoying life is how they define financial progress, compared with 27% who pointed to owning a home.

The challenge is finding a balance between what matters now and what matters later. ✈️ That can mean making room for a vacation, concert, or family event while still keeping an eye on retirement savings and debt.

But charge that trip to a credit card and carry a balance, and interest can turn a two-week memory into a much longer bill.

What does financial progress look like to you: reaching the next milestone, enjoying more of life now, or some mix of both?

SoFi found 72% of Americans are willing to make slower progress on financial goals to prioritize family, travel and meaningful experiences.

09/23/2026

🎂 Japan just crossed a milestone: for the first time, more than 100,000 people there are age 100 or older.

According to the country's Health and Welfare Ministry, Japan now counts 107,677 centenarians, up nearly 8,000 from the year before. Almost 88 percent are women. The country's oldest resident, Kyoto's Fuyo Kishimoto, recently turned 114.

🎌 Officials point to progress in medical care, along with healthier lifestyles and diet, as part of what's driving the trend. And Japan isn't alone; life expectancies have been rising in many countries over the past several decades.

It's a good reminder of how many more years many of us may be around for, and why that's worth factoring into conversations about the road ahead, from healthcare to how a longer stretch of years gets supported financially.

That's exactly the kind of long-term thinking we like to talk through together.

The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan has surpassed a record 100,000 this year. The latest figures from Japan's government underscore the country’s rapid aging and population decrease.

09/23/2026

🛠️ The richest person in your town probably isn't a tech founder or someone in finance. It's more likely the dentist running four offices, or the owner of the HVAC company whose trucks are everywhere.

New research from economists Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick, based on IRS and Treasury data, found nearly 5 million U.S. households worth at least $5 million, holding combined wealth more than 13 times that of the Forbes 400.

A few patterns stood out:
➡️Most started their business themselves rather than inheriting it
➡️Most run ordinary, brick-and-mortar businesses rather than tech or finance
➡️Independence mattered more to them early on than getting rich ever did

🌭 Case in point: Dick Portillo started a hot dog stand in 1963 with just $1,100. Decades later, he sold the business he'd built for $1 billion.

Building wealth often looks much more ordinary and attainable than the headlines suggest. If growing or eventually stepping back from a business is part of your picture, that's worth talking through together.

Getting rich in the U.S. is still possible, but the most common path to wealth doesn't involve working for other people, according to a new book.

09/23/2026

📱 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.

09/21/2026

🏠 Homebuyers are stepping back as mortgage rates climb higher, fast.

Total mortgage application volume fell 4.1% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for a home purchase were down 1% for the week and 19% lower than the same week a year ago.

Refinance applications felt it even more, dropping 9% for the week and sitting 65% below year-ago levels.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 6.97% last week, and by Tuesday it had moved even higher, to 7.22%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That's nearly a full percentage point above where rates sat a year ago.

🔑 Rates aren't the only pressure buyers are weighing. Home prices remain elevated in many areas, and while more homes have come on the market, much of that added supply sits at the higher end.

For many households, higher borrowing costs paired with higher prices are making the buy-or-wait decision a harder one to call.

This is exactly the kind of shift worth walking through together, especially if a purchase or refinance has been somewhere on your radar.

Mortgage rates have surged to the highest level since the start of 2025, causing a major pullback in mortgage demand.

09/21/2026

🌕 Somewhere on the Moon, there's a crater that wasn't there two years ago, and it's the biggest one scientists have ever caught forming in real time.

A NASA researcher spotted it during what started as a routine check of lunar images. After comparing old and new photos, he realized he'd found the largest newly formed crater ever recorded anywhere in the solar system. It's now officially named McGetchin, after a pioneering lunar scientist, and it was carved out sometime between April and May of 2024, when a comet or asteroid roughly the size of a five-story building slammed into the surface.

The crater stretches about 728 feet across, roughly the length of two football fields, and drops 141 feet deep, enough to stack three school buses. 🔭 Scientists estimate that an impact this size only happens on the Moon about once a century.

There's more to it than just the hole itself. Researchers also found a patch of ground about four miles wide around the crater that stays noticeably cooler at night than the surrounding terrain, evidence of just how much a single impact can reshape the nearby surface.

It's a good reminder that even something as familiar as the Moon still has surprises waiting to be noticed; sometimes it just takes someone looking closely enough to catch them.

Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that's bigger than the Roman Colosseum, the result of a powerful impact two years ago.

09/21/2026

Did you know your Medicare plan can change for next year even if you don't touch a thing?

📬 Each fall, Medicare Advantage and Part D plans send a letter called the Annual Notice of Change.

It arrives by September 30 and outlines what's different starting January 1: premiums, copays, network doctors, and covered medications.

Most people never open it. A large share of Medicare beneficiaries never compare their options.

Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7. Take the time to note what is changing for the coming year.

09/17/2026

Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently bought a $42 million mansion on Lake Tahoe.

But the most interesting part of the transaction isn’t the private beach. It's the exact state line where the property sits.

The estate is on the Nevada side, in Crystal Bay. The purchase was part of a strategy to shift his permanent residency and corporate holdings out of California ahead of a proposed 5 percent billionaire wealth tax.

Let's be realistic: there probably aren't many billionaires reading this post.

But we have seen clients:

▪️ Move in advance of a major liquidity event to a lower-tax state

▪️ Shift their permanent residence to help manage their taxes

▪️ Evaluate how state-imposed estate and inheritance rules may impact where they live in their later years

Tax strategy is a year-round discipline, not an annual scramble.

Whether you are preparing for a business exit or mapping out your retirement years, we’re here to help.

Any companies mentioned are for illustrative purposes only. It should not be considered a solicitation for the purchase or sale of the securities. Consult your tax, legal, and accounting professional if you are considering a decision in order to manage your tax situation.