TandemGrowth Financial Advisors, LLC

10/14/2026

The Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 this morning, and Medicare Open Enrollment begins tomorrow, October 15.

The two arrive together every October. Whether you are approaching 65, already enrolled, or helping a parent sort through their options, it is a useful moment to look at how coverage decisions, retirement income, and taxes connect.

In a new article, Mona Fahmy-Kuhlman covers a few points worth considering this fall: reviewing your Annual Notice of Change, timing questions for those working past 65, how income today can affect Medicare premiums two years later, and how to view your 2027 benefit amount when SSA posts notices in late November.

For educational purposes only, not personalized investment advice. We are financial planners, not Medicare or Social Security specialists, and this is an overview rather than a complete list. For your specific coverage, Medicare.gov and SSA.gov remain the official resources.

By Mona Fahmy Kuhlman MBA, CFS, AIF® | October 2026 Each October, two things tend to arrive at about the same time: Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period and the Social Security Administration’s announcement of next year’s

10/11/2026

Is now the time to trade some stock exposure for more fixed income?

With bond yields higher than they have been in years, some investors are wondering whether it makes sense to shift more of a portfolio into fixed income. In this post, Dimensional Fund Advisors explains why the historical evidence suggests caution before changing a long-term allocation based on current rates.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. This post is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.

Check out Dimensional's post here 🔷 https://lnkd.in/p/e39JrGM9

10/08/2026

After many years of working with families, we have seen how often outcomes are shaped by things no one could predict:

📉 a market downturn the year someone retired
🏠 refinancing before rates rose
🩺 a health event that changed everything

This episode from Shaping Wealth captures an idea central to how we plan at TandemGrowth. Good planning is not about guessing which way luck will break. It is about building enough margin, in your finances and in your expectations, that your plan is designed to hold up across a range of outcomes.

A thoughtful perspective on a topic we discuss often with clients.

Luck or skill? Most financial outcomes are a mix of both. It’s easy to credit success to hard work and blame setbacks on personal failure. But timing, markets, and life events play a bigger role than we like to admit. Skill matters. So does luck. Confusing the two can lead to overconfidence or unn...

09/30/2026

💭 As retirement approaches, should the way you think about your investments change?

Accumulating wealth is only one part of preparing for retirement. As you get closer, considerations such as income needs, liquidity, taxes, market risk, and how long different portions of your portfolio may remain invested can become increasingly important.

In our latest blog, Approaching Retirement: Key Investment Planning Principles, Jeff Bernier explores TandemGrowth's three-bucket Retirement Distribution System and several investment planning considerations for the transition into retirement.

📖 Read the blog: https://www.tandemgrowth.com/blog/approaching-retirement-key-investment-planning-principles/

We also take a deeper look at investment risk as retirement approaches in our guide, Is My Portfolio Too Risky for Retirement?

📥 Download the guide: https://www.tandemgrowth.com/guides/is-my-portfolio-too-risky-for-retirement/

09/28/2026

🔮 What if investing doesn’t require us to predict what comes next?

From artificial intelligence and technological disruption to inflation, government debt, and geopolitical uncertainty, there is no shortage of questions about what the future may hold.

In the latest Money & Meaning Perspectives, Jeff Bernier looks at ideas from Thomas Babington Macaulay, Matt Ridley, and Cal Newport to explore what he calls “humble optimism”: recognizing the risks and uncertainties in front of us while remaining humble about our ability to predict how innovation and human progress will unfold.

Jeff brings that perspective back to investing and financial planning, including why diversification can be an acknowledgement of what we don’t know and why a financial plan can account for a range of possible futures.

🎧 Listen to Perspectives: Investing in a Future We Can’t Predict: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-8qkar-1b6f4f3

👀 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7mAIy-6kIjY

09/15/2026

🤖 AI is back in the headlines, along with plenty of questions about what it could mean for markets and investors.

Earlier this year, Jeff Bernier explored this topic on The Money & Meaning Show after a client shared a Wall Street Journal article warning of an AI “tsunami.”

The conversation looked beyond the headlines to a question that remains relevant today:

How should investors think about major technological change when no one knows exactly how it will unfold?

Jeff discusses expectations and valuations, the risks of concentrating in high-growth areas, diversification and rebalancing, and why we believe building a resilient portfolio is more useful than trying to predict what comes next.

🎧 With AI once again dominating the conversation, we thought this March episode was worth revisiting: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-y2ttd-1a5fb49

Note: This episode was recorded in March 2026 and includes market performance information through that time. Any performance figures discussed are historical and will not reflect current market conditions.

09/15/2026

📃You have a will. But have you thought about everything your family will actually have to handle?

Throughout his career, Jeff Bernier has helped families navigate estate planning by working alongside their estate planning attorney to coordinate the financial pieces of their plans. More recently, serving as executor of his own father's estate gave him a very personal perspective on just how much there can be to manage after someone dies.

In the latest Money & Meaning Show, Jeff talks with Rachel Donnelly, founder and CEO of AfterLight and author of Late to Your Own Funeral: How to Leave a Legacy and Not a Log Jam, about what happens beyond the will and how greater organization can make things easier for the people you leave behind.

🎧 Listen to Beyond the Will: Leaving Your Family Clarity, Not Chaos with Rachel Donnelly: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-x8aej-1b58a59

👀 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Tvw-Y4mSYYg

09/09/2026

🏠 U.S. homeowners are sitting on a significant amount of home equity.

According to Apollo's latest U.S. Housing Outlook, U.S. households have approximately $35 trillion in real estate equity, or roughly $400,000 per owner-occupied home.

For homeowners approaching retirement, housing can represent a meaningful part of their overall financial picture, making decisions about whether to stay, move, downsize, or eventually use that equity an important planning consideration.

This is just one of 10 interesting observations Apollo highlights in its updated look at the U.S. housing market.

Read Apollo's 10 takeaways: https://www.apollo.com/wealth/insights-news/insights/daily-spark/us-housing-outlook-ten-facts
Read the full U.S. Housing Outlook:https://www.apollo.com/content/dam/apolloaem/pdf/daily-spark/2026/sep/1/090126_US%20Housing%20Market%20V3.pdf

Chart source: Apollo Chief Economist

09/08/2026

There’s almost always something for investors to worry about.

Right now, concerns about U.S. government debt and a potential “fiscal crisis” are getting plenty of attention.

In a recent article, Joe Wiggins of Behavioural Investment offers an interesting perspective on the language used when discussing market risks:

→ What would a “crisis” actually look like?
→ When might it happen?
→ What would the implications be for financial markets?
→ And what, if anything, should an investor do differently?

There are real risks worth understanding. But dramatic headlines and market predictions can create anxiety without providing much useful information for long-term investors.

💡 It’s a thoughtful reminder of the importance of separating what we know from what we think might happen next.

📖 Read Crisis Talks:

At any given point in time, there is a risk in financial markets that is the focus of everyone’s attention. Recently this has been US Treasuries with talk of a ‘fiscal crisis’ and ‘debt sustainabil…

09/07/2026

🏠 Americans aren't moving like they used to.

According to Apollo's latest U.S. Housing Outlook, the share of households planning to move in the next 12 months has fallen to around 7%.

Higher mortgage rates, elevated home prices, and the large number of homeowners with mortgages well below today's rates are all contributing to a very different housing market.

Apollo recently summarized 10 observations from its updated U.S. Housing Outlook. It's an interesting look at what's happening with home prices, affordability, mortgage rates, housing supply, and home equity.

Read Apollo's 10 takeaways: https://www.apollo.com/wealth/insights-news/insights/daily-spark/us-housing-outlook-ten-facts
Read the full outlook:https://www.apollo.com/content/dam/apolloaem/pdf/daily-spark/2026/sep/1/090126_US%20Housing%20Market%20V3.pdf