IMC Financial Consulting

09/04/2026

Quick heads up for anyone 50 or older who is still working and saving.

There is a 401(k) change that took effect this year, and a lot of people will not hear about it until tax time.

First the basic numbers for 2026. The standard limit is $24,500. If you are 50 or older you can add $8,000 on top of that, which is called a catch-up contribution. If you are between 60 and 63 and your plan allows it, that catch-up is $11,250 instead.

Here is what changed. If you made $150,000 or more in 2025 at the employer that sponsors your plan, your catch-up money now has to go in as Roth.

Roth just means you pay the tax now instead of later. You lose the deduction this year, and in return that money comes out tax free in retirement if you follow the rules.

Is that good or bad for you? Honestly, it depends on your tax bracket now compared to what you expect it to be later. That is a real conversation with whoever does your taxes, not something to guess at.

The reason to look now instead of in the spring: there are about four months of paychecks left in the year to change what you are putting in.

08/29/2026

The city of Birmingham announced a $1 million investment to continue and expand the IMC Financial Freedom Project, which provides financial education and resources to Birmingham students, families and educators.

Launched in 2022, the partnership between the project and the city provides financial education through workshops, individual financial consulting and financial wellness resources. This year, the program will be available in all Birmingham City Schools.

According to the announcement, the program has reached nearly 3,800 students across 20 schools and helped facilitate $1.25 million in student loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

“Financial freedom starts with knowledge, and we have a responsibility to make sure our young people have that knowledge before they enter adulthood,” Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin said.

08/29/2026

08/28/2026

Your first paycheck, in 5 numbers. Send this to the freshman, the new grad, or the newly promoted person in your family.

1. Gross is the top-line lie. It is the offer letter number, not the deposit number. Every budget starts on net, not gross.

2. About 25 to 30 percent of gross is gone before you see it. Federal tax + state tax if you have one + F**A (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare).

3. If your employer matches your 401(k), contribute enough to catch the full match. Skipping the match is a pay cut you agreed to.

4. Your first paycheck is a buffer. Save it. Do not budget it. That way the second one is planned, not chased.

5. From then on: 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% future you (emergency fund first, then retirement, then goals).

Move-in week is a great week to say this out loud at your kitchen table.

08/27/2026

There is a quiet detail inside Q2 retail earnings worth reading.

Home Depot reported August 18, Target August 19, Walmart August 20. Home Depot said its big-ticket strength came from single-purchase items, refrigeration and patio, the kind people do not finance. The bigger financed projects stayed down.

That is more than a demand note. Executives watch what customers finance and what they pay cash for, and the split tells them where household confidence really sits.

The rule they are teaching you for free:

If the thing you are buying loses value the day you take it home, and you have to finance to get it, slow down. That includes TVs, phones, furniture on "no payments" deals, and appliances during sales.

Financing has its place. A mortgage. Sometimes a working car. Not a living room.

One question before you sign: would I still buy this if I had to pay cash today?

08/26/2026

Nvidia reports earnings after the market closes today. The consensus is about $91 billion in quarterly revenue and roughly 70 percent year-over-year growth.

Here is the literacy point that matters more than the print.

If you have a 401(k) or an IRA holding an S&P 500 index fund, you already own Nvidia. It is one of the biggest positions in the index. You do not need a hot AI trade to have AI exposure. You have it.

That is not a reason to add. It is a reason to slow down and look at what you actually hold. Two questions:

1. Do I know what I own?
2. If I were starting over today, would my mix still look like this?

Your plan is built on allocation and time, not one quarter's number.

08/25/2026

Two quiet shifts on federal student loans this August. Both matter more than the headlines suggest.

1. The Department of Education is reversing some PSLF credit that borrowers had already been granted. If you are pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, log in to studentaid.gov this week, take a screenshot of your current qualifying-payment count, and save it. Do it before anything else changes.

2. The carve-out that made forgiven student loans tax-free expired on December 31, 2025. Income-driven forgiveness in 2026 or later can be treated as taxable income. If your forgiveness year is close, put a tax professional on the calendar now, not in April.

The Department also sent a new round of IBR discharges this month, so some outcomes are still good. All of them are worth checking.

Save. Screenshot. Ask.

08/24/2026

A new Fed chair gives his first Jackson Hole keynote on Friday, August 28.

Kevin Warsh has led the Federal Reserve since May 22. The Kansas City Fed's symposium runs August 27 to 29 in Wyoming.

Two things worth knowing before the headlines start.

Jackson Hole is a speech, not a rate decision. The last real decision came July 29, when the Fed held its target range at 3.50% to 3.75% for the fifth straight meeting.

And the disagreement is pointing up, not down. That vote was 9 to 3, and all three dissenting officials wanted rates a quarter point higher. That is the opposite of what most people assume.

What it means at your kitchen table:

Mortgage rates already move on expectation. Freddie Mac had the 30-year at 6.65% on August 20, down from 6.67% the week before.

Savings and CD yields follow the target range, not the speech.

Credit card APRs move last, and barely. If you are carrying a balance, do not wait on a speech in Wyoming.

The Fed is the tide. Your budget is the boat.

A plan that only works if rates go your way is not a plan yet.

08/21/2026

A 5-minute money check-in you can run with your K-12 kid this week. One prompt a day. Under a minute each.

Monday. Do you know what things cost? Pick three household items. Have your child guess. Then show them the receipt.

Tuesday. Where does your money actually go? Write down every dollar you spend this week. Just the number. Exposure comes first.

Wednesday. What is one question about money you have? Have your child bring one. Answer honestly. If you do not know, say so out loud. That is the lesson.

Thursday. Save a little. Move any amount into savings this week. Habit over size.

Friday. Aim at something. Name one thing worth saving for. Small target. Real timeline.

Five minutes a day for one week. It will not replace a school course. It will make one land.