by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Financial Plan, Health, Insurance, Protecting Family Money
Why working families need life insurance coverage — now! What a new heart attack study means for anyone whose family depends on their income. A 2025 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association — and covered by the Wall Street Journal — should get...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Featured – Blog, Financial Plan, Identity Theft, Protecting Family Money, Retirement, Social Security
A client recently asked a question I hear regularly. The names have been changed, but the situation is common enough that the answer is worth sharing publicly. Q: My wife Frances just turned 63. Some of her colleagues are encouraging her to claim her Social Security...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Biography, Book Review, Economic Policy, Politics, Silver Medal
The Man Who Knew by: Sebastian Mallaby Reviewed by: Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® Medal Rating: Silver Medal I thought I knew Alan Greenspan. After all, I lived through his entire tenure at the Fed, watched him testify before Congress, and experienced...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Featured – Blog, Financial Plan, Self Employed, Taxes
Sam Darnold, like each of his Seahawk teammates, earned $178,000 by winning Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, following the 2025 NFL season. The eight days he worked in California will cost him about $249,000 in California Income Tax. Ouch! You’re probably not...
by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP® | Client Stories, Enduring Principles, Featured – Blog, Financial Plan, Retirement
“Knock three times on the ceiling if you want me; twice on the pipe if the answer is no.” I haven’t heard that song in years. Why is it rattling around my brain for the past 24 hours? Oh, wait! Maybe it did play on the 70’s channel I tuned in while driving last week....
