If retirement is five years away, you are not in the planning phase anymore. You are in the execution phase. The decisions you make right now will determine the quality of every year that follows. Here is exactly what to do, what to avoid, and why the next 60 months are the most financially important of your life. Five years out from retirement feels different for most women. The finish line is visible for the first time. The questions get more urgent and more personal. Will I have enough? What will I actually do with my time? What happens if my health changes? What if my spouse dies first, or we divorce? These are not abstract questions anymore. They are logistical ones that deserve real, specific answers. The good news is that five years is enough time to make meaningful course corrections, optimize your income strategy, and build a retirement plan that truly fits your life. But only if you start now. This guide is built specifically for women navigating the critical five-year runway to retirement, because the stakes, the risks, and the opportunities are genuinely different for women than they are for men.

An estimated $84 trillion is expected to pass from Baby Boomers to younger generations over the next two decades. If you're a millennial standing at the threshold of an inheritance, what you do next matters enormously. Inheriting money is one of the most emotionally complex financial events a person can experience. It arrives wrapped in grief, family dynamics, and, often, a complete lack of preparation. Most people have never managed a sum this large before, and the financial industry knows it. This millennial inheritance guide is designed to help you think clearly, move deliberately, and make decisions you'll be proud of years from now. Whether you've recently inherited wealth or want to prepare in advance, these inheritance planning tips could save you from some of the most costly mistakes new inheritors make.

It's one of the most repeated pieces of financial advice in history. Your parents said it. Your neighbor said it. Maybe even a well-meaning professional said it once across a conference room table. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." On the surface, it sounds wise. Prudent, even. But here's the truth most people never hear: the way the majority of investors interpret this phrase is not only wrong, but it can also be genuinely harmful. To your wealth. To your clarity. And eventually, to the people you love most. Let's unpack why.

She left a marriage that was slowly extinguishing her. She packed what she could fit into two suitcases, moved to a city where she knew no one, enrolled in a graduate program at 38, built a business from her kitchen table, and wired money to her mother when the medical bills started piling up, all while showing up to her job every single day. And then she sat across from a financial advisor who asked her about her risk tolerance, and she said, "I'm pretty conservative." He wrote it down. He didn't question it. He built her a portfolio that would never catch up to what she actually needed. This is the story of millions of women, and it needs to change.

A new tax-advantaged savings vehicle for children is launching this Independence Day. Here's a practical breakdown of what Trump Accounts are, how to enroll, and importantly, where they fit in your overall savings strategy. What Is a Trump Account? Trump Accounts are a new, custodial-style traditional IRA for minors, owned by the child but administered by an adult, established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025. A Trump Account is an investment account that acts similarly to a traditional IRA. Investment income in the account is tax-deferred until withdrawn, and ordinary income taxes are paid upon withdrawal.

Choosing to stay home and raise a family is one of the most meaningful decisions a woman can make. It is also, statistically speaking, one of the most financially risky, not because it's the wrong choice, but because far too many couples treat it as a reason for one partner to step away from financial planning rather than deeper into it. That ends now. If you are a stay-at-home mom, or partnered with one, this article is your financial wake-up call. Every one of these realities demands that financial planning be built around her, not as an afterthought, but as the foundation.

I’m going to say something that makes people uncomfortable: A marriage is not a roommate agreement. And yet, I see more and more couples trying to financially operate like two independent adults sharing an apartment instead of two people building a life together. One spouse pays half the mortgage. The other Venmos them for dinner. Someone tracks utilities down to the dollar. One person earns three times as much but still expects every expense to be split evenly “because it’s fair.” That is not a financial partnership. That is financial tension with a joint tax return. And over time, it creates resentment almost every single time.

When Jim updated his retirement account beneficiaries after his wife passed away, he wanted to keep things simple. He had three adult children, but instead of listing all three equally, he named only his oldest daughter, Courtney, as the sole beneficiary. His reasoning sounded harmless enough: “She’ll do the right thing and split it with her brothers.” And to be fair, Courtney fully intended to. That was the plan. Until real life got involved.

“I just want to make things easier for my kids someday.” That’s what Diane told me when she explained why she added her two adult children to the title of her home using a quitclaim deed. No lawyers. No real planning. Just paperwork at the county office and a belief that this would help the house “avoid probate” and smoothly transfer to the kids later. It sounded simple. It turned into an expensive mistake.

When people review a new job offer, they tend to focus on salary first. Then maybe the bonus. The health insurance. The retirement plan. And somewhere buried in the benefits packet is something called an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP. For some employees, this can be an excellent wealth-building tool. For others, it becomes another way to accidentally become overconcentrated in one company while neglecting more important financial priorities. So let’s simplify what this benefit actually is and when it makes sense to use it.

One of the biggest mindset shifts student-athletes need to make in the NIL era is this: You are not “just getting paid.” You are operating a business. The moment money starts coming in through sponsorships, appearances, social media deals, camps, autograph signings, affiliate partnerships, or brand collaborations, you are no longer simply an athlete. You are now managing income, taxes, contracts, branding, legal risk, and financial decisions that can impact you for years. Very few immediately think:
“How do I build financial infrastructure around this income?”But that’s exactly the question athletes should be asking.

For years, college athletes generated enormous value while making very little money themselves. Now the NIL era has completely changed that. Student-athletes can earn money through endorsements, appearances, sponsorships, social media, autograph signings, camps, and brand partnerships. One of the biggest mistakes NIL athletes make is assuming the money works like a normal paycheck.

Every spring, we pull out the trash bags and cleaning supplies, ready to tackle the accumulated clutter of another year. We sort through closets, donate clothes that no longer fit, and marvel at how much stuff we've managed to collect in just twelve months. But when was the last time you spring-cleaned your financial life?

There are very few moments in life where a small decision creates a massive long-term impact. Your child’s first job is one of them. Because while most teenagers are thinking about spending their first paycheck, this is actually one of the most powerful windows you have to set them up for long-term financial independence. And the tool that makes it possible is simple: A Roth IRA.

We talk about net worth like it’s the ultimate scoreboard. Hit a certain number and you’ve “made it.” Track it long enough, and you’ll feel secure. But here’s what I see in real life: you can have an impressive net worth on paper and still feel financially constrained. That disconnect matters. The goal is to have control, flexibility, and options in your life. The number you should be tracking is liquid net worth.

Gold had a moment. In 2025, it was one of the best-performing assets, up nearly 65%, its strongest run in decades. And yes, that kind of return gets attention, especially when it wasn’t driven by the usual tech darlings. But strong performance doesn’t automatically make something a great investment. And gold, in my view, still isn’t special.

If you’re a small business owner or solo entrepreneur, a Solo 401(k) is one of the most powerful retirement savings vehicles available. It combines high contribution limits with flexible tax strategies, including the ability to take advantage of the much-talked-about mega backdoor Roth.

Most people think of HSAs as "money to pay medical bills." That’s true, but it’s only scratching the surface. In reality, a Health Savings Account (HSA) is one of the most tax-efficient accounts available for long-term planning, especially if you think about it over decades instead of just year-to-year. Let’s unpack what makes HSAs so powerful, and how you can take full advantage of them.

Why having options matters more than finding the “perfect” tax strategy. Most people think retirement planning is about one big question: “How do I pay the least in taxes right now?” That’s a good question… but it’s not the right one. The better question is:
“How do I give my future self the most flexibility?”

Sorry Boomers, but Millennials aren’t waiting around for Social Security to save the day. We learned early that retirement is a personal responsibility, not something an employer or government pension system will automatically provide. Unlike many of our parents’ generation, we rarely had the safety net of a pension, so we had to take matters into our own hands.