Financial Education Archives - Sullivan Financial Planning

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Savings Engines

Financial EducationBy Kristi Sullivan January 19, 2026 Leave a comment

Today’s blog is a quick reminder of the savings limits for retirement accounts in 2026. Adjust your payroll deductions and savings plans accordingly. 401(k), 403(b), 457, and TSP plans: Annual contribution limit: $24,500 (up from $23,500 in 2025). Catch-up (age 50+): $8,000 (up from $7,500). Total possible (age 50+): $32,500. Special catch-up for ages 60–63: $11,250 (unchanged from 2025). Traditional and Roth IRAs: Annual contribution limit: $7,500 (up…

Hottest Financial Topics in 2025

Financial Education, Personal FinanceBy Kristi Sullivan January 5, 2026

Curious about what your friends and neighbors are thinking about when it comes to money? Look no further than the top internet searches to take the public temperature about money worries. Inflation and cost of living questions Budgeting, saving, and “how to manage money” Credit cards, debt payoff, and loans Student loans. 4million Google searches…

My Fave Financial Resolutions

Financial EducationBy Kristi Sullivan December 29, 2025

Happy New Year! Riding the wave of peace on earth and good will toward your bank accounts, here are three New Year’s Money Resolutions I would love to see people make and some ideas about how to keep them. Right-size your emergency fund. First, what is a reasonable goal to have in safe money? Three…

Umbrella Policy Premium Hikes May Rain on Your Parade

Financial Education, UncategorizedBy Kristi Sullivan December 15, 2025

Thanks to an anonymous alert reader for this update on potentially higher umbrella policy premiums. Our intrepid investigator passed along this information from her agent. “State Farm told me it’s because Colorado law has increased the cap to $1.5 million on non-economic damages for lawsuits starting January 2025 (up from the approximately $600K previous cap)…

Were Your Finances Naughty or Nice This Year?

Financial EducationBy Kristi Sullivan December 8, 2025

Little kids aren’t the only ones that are traumatized by Elf on the Shelf this time of year. We grownups can feel Self-Loathing on the Shelf at year-end if our financial goals weren’t met. How did it go this year? Did you… Build an emergency fund of 3-6 months’ expenses set aside in a non-retirement…

What Do The Fed’s Decisions Mean for Mortgage Rates?

Financial EducationBy Kristi Sullivan November 17, 2025

As someone who has lots of friends who are Realtors and clients who are looking to buy and sell, I’m very interested in people’s perceptions of what mortgage rates will do in the next 6 months or so. Lots of people seem to be waiting for direction from the Federal Reserves interest rate actions to…

Financial Stuff I Just Learned

Financial EducationBy Kristi Sullivan October 6, 2025

Short blog today – everyone’s favorite! I was Today Years Old when I learned about these factoids related to Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from IRAs. As a reminder, QCDs allow people aged 70 ½ and older to gift money from their tax-deferred IRAs directly to charity (501(c)(3)s only please – not your charity-case loser great-nephew)…

Don’t Write That Check to Charity!

Financial Education, Personal FinanceBy Kristi Sullivan September 1, 2025

Wait, is Kristi telling me I shouldn’t donate money to help others? Never! I love charitable gifting and helping clients feel comfortable donating to non-profits. However, often writing a check is the least beneficial to the donor for tax savings. Consider these methods first: Donating Long-Term Appreciated Assets Gifts of long-term appreciated stocks, bonds, or…

Your Top Marginal Tax Rate is Not What You Pay

Financial Education, Retirement SavingsBy Kristi Sullivan August 25, 2025

An element of retirement income planning that never ceases to confuse is taxes. Accounting for your tax bill as a retirement expense is important. Over-or-under estimating the cost can lead to errors in a retiree’s monthly spending targets. The biggest misconception is that your marginal tax bracket is the amount you pay on all of…

Barriers and Solutions to First Time Homeownership

Financial Education, Personal Finance, UncategorizedBy Kristi Sullivan August 18, 2025

When I have a captive audience of young adults, I like to ask them what concerns them about their personal financial situation. The number one answer (consider this unscientific anec-data) is how to afford a first time home purchase. First, the problem (hint, it’s NOT avocado toast) High home prices and elevated interest rates Incomes…

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