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We've been keeping up with the latest headlines...
here are two of our favorites worth sharing.
** Your Money
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One of the quiet planning mistakes we see most often shows up in spending forecasts.
Human nature tends to discount past one-time expenses. A roof repair. A car issue. Help for a family member. Each event feels isolated, so it is often excluded from future planning. The problem is not that these expenses repeat in the same form. It is that there is always something.
Research from the Center for Retirement Research estimates that unplanned, one-time expenses occur every year in retirement and consume roughly 10 percent of a retiree’s annual spending. When plans do not account for that reality, cash flow stress tends to show up at exactly the wrong time.
There are two practical tools to address this.
* Budget for higher cash flow. This means deliberately setting a spending target that exceeds expected needs and allowing the surplus to accumulate, often in a separate savings account. If the year passes quietly, the balance remains untouched. It is not a vacation fund. It exists for the month when multiple surprises arrive at once.
* Maintain an emergency fund. In retirement, emergency cash is not about job loss. It is about preventing disruption. A reasonable target is roughly 10 percent of annual spending, held in liquid, low-risk vehicles.
Both approaches are designed to buffer day-to-day life from market noise. Ready cash reduces the need to sell long-term investments at inopportune moments and allows decisions to remain calm rather than reactive.
At PWM, we intentionally combine both strategies in our Vault approach. We manage short-term, low-risk investments covering the next 0 to 3 years to provide approximately 36 months of cash-flow clarity. Longer-term assets, held for four years and beyond, are harvested thoughtfully over time to replenish the next window. Clients see this structure reflected each quarter in their allocation reviews.
Unexpected expenses take 10% of retirees’ income, on average, research shows (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/17/retirees-emergency-savings.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Mail)
by Sarah Agostino
** Your Life
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A trend gaining traction this year is called “Soft January,” and the appeal is simple: do less, but do it consistently.
Instead of aggressive resets or rigid routines, the focus is on small, sustainable habits that reduce friction. Short walks rather than daily workouts. Earlier bedtimes instead of full sleep overhauls. Clearer boundaries around work and commitments. The goal is momentum, not intensity.
For many people, this lighter approach lowers stress and leads to better follow-through. Modest changes that actually stick tend to matter far more than ambitious plans that fade by February.
"Soft January" Has Gone Wildly Viral As The Most Effective Approach to Wellness - Why Doing Less May Actually Do More (https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/health-fitness/soft-january-trend)
by Rebecca Lawton
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danheth/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosalynn-harvey-heth-mpa-ceps-3a3aa3191/
** Complexity Simplified
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One surprisingly effective life hack is using time you already have, without adding anything new to your schedule. Whenever you are waiting for something anyway, use that short window to do one small task. While coffee brews, clear the counter. While dinner cooks, unload the dishwasher. While the shower warms up, sort the mail. None of these take more than a minute or two on their own.
What makes this work is not productivity. It is momentum. Small actions reduce clutter and mental load without requiring a dedicated block of time or motivation. Over a week, the cumulative effect is noticeable. Complexity often dissolves when systems are broken into smaller, already-available moments.
The Easy ‘While You Wait’ Organizing Method Makes the Most of Wasted Minutes at Home (https://www.homesandgardens.com/solved/while-you-wait-organizing-method)
by Ottilie Blackhall
** Trivia
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Last week's answer: Texas with 254 counties
This week's question: Which Major League Baseball team has won the most championships in league history?
https://youtu.be/zNgcYGgtf8M?si=p-0xTjdfdjeL-9Q7
** Back in 1988, this song reached #1
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