James Brown III - First Financial Group

06/25/2026

Scams are evolving but so can your defenses. From phone calls to social media, scammers are using old tricks in new ways. The good news? Most are preventable. Check out our quick infographic to stay one step ahead!

A helpful glossary of current scams.

06/23/2026

Whether you have life insurance through work, are retired, or raising a family, it pays to know the truth about life insurance coverage.

Whether you have life insurance through your work or are retired it pays to know the truth about life insurance coverage.

06/23/2026

Most couples spend years preparing financially for retirement.

Very few have talked about what retirement will actually look like.

Not the number. The life.

• Where will you live?

• What will your days look like?

• What happens if one of you is ready to stop working and the other is not?

A 2025 Fidelity survey found that 48 percent disagree on the age they prepare to retire. And research from Ameriprise found that nearly two-thirds expect to retire at the same time, while only 11 percent actually do.

The gap between what couples assume and what they have actually discussed is where retirement quietly breaks down.

The good news is that most couples are not as far apart as they fear. They just have not had the conversation yet.

If retirement is somewhere on your horizon, the most valuable thing you can do right now is not check your portfolio.

It is to sit down with your partner and start asking the questions you have both been putting off.

06/21/2026

When dealing with a divorce, there are some secrets to dealing with the stress, especially when it comes to money.

Divorce is the second most stressful time in a person's life. Here's some tips to get through it.

06/18/2026

Lifestyle inflation can be the enemy of wealth building.

Lifestyle inflation can be the enemy of wealth building. What could happen if you invested instead of buying more stuff?

06/16/2026

Marriage changes your financial life. This piece includes keys to preparing to grow wealthy together.

Keys to preparing to grow wealthy together.

06/16/2026

Most people assume that a spouse's unused estate tax exemption passes to the surviving spouse automatically.

It doesn't.

Claiming it REQUIRES A FILING WITH THE IRS within 9 months of a spouse's death.

The IRS doesn't send a reminder. The deadline just passes.

A six-month extension is available, bringing the total window to 15 months. But the clock starts the day your spouse dies, not the day you think to ask about it.

This is exactly the kind of detail that gets lost in the fog of grief and estate administration.

It's also exactly the kind of thing we watch for on behalf of the families we work with. We also help families by working with their tax, legal, and accounting professionals to make certain that paperwork is completed in a timely manner.

06/14/2026

Do you know the difference between a credit lock and a credit freeze?

Learn the ins and outs of credit locks, freezes, and more.

06/11/2026

What actually happens when the U.S. government shuts down?

This handy interactive explains which essential government services are affected by a shutdown.

06/09/2026

Are your passwords easy to crack or difficult to decipher? Test your knowledge.

Simple steps may help you foil hackers and protect your privacy.