Envision Wealth, strategic partner of First Financial Group

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Envision Wealth, strategic partner of First Financial Group

Envision Wealth is a full service financial planning and wealth management firm. Envision Wealth.

Our holistic approach to business planning allows us to help our clients grow both their business and personal balance sheets. a Strategic Partner of First Financial Group is comprised of four Registered Reps: Jen Boldt, Jay DeVries, Tony Patterson, and Todd Thomas. Please reach out to the representatives directly to learn which states they are licensed to solicit securities and sell insurance.

08/24/2026

Two retirees can earn the same average return and have very different outcomes.

Why? Because in retirement, timing matters.

An early market downturn in retirement can be more damaging than the same downturn later.

That is the sequence-of-returns risk.

The risk is not simply “the market went down.” It’s “the market went down while income still had to come out.”

A strong retirement strategy should look beyond average returns and address:

• Where income will come from
• How much cash or short-term reserves make sense
• Which accounts to draw from first
• When to rebalance
• How RMDs and Social Security fit into the withdrawal strategy

Sequence-of-returns risk does not make many headlines.

But for anyone entering retirement, it can be one of the most important ideas to understand.

The goal is not to predict the next downturn. It’s about being prepared.

08/17/2026

There's a difference between leaving money to your family and giving it to them.

One happens after you're gone. The other lets you see the impact.

The annual gift exclusion is one straightforward way to do the latter.

For 2026, the IRS says that each person can give up to $19,000 per recipient, free of gift tax. A married couple can combine up to $38,000 per recipient, with no gift tax return required and no reduction to the lifetime exemption.

For example, a couple with two adult children and four grandchildren can transfer up to $228,000 this year under the current rules.

Done consistently, annual gifting can help manage a taxable estate while putting money to work for the people you care about, now.

If you haven't reviewed your gifting strategy for 2026, there's still time. The window closes on December 31.

08/14/2026

Some professionals assume their financial strategy is in better shape than it is. Not because they're careless. Because they're busy.

Today is National Financial Awareness Day. Four questions worth sitting with:

• If something happened to you tomorrow, would your family know what you have, where it is, and what to do?

• Are you on track to replace your income in retirement, or are you assuming you will be?

• Has your financial strategy changed as much as your life has in the last 12 months?

• If markets dropped tomorrow, do you have written goals or a general sense of what you'd do?

You don't have to answer all four today. But if one made you pause, that's the one worth paying attention to.

08/10/2026

For some executives, the most important tax deadline of the year isn't April 15. It's December 31.

If you have access to a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan, deferral elections typically must be made before the compensation year begins.

Under IRC Section 409A, once that window closes, retroactive elections are not permitted.

Eligible executives may be able to defer salary, bonuses, and incentive pay and delay taxation until a lower-income year.

Missing the election means missing that opportunity entirely for that year.

What often gets overlooked is the timing.

Year-end is busy, and a deadline that arrives before income is received can be easy to miss.

If this applies to your situation, now is the time to review your elections before Q4.

Consider asking your financial professional to work with your tax, legal, or accounting professionals if you want more information on how nonqualified deferred compensation works.

08/03/2026

Your family could know every password you have and still be legally locked out of your photos, email, and accounts after you're gone.

Most estate strategies never address this gap.

A password helps practically. But it doesn't give your family legal permission to access an account.

Many platforms restrict access under their terms of service, and privacy laws can limit what companies disclose, even to a spouse or adult child.

These tools exist because knowing someone's password is not the same as having the right to use it.

Here are some suggestions:

• Reference digital assets generally and name a digital executor or fiduciary

• Keep a separate, secure inventory with accounts, passwords, recovery keys, and wishes

Many states have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, or RUFADAA. It creates a legal path for fiduciaries to access digital assets. But the law works best when paired with documented instructions and properly configured platform settings.

Your memories are saved. Make sure your family can access them.

07/27/2026

Without looking, when did you last update your will?

For most people, the honest answer is "a while ago." Sometimes it's "I don't remember." Occasionally, it's "I'm not sure I ever have."

Estate documents get signed in a year that felt important, and then they go into a drawer.

Four things most people don't realize:

• State estate taxes follow the property, not the person. A vacation home in another state can be taxed by that state's rules.

• Trusts in recent years may need to be updated to reflect current rules.

• Inheritance tax depends on who receives, not what's left. Nieces, nephews, and unmarried partners may owe what a child wouldn't.

• The beneficiary form on a retirement account typically overrides the will. The form is filled out once and quietly controls millions.

And many more nuances worth considering.

We’re here if you want an opinion on your estate strategy. If you have a trust, we would encourage you to speak with a professional who is familiar with the relevant rules and regulations before considering any changes.

07/16/2026

If something happened tomorrow, would your family know where to start?

In most households, one person handles the money. The bills, the logins, the insurance, the auto-pays.

The other believes it's being handled, which is fine until it isn't.

Here’s a suggestion:

• Build one shared document with every account and explain how to access it. Update it periodically.

• Consider having both names on the accounts you say are jointly owned.

• Check out a password manager you both can access.

• Keep a one-page summary in a safe place with what to do, who to call, and where to look.

The couples who do this often say the same thing afterward: “We should have done it sooner.”

07/07/2026

Six months of 2026 are gone.

If you're like most of the people we work with, the year hasn’t gone exactly the way you sketched it out in January.

• Maybe the market did something you didn't expect, and your priorities look different from what they did six months ago.

• Maybe a parent's health changed, or an adult child needed help, or a grandchild arrived, and now the estate strategy you finalized two years ago doesn't quite match the family.

• Maybe the business had a better year than projected, or you’re managing through some other issues.

• Maybe you sold something, bought something, retired, semi-retired, or finally admitted you're not going to retire when you said you would.

Any one of those is a reason to revisit your approach before December, not after.

The clients who feel most in control of their financial lives are the ones who don't wait until year-end to find out what the year actually was.

07/03/2026

This 4th of July is a milestone year! It’s our nation's 250th birthday. Hope you enjoy a long weekend celebrating this historic anniversary, and have a happy Independence Day!

06/21/2026

There's a version of your father you didn't know. The one who existed before you came along. Before the responsibility. Before the sacrifices, you may not have fully understood until you were older.

Most of us only piece that together with time.

What fathers leave behind isn't just memories. It's a way of moving through the world.

A standard.

A sense of what it looks like to take care of the people who depend on you.

That's worth honoring.

Happy Father's Day weekend to every father and father figure out there.

Address

6912 University Avenue , Suite 1
Cedar Falls, IA
50613

Website

https://www.ewiowa.com/

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