David N. Waldrop, CFP

05/29/2026

Did Albert Einstein really say this about compound interest?
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“It's the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.”
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Whether he said it or not, the message is spot on.

🔹 Compound vs. Simple Interest
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Simple Interest: Earns on the original amount only.
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Compound Interest: Earns on your original amount plus prior interest.
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The difference is massive over time especially with long-term savings, mortgages, or investments.
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🔸 Real Life Example
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A $500,000 mortgage at 7% over 30 years = $697,546 in interest 😳
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That’s compound interest working against you.
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But small extra payments can flip the script:
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+$50/mo = save $34,575 and pay off 13 months early
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+$100/mo = save $66,067 and pay off 25 months early
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🔹 Compound Interest & Investing
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By reinvesting dividends in stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds, you’re putting compounding to work for you.
Over time, this snowballs your wealth. More shares mean larger future dividends.
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⚠️ But be smart: Investments carry risk. Share values fluctuate and dividends aren’t guaranteed.
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Still, compounding remains one of the most effective tools for long-term growth.
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✅ Want to grow your money or kill your debt faster? Make compound interest work for you. Not against you.

05/22/2026

What's the most overlooked retirement strategy? Your HSA.
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Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) aren’t just for paying medical bills.
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They might be one of the most powerful, tax-advantaged tools for building long-term wealth.
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Many people don’t realize just how valuable they are.

✅ Triple Tax Advantage
- Contributions are tax-deductible
- Growth is tax-free
- Withdrawals for medical expenses are tax-free
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And unlike an FSA, you don’t lose what you don’t use. The balance rolls over year after year and can be invested.
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📈 Invest for the Future
Think of your HSA like a “stealth IRA.” After age 65, withdrawals for any purpose are taxed like a traditional IRA—but medical expenses remain tax-free. Plus, no required minimum distributions (RMDs).
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💰 Contribution Limits (2026)
- Individual: $4,400 ($5,400 if 55+)
- Family: $8,750 ($9,750 if 55+)
- And you can fund it up until Tax Day for the prior year.
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If you’re eligible for an HSA, don’t overlook it. This isn’t just a health account. It's a retirement accelerator.

05/15/2026

When I joined the ranks of business owner 18 years ago, a friend warned me:
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“Don’t think of it as being self-employed. It’s more like self-inflicted.”
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He was joking a bit but he wasn’t wrong. Starting a business is equal parts exhilarating and exhausting.
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I can say it’s the most rewarding professional decision I’ve ever made but it comes with serious complexity.

Here are a few key areas every aspiring entrepreneur must address early:
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✅ Choose the right legal structure
Sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, or corporation: Each has different tax rules, liability protections, and complexity.
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✅ Protect yourself with insurance
General liability, cyber insurance, workers comp. Don’t overlook this.
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✅ Understand business taxation
The way you structure your entity directly impacts how your income is taxed and how much of it you keep.
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✅ Offer retirement & health benefits
Not only do these attract talent, they can reduce your taxable income.
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✅ Plan for the unexpected
Without estate planning, your family and business may face chaos if something happens to you.
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✅ Be diligent
From registering with the state to getting an EIN and tracking your finances. Miss a step and you risk costly penalties.
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Starting a business isn’t just about having a great idea. It’s about building a foundation that can support it for years to come.

05/08/2026

In this week’s article, Ashley Hamman, CFP® shares why time matters so much when it comes to financial decisions, how waiting changes the math more than most people realize, and why starting small often matters more than getting everything perfect.

Ashley Hamman, CFP®, is a Vice President at Bridgeview Capital Advisors, Inc. She works with individuals and families on financial and tax planning and investment management, with a focus on helping people navigate real-life decisions with clarity and confidence as things change.

Financial decisions can sneak up on you. If you're not careful you, time can significantly impact you're decision making.

05/01/2026

If you're ignoring your 401(k), you’re ignoring a powerful tool for building wealth over time.
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Here’s how to get the most out of it 👇

🔹 1. Participate Early​
If you're eligible—join! Don’t rely on auto-enrollment alone. Customize your contributions and investment choices to fit your goals.
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🔹 2. Save at Least 10%​
Can’t hit 10% right away? Start small and increase annually. Many plans let you automate the increases.
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🔹 3. Max Out Contributions - 2026 limits:​
• $24,500 under age 50
• $32,500 if age 50+
• $35,750 if you’re age 60–63
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🔹 4. Get the Full Employer Match​
Ask HR: “What % of my pay earns me 100% of the company match?”
If you don’t contribute enough to get the full match, you’re leaving free money on the table.
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🔹 5. Don’t Try to Time the Market​
Use a diversified mix, or consider a target date fund. Slow and steady wins the retirement race.
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🔹 6. Know Your Vesting Schedule​
Your contributions are always yours—but company contributions may be subject to vesting. Leaving a job too soon could cost you.
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🔹 7. Explore Roth 401(k) Options​
Tax-free withdrawals in retirement can be a big win especially for younger workers or those in lower tax brackets now.
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🔹 8. Rebalance Regularly​
Market gains can throw off your allocation. Rebalancing keeps your portfolio aligned with your goals.
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🔹 9. Increase Contributions Each Year​
Give yourself a raise. Your future you will thank you.
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🔹 10. Avoid 401(k) Loans & Too Much Company Stock​
Both can derail your long-term strategy. Diversify and borrow only as a last resort.
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🔹 11. Use Dollar Cost Averaging​
Automatic contributions mean you’re buying through ups and downs taking emotion out of investing.
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🔹 12. Designate a Beneficiary​
It only takes a minute. Make sure your money goes where you intend it to.
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🚨 Bottom line: Don’t neglect your 401(k). A few small tweaks can make a big difference in your retirement outcome.

04/24/2026

Did You File IRS Form 5500-EZ?

If you’re a solopreneur or independent contractor using an Individual 401(k), the IRS Form 5500-EZ may apply to you once your plan hits $250,000 in assets.
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👉 Many small business owners are drawn to Solo 401(k)s because they’re low-cost and relatively easy to manage. But there’s a catch.

Once your plan crosses the $250K threshold, including rollovers, you’re required to file Form 5500-EZ annually.
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And don’t let the “EZ” fool you. It’s not always simple.
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📅 Filing deadlines:
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- For calendar-year plans: July 31
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- For fiscal year (e.g., June 30): Jan 31
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📬 You can file by mail or electronically via EFAST2 (required if you file 10+ IRS returns a year).
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Miss the deadline? Penalties can reach $250 per day.
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Too often, plan owners assume their investment provider or tax preparer is handling it. They’re usually not.
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💡 Pro tip: Make this part of your annual tax planning. Consult a professional before it becomes an expensive oversight.

04/17/2026

📣 You Filed Your Taxes… How Did It Go?

If the answer is anything less than “great,” it may be time for a better plan.

💡 Most people only think about taxes when they file…
And that’s why they often overpay year after year.

👉 The real opportunity isn’t in preparing your return, it’s in planning ahead.

Here’s how we help:
✔️ Reduce future tax liability
✔️ Make smarter investment decisions with taxes in mind
✔️ Turn one-time tax events into long-term strategies
✔️ Build a coordinated financial plan that actually works

👥 We are a fee-only team of Certified Financial Planners®, providing:
• Investment Management
• Financial Planning
• Proactive Tax Planning

🚫 No commissions. No product sales. Just advice aligned with you.

📅 Schedule your FREE Introductory Conversation today!

👉 Link in the comments

04/10/2026

Most people think their finances are “handled.”

They have a CPA.
An investment advisor.
Maybe even a retirement plan.

But here’s the real question,
Do those professionals ever talk to each other?

In most cases, they don’t.

And that’s where costly mistakes happen, not from bad decisions, but from gaps between good ones.

Financial planning, tax strategy, and investment management are all connected. When they’re treated as separate conversations, opportunities get missed:

• Capital gains triggered without tax planning
• Roth conversions done in the wrong income year
• Retirement savings concentrated in tax heavy accounts
• Business sales structured inefficiently

None of this is bad advice. It’s what happens when no one is looking at the full picture.

Your CPA plays an important role but it’s mostly backward looking, filing correctly.
True tax planning is forward looking, making decisions today to reduce what you will pay over your lifetime.

That’s where integrated financial planning comes in.

It means:
→ Every decision is coordinated before it happens
→ Taxes, investments, and long term goals are aligned
→ Strategy is built around your full financial picture, not in silos

Because your finances are a system. And systems only work when someone is connecting the dots.

If your advisors are not collaborating before major decisions are made, there is a good chance something is being left on the table.

It’s not about doing more.
It’s about doing things together.

04/04/2026

It's human nature to avoid danger. When we see red on our investment statements, our instincts kick in.
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Fight or flight. Panic. Action. But when it comes to long-term investing, doing nothing might just be the smartest move.

📉 Yes, negative returns hurt.
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📰 Yes, the headlines are scary.
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🧠 But reacting emotionally can undo years of planning.
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Here are 3 common mistakes long-term investors make when markets get rough:
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- Thinking every downturn is the Big One: Just like earthquakes in California, market corrections happen. Not every tremor is 2008 all over again.
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- Believing something must be wrong: A diversified portfolio will include some poor performers. That doesn't mean your strategy is broken.
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- Waiting for things to “settle down." Spoiler alert: they never fully do. If you're waiting for the “all clear” signal, you’ll miss out. Time in the market > timing the market.
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Investing through uncertainty isn’t easy. But if it were, everyone would do it.
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🧭 Stay the course
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💡 Stick to the plan
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📈 Think long term

03/27/2026

Feeling stuck with your investing and financial planning?
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Here's why progress feels slow and why that's ok.
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It’s easy to feel like you’re spinning your wheels whether it’s your finances, fitness, or just life in general.

Here’s what I’ve learned (the hard way): progress often starts slow, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
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💡 Here’s what that looks like in real life:
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📉 A new investor I worked with contributed $1,200 to a Roth IRA in Year 1. His balance? Just $1,245. This was discouraging but totally normal.
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📈 In Year 2, that same investor saw real growth. Compounding kicked in, dividends reinvested, and momentum built.
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Lessons learned:
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✅ Consistency beats intensity. A few smart habits repeated over time matter more than big one-time efforts.
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✅ Be okay with slow starts. The early phase is where you build muscle, financially and mentally.
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✅ Short-term setbacks don’t define long-term outcomes. A market dip or missed milestone isn’t failure. It’s part of the process.
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✅ Track progress over time, not overnight. Think in quarters and years, not days and weeks.
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One book that shaped my mindset: Atomic Habits by James Clear. Tiny habits, repeated daily, lead to massive results over time.
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🎯 Bottom line: If you’re not seeing results yet, don’t quit. The tunnel may feel dark now but stay the course, and the light will show up.