Ryan Landmark, CFP, Chfc - Northwestern Mutual

Ryan Landmark, CFP, Chfc - Northwestern Mutual Protecting what's important. Investing into the future. Preserving what's been built.

06/24/2026

You deserve to live with a little more confidence and a lot less second guessing. I can help you get that by helping you set up your financial plan.

In the early 1990s, a $100,000 income was often viewed as the definition of the American Dream.A nice house. A nice fami...
06/24/2026

In the early 1990s, a $100,000 income was often viewed as the definition of the American Dream.

A nice house. A nice family vacation. Some money left over to save. A feeling of stability.

Fast forward to today –

With inflation averaging about 2.63% per year since then, you'd need roughly $250,000 of income to have the same purchasing power.

That's a pretty incredible shift.

It's also why so many people feel confused.

They've achieved income levels they once thought would solve every financial problem...

Yet life doesn't feel as different as they expected.

This is why perspective is so important.

When people compare themselves to their parents, older relatives, or even their own expectations from 20+ years ago, they're often comparing completely different dollars.

A lot of people feel like they've fallen behind when in reality the finish line moved.

The numbers changed.
The math changed.
The world changed.

A not-so-great way to measure progress is looking at the income you're now making.

A great way to measure progress is looking at how your financial plan has improved.

Don’t be the guy or gal without a plan.

Cheers!

-Ryan

66 years old.Retired in early 2020.Watched the news.Watched the market fall.Decided they'd had enough.So they sold every...
06/23/2026

66 years old.

Retired in early 2020.

Watched the news.
Watched the market fall.

Decided they'd had enough.

So they sold everything and moved 100% to cash right before big drops in the market.

At the time?
It felt brilliant.

The market kept falling.
Friends were panicking.

Their account balance wasn't.

They got out at exactly the right time.
Or so it seemed.

Here's the problem.

Getting out is only half the decision.

You also have to get back in.

And that's where things usually fall apart.

Because once you're sitting in cash, every headline feels dangerous.
"Maybe after the election."
"Maybe after inflation comes down."
"Maybe after rates fall."
"Maybe after the next correction."

Years pass.

The perfect opportunity never arrives.

Meanwhile, the market recovers.
Then makes new highs.
Then does it again. And again. And again.

Today, they're still in cash.

And for illustration purposes, if they had simply done nothing and stayed invested through the downturn, they'd be worth roughly twice what they have now.

Think about that.

The decision that felt so smart in the moment became one of the most expensive decisions of their retirement.
A multi-7 figure difference.

Not because they sold.

Because they couldn't figure out when to buy.

Market timing requires being right twice.

Once on the way out.
And again on the way back in.

Missing either one can be costly.

Missing the second one is usually what gets people.

The irony is the market decline they were trying to avoid would have ended up causing far less damage than the decision they made trying to avoid it.

Sometimes doing nothing feels irresponsible.

Most often, doing nothing is exactly what the plan called for. (If you couldn’t tell, they didn’t actually have a plan.)

Cheers!

-Ryan

Markets continue to show resilience, but the path forward may depend on inflation, the Fed’s next move, and whether AI-r...
06/23/2026

Markets continue to show resilience, but the path forward may depend on inflation, the Fed’s next move, and whether AI-related investment remains strong as financing costs rise. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management CIO Brent Schutte shares why diversification remains important in today’s market environment. http://spr.ly/6187BDwjPf

Whole life insurance can be a key component of your financial future. Let’s talk about how we can structure it to enhanc...
06/22/2026

Whole life insurance can be a key component of your financial future. Let’s talk about how we can structure it to enhance your overall plan. http://spr.ly/6188BDGhzs

"This Investor Predicted the Last Recession. He Says 'This One's Bigger.'"Financial media loves headlines like this.Why?...
06/22/2026

"This Investor Predicted the Last Recession. He Says 'This One's Bigger.'"

Financial media loves headlines like this.

Why?

Because fear gets attention.

Think about it.

If someone predicts 20 recessions and gets 1 right...

The headline isn't:
"Investor Wrong 19 Times."

It's:
"Investor Predicted the Last Recession."

That's what gets clicks.

The goal of these headlines isn't to help you make better decisions.

It's to make you feel something.

Usually:
Fear
Urgency
Anxiety

And those emotions are often the enemy of good financial planning.

There will always be someone predicting a crash.
There will always be someone predicting a boom.

The hard part is recognizing that neither knows the future.

Successful investors don't build plans around headlines.

They build plans that can survive them.

Because the biggest risk usually isn't the recession prediction.

It's what you do because of it.

Cheers!

-Ryan

It's Faithful Friday!One of the biggest mistakes I see isn't people having money.It's people thinking money is the thing...
06/19/2026

It's Faithful Friday!

One of the biggest mistakes I see isn't people having money.
It's people thinking money is the thing that will finally make them feel secure.

Get the promotion.
Hit the savings goal.
Pay off the mortgage.
Build the investment account.

Then I'll feel secure.

The problem?
The target keeps moving.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV) says:
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain..."

Paul isn't saying wealth is bad.
He's saying wealth is uncertain.

Jobs change.
Markets change.
Businesses change.
Tax laws change.
Health changes.

Anyone who has lived long enough knows life can look very different in a matter of months.

That's why good financial planning isn't about accumulating the biggest pile possible.

It's about creating enough.

Enough to provide for your family.
Enough to weather life's storms.
Enough to be generous.
Enough to sleep well at night.
Enough to focus on what matters most.

The passage goes on to tell us to "be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."

That's a very different scoreboard than most people keep.

At the end of the day, the goal isn't to die with the largest account balance.

The goal is to use what God has entrusted to you wisely while you're here.

Money is a tool.

Always has been.

Always will be.

Cheers!

-Ryan

A lot of people think retirement confidence comes from having more money.The data says otherwise.This year's Retirement ...
06/18/2026

A lot of people think retirement confidence comes from having more money.

The data says otherwise.

This year's Retirement Confidence Survey found that retirement confidence declined among both workers and retirees.

Concerns about inflation, debt, healthcare costs, housing expenses, Social Security, and Medicare all increased.

Think about that.

Many people have more information than ever.

More calculators. More podcasts. More financial content. More account access.

Yet many feel less confident.

Why?

Because confidence doesn't come from having all the answers.

It comes from having a plan.

I've met people with $300,000 who feel incredibly confident.
I've met people with $10 million who constantly worry.

The difference usually isn't intelligence.

It's clarity.

The people who know:
Where they're going.
How much they need.
What risks they're taking.
What risks they've already planned for…

Sleep better.

The people guessing tend to carry the stress.

Even when their balance sheet looks great.

Money solves many problems.

Uncertainty creates many problems.

That's why financial planning is about more than growing investments.

It's about replacing uncertainty with intentionality.

Because confidence isn't the reward for reaching the destination.

It often comes from knowing you're on the right path.

Cheers!

-Ryan

06/17/2026

The right financial plan makes it easier to feel confident about what’s next. I can help you put one together that would impress any dad.

With many big tech firms' employees, I'll hear "We have access to free planning through work."Yep. Sure you do.Here's us...
06/17/2026

With many big tech firms' employees, I'll hear "We have access to free planning through work."

Yep.

Sure you do.

Here's usually what that means:

You get access to a 1-800 call center, an automated questionnaire, or a general educational webinar.

And here is what they don’t do that you completely miss out on:
- Advanced Equity Coordination: They can explain the basic definition of an RSU or ISO. I have not seen them build a multi-year tax-bracket optimization strategy to diversify out of your concentrated stock position safely.

- Real-Time Guardrails: When the market swings or your company’s stock drops significantly in a week, a corporate portal won't call you to prevent an emotional, potentially costly portfolio mistake.

- Holistic Strategy Integration: Corporate planners look at your benefits package in a vacuum. They don’t model how your tech equity interacts with your spouse’s income, your outside real estate, or your private investments.

- Proactive Oversight: Workplace tools are entirely reactive. They wait for you to log in or ask a question. They are not actively monitoring tax code changes or estate planning laws on your behalf.

Free corporate planning is a decent baseline tool for basic education.

But broad educational resources are not a substitute for a proactive strategy.

Don't confuse a standard workplace benefit with a personalized wealth plan.

Cheers!

-Ryan

Address

2307 W. 57th Street Ste. 200
Sioux Falls, SD
57108

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