Boardwalk Wealth Solutions

11/02/2026

The Fed held interest rates steady in October, but not everyone agreed with the decision.

After raising rates in September, the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.75% to 4%. Two officials voted for another quarter-point increase.

What's behind the disagreement?

The economy continues to grow, consumer spending remains strong, and unemployment is relatively low. But inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, with consumer prices rising 3.7% over the past year.

For consumers, the decision matters because the Fed's benchmark rate influences borrowing costs for credit cards, auto loans, and other types of debt. It can also affect interest earned on savings accounts.

Economists are now watching the Fed's December meeting for signs of another possible increase. For now, rates are holding steady, but the inflation debate is far from over.

The U.S. central bank left borrowing costs unchanged this month after hiking rates in September for the first time in three years.

11/01/2026

Hey there, it’s Ralph Sevelius with Boardwalk Wealth Solutions and this is your NOVEMBER Financial tip of the month!

If you or someone you love has a disability, an ABLE account may be an important part of the financial plan.

ABLE stands for Achieving a Better Life Experience. It’s a tax-advantaged account designed to help eligible individuals save and pay for qualified disability expenses.

Here’s why ABLE accounts can be valuable:

First, the money can generally be used tax-free for expenses related to the account holder’s disability. That may include education, housing, transportation, healthcare, and many other everyday needs.

Second, ABLE accounts can help protect access to important benefits. In many cases, the first $100,000 in an ABLE account is excluded from the SSI resource limit. Medicaid eligibility may also continue, although the rules can be complex.

For 2026, the standard annual contribution limit is $20,000. Contributions can come from the account owner, family members, or other people. In some situations, an eligible working account owner may be able to contribute additional money through the ABLE to Work provisions.

But ABLE accounts aren’t automatically right for everyone. The right account—and how it fits with a broader special-needs, tax, and estate plan—depends on your circumstances.

If you’re wondering whether an ABLE account could fit into your financial strategy, send us a message or schedule a conversation. We’ll help you look at the bigger picture and make an informed decision.

Until next time, have a great November and a very happy Thanksgiving!

11/01/2026

Giving back to our community is something we value at Boardwalk Wealth Solutions.

Our team was proud to volunteer at the Vincent Jackson Family Foundation's Military Moms Baby Shower, an event dedicated to celebrating and supporting expecting and new military moms.

Kim and Kate helped prepare for the event by setting up and organizing gifts and supplies, while Ralph made sure every mom-to-be had a little extra help getting their gifts safely loaded into their cars!

The event provided an opportunity to celebrate these incredible moms, offer essential baby items and resources, and remind military families that they have a community supporting them.

We were grateful to roll up our sleeves, lend a hand, and be part of a day focused on making a difference for local military families.

A special thank-you to the Vincent Jackson Family Foundation for the meaningful work you do and for giving us the opportunity to be involved!

10/31/2026

Not every monster wears a costume this month. Some show up as a text pretending to be your bank. 👻

Three cybersecurity myths worth burying this October:

🎃 "Some of my accounts are too small to bother with." False. Most attacks aren’t personal. Automated bots test thousands of accounts at a time, looking for a weak spot.

🎃 "Only older adults fall for scams." Absolutely false. FTC data has consistently shown adults in their 20s are reporting fraud, too.

🎃 "I'd know a phishing email if I saw one." Maybe once. AI-generated phishing has erased the classic tells: broken grammar, misspellings, and awkward phrasing.

This time of year, it's worth taking a moment to look past the obvious scares and pay attention to the sneakier ones, too.

10/30/2026

WELCOME FOOLISH MORTALS! BEWARE of HITCHHIKING FINANCIAL ADVISORS!!! And have a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

10/29/2026

Nationwide's 2026 study surfaced three key lessons from parents:

🎯 Not starting early enough.
More than 25 percent of recent retirees wish they had started sooner. Fifteen years of compounding early in a career can make a HUGE difference.

🎯 Not raising the contribution rate as your income grows.
Thirteen percent of recent retirees wish they had contributed more to their savings each year.

🎯 Claiming Social Security at 62.
More than a third of boomers plan to claim benefits the moment they become eligible, even though doing so cuts the monthly benefit by 25 to 30 percent for life.

According to the SSA, waiting past full retirement age adds 8 percent per year, up to age 70.

Across the research, three things seem to matter most:
1️⃣ Starting early
2️⃣ Getting an outside perspective rather than relying on instinct alone
3️⃣ Treating retirement as something that unfolds over decades rather than a single date on the calendar

10/29/2026

Exciting News at Boardwalk Wealth Solutions!

There’s a lot to celebrate at Boardwalk! Our team is growing, and we couldn’t be happier to share the news.

Please join us in welcoming Kate Pope to the Boardwalk family as our new Client Support Specialist! Kate will help take care of the details, support our clients’ needs, and make sure the little things that make a big difference never get overlooked. We’re excited to have her on the team and look forward to all the ways she’ll help us create an exceptional client experience.

Along with our team expansion, Kim Terenzi is stepping into a new role as Chief Experience Officer! Kim will continue focusing on what matters most to us: making every client feel valued, cared for, and confident that they’re in good hands.

And because one celebration just isn’t enough, October 31st is Kate’s birthday! We’re celebrating a new team member and her special day all at once. Help us wish Kate a very happy birthday and give her a warm Boardwalk welcome!

We’re grateful for the people who make Boardwalk what it is, and we’re excited for this next chapter together.

10/28/2026

Talking with your parents about their wishes as they get older isn’t always easy. ❤️
You may worry about making them uncomfortable, or they may not feel ready to discuss it. But understanding what matters to them can make a difference if your family ever faces difficult decisions.
💬 The conversation doesn’t have to cover everything at once. You might start with a couple of simple questions:
▪️“Have you thought about what you’d want if you ever needed help making decisions?”
▪️“Do you have important documents somewhere we could find them if needed?”
Over time, those conversations may cover medical preferences and documents like a will or power of attorney.
And if your parents aren’t ready to talk? That’s okay. Respecting their comfort and independence is part of the conversation, too.
This isn’t about taking over. It’s about listening, so their wishes are understood if they’re ever needed.

End-of-life planning can be difficult to discuss, but the right approach can make the conversation easier.

10/26/2026

🤖 An AI assistant that handles your emails and pays your bills? That sounds pretty convenient.

But how much access are you comfortable giving it?

Personal AI agents are designed to handle tasks on your behalf, sometimes using sensitive information like banking details and email accounts. And while they may save time, some cybersecurity professionals warn that granting them too much access carries risks.

One concern is something called prompt injection, where malicious instructions hidden in a website or email could trick an AI agent into doing something you never authorized.

🔐 A couple of questions worth asking before giving an AI agent access to sensitive information:
▪️What information does it need? Researching products doesn’t necessarily require access to your accounts.
▪️Can it make purchases? There’s a difference between comparing prices and authorizing transactions.

Convenience and privacy don’t always go hand in hand. Reviewing what an agent has done on your behalf may help spot actions you never intended.

The more access you give personal AI agents, the more capable they can be. But should you trust them?

10/26/2026

How many years before you are ready to be "retired"?

It's one of the most important numbers yet.

TIAA's 2026 longevity literacy research found that workers who expect a shorter retirement save less consistently than those who expect a longer one.

That makes sense, but it also means the people who assume their retirement will be short are the same ones who may be building portfolios with shorter time horizons.

Once someone has already reached 65, the numbers shift.

According to Social Security Administration data:

📌 A 65-year-old man has roughly a 24 percent chance of living past 90

📌 A 65-year-old woman's chances are higher, closer to 35 percent

📌 For a 65-year-old married couple, there is about a 50 percent chance that at least one spouse lives past 90

The practical implication is not "assume you will live to 100."

It's that a retirement income strategy built around the "average lifespan" often assumes a person will die on schedule. Most people do not.

If retirement is on your horizon, the question to ask is, "What happens to my income strategy if I live to 95?"