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September is Life Insurance Awareness Month.

Seriously.

I’m not sure how you are planning to celebrate. Maybe a cookout. Maybe a parade. Maybe gather the family around the kitchen table and reminisce about your favorite term policies.

But as silly as “Life Insurance Awareness Month” may sound to you, life insurance is not silly at all. For a lot of reasons, it can be an incredibly important part of a financial plan.

And one of those reasons is retirement planning.

Because you must make it to retirement to enjoy your retirement savings.

Enjoying your savings isn't always just about providing yourself with an income. It is often about a spouse. Helping children or grandchildren. Creating extra special memories and moments. Leaving a legacy. Maybe simply making life a little easier for you and the people you care about.

An early death does not just stop a paycheck. It stops all those years of saving and growth you were counting on.

Retirement savings and life insurance are not competing strategies. In fact, they are complementary. They go hand in hand. One helps you build the future you and your family want and deserve. The other helps protect that future.

So Happy Life Insurance Awareness Month! Throw a party. Bake a cake. Blow up balloons.

And review your policies and your retirement accounts to make sure the future you are working so hard to secure actually happens.

Rain or shine.

That sounds like one crazy September.

Today, I turn 6.

Every July 24, I celebrate my Unbirthday.

My birthday is January 24, but July 24 marks another year closer to age 59½—the first age when I can access my retirement savings without paying the IRS’s early withdrawal penalty.

Last year, we marked my “7th” birthday with a family trip to the beach. This year, we’ll celebrate at home as all four kids are coming in from church outings and summer camps. The house will quickly fill with laundry, laughs, stories, and spaghetti.

I can’t imagine a better way to spend the evening.

When people ask what I look forward to in retirement, they probably expect me to say travel, golf, or finally checking off the bucket list.

I hope there will be plenty of that.

But if I’m being honest… I mostly picture evenings like this.

A full house. Dinner around the table. Time together. No rush. No alarm clock the next morning.

That’s what I’m saving for.

How old will you be this year?

A Very Merry Unbirthday… To You.

In late April my college buddies and I gathered for our annual golf weekend.

Twenty-eight years in a row. How is that even possible?!

I stepped out of the car on Wednesday afternoon and time warped into 1998 (with a lot less hair and a few more pounds). Same stories. Same jokes. Same bad golf swings. Belly aching laughs from start to finish.

Every year, it matters a little more.

This year brought rain. The kind of rain that easily could have ruined the weekend.

Except it didn’t.

We were prepared. Rain gear. Umbrellas. Dry gloves. And when the weather got too rough, we simply sat together in the clubhouse, had a beer, and laughed while the storm passed outside.

At Plybon & Associates, we talk a lot about being ready for the rain.

Because it is not a matter of if it will rain, but when. And how long. And how hard.

Sometimes life only drizzles. A surprise car repair or an unexpected bill.

Sometimes it pours steadily for a season. A difficult economy, business challenges, or caring for aging parents.

And sometimes big storms hit. Job changes. Health issues. Loss.

Retirement planning is about saving money, discipline and long-term strategy. But it is also about being prepared so that, when it rains, life stays on track.

Good planning will not stop the rain from coming. But it will provide greater clarity, structure, and confidence. It will allow you to take a deep breath, adjust, and keep moving forward when the weather rolls in.

Being ready for the rain changes everything.

When I dream of retirement, I’m taking this same trip with these same friends. I am saving and planning so that, years from now, I can still be there hearing the same stories, laughing at the same jokes, and playing the same bad golf.

Rain or shine.

I didn’t start playing guitar until I was about 40 years old… but I played a mean air guitar growing up. During my teen years that often meant jamming to the Violent Femmes while riding around in my best friend’s bright red Honda CRX with the windows down and the system up.

I was recently messing around on my now real guitar (sorry Rosemary!) with “Prove My Love” by the Violent Femmes when one line really jumped out at me.

“Third verse, same as the first!” yells lead singer Gordon Gano.

Then he sings the first verse again… same exact words, same exact music.

It brought back lots of great memories… and it also made me think about the news lately.

• War.
• Higher prices.
• Economic uncertainty.
• Market volatility.
• Chaos in Washington.

For retirement savers, it can feel pretty unsettling.

But it’s nothing we haven’t heard before.

Last year when tariffs were announced and markets got jumpy, we had the same conversations. And before that it was inflation… and before that COVID… and before that the Great Recession… and before that war in the Middle East… and in between, a whole bunch of things we don’t even remember anymore.

The headlines change. The story really doesn’t.

And our response always stays the same.

• Keep saving.
• Stay disciplined and diversified.
• Tune out the noise.
• Don’t make emotional decisions.
• Think long term.

Not exciting advice… but it’s proven to work.

So if the headlines have you feeling a little uneasy right now, remember something:

You’ve heard this song before.

Third verse, same as the first.

We’re a few weeks into the new year — that special time when gym parking lots are starting to clear out, the kale in the fridge is getting suspiciously limp, and resolutions are quietly being... postponed.

And I get it.

At our house, New Year’s resolutions are kind of a tradition. And so is the slow fade that follows. One year, I swore off sweets until Easter. It lasted exactly five days — until my daughter Viv walked in with a homemade chocolate cake.

Some resolutions are harder than others!

But there’s one resolution that matters to us all — and it doesn’t require a gym membership or a green smoothie:

Saving for the future.

Of course, knowing it’s important doesn’t make it easy.

Willpower is hard. Especially when it comes to habits that require consistency over months and years.

The good news? This resolution can come with built-in willpower — tools that do the heavy lifting for us, even on the days when life is busy, expensive, or distracting.

• Automatic payroll deductions into a 401(k)
• Monthly drafts into a savings or investment account
• Target-date retirement funds that adjust automatically as you age

These are the quiet, behind-the-scenes habits that can make the biggest difference over time.

The benefits of saving may not show up right away… or even this year. But they will show up — and when they do, they will show up big.

So if your New Year’s resolutions are starting to slip, give yourself some grace. You’re not alone.

But more than any other, there’s one resolution that’s worth sticking with (or picking back up): saving for your future.

And even better: No kale required.

After several weeks of traditional holiday meals, cookies, and casseroles, my family needed a break — and maybe a vegetable that hadn’t been wrapped in bacon.

So over New Years weekend we turned to one of our local favorites: China’s Best in Greensboro. A much-needed dinner of lo mein, sesame chicken, and fried rice (extra egg, of course) hit the spot. As always, the food was delicious and right on time.

And, of course, no meal from China’s Best is complete without a round of fortune cookies. We love reading them out loud, debating their meaning, and deciding whose fortune is clearly the best (spoiler: it’s never mine).

This time, my fortune read: “Opportunity and caution share the same pocket.”

Naturally, I took that as a sign to rebalance my entire portfolio, shift to defensive sectors, buy gold, and maybe text Jerome Powell — just to see if he was feeling it too.

(Kidding!)

But it did get me thinking — this is the time of year when, everywhere you turn, an “expert” is breaking open a cookie and giving the world our financial fortune for 2026.

Market forecasts, economic outlooks, interest rate predictions — all wrapped up in confident language and colorful charts.

For every economist predicting growth and prosperity, there’s another forecasting recession and doom. They both make strong arguments. They both have data. They both sound convincing.

And both are simply guessing… and most will be dead wrong.

So here’s my market prediction for 2026: I have no idea.

I don’t know what the stock market will do this year. I don’t know what the Fed will decide. I don’t know what will happen with inflation, elections, or global events.

And nobody else does either.

Markets are unpredictable. Economies are cyclical. And surprises? Well, those are part of the deal.

That’s why my family and I won’t be changing our financial planning based on predictions. Instead, we’ll keep doing what’s worked over time:

• Protect against risk
• Stay diversified
• Save consistently
• Focus on the long term

It’s not flashy. It won’t make headlines. But it works.

So enjoy the fortune cookie. Smile at the mystery. Have fun laughing about what “opportunity and caution” might actually mean.

And then toss the “fortune” aside… and stay focused on your long-term, disciplined financial strategies and goals.

’Tis the season… we’re all shopping.

And I love it.

I love the lists. I love the crowds. I love the hunt and the surprise. I love the smiles.

But once the gifts are purchased and need to be wrapped for placement under the tree? I’m a trainwreck.

My tape placement? Let’s call it “enthusiastic.” My folds? Lumpy and crooked. My bows? Crumbled. Confused. Sometimes just non-existent. (They’re too much trouble!)

My family knows—if the gift looks like it was wrapped in a moving car, by someone with ten thumbs and two left hands… it’s from Dad!

Thankfully, the best gift I can give this year (and every year) doesn’t need wrapping at all.

Saving for the future.

Not the kind of gift that’s opened right away. Not the kind that shows up under the tree.

But it’s the most meaningful gift I know how to give.

A gift to my family, because the planning I do now helps create more time, freedom, and memories with the people I love. A gift to my future self, who’ll be thankful I gave things time to grow. And a gift to me, today—because there’s real peace in knowing I’m doing something that matters.

Saving doesn’t always feel urgent—but it is. Because time is the one gift you can’t get more of.

The earlier you start, the more it grows. The more options it creates. The more freedom it gives you when you need it most.

Saving is a gift you give today… and one you and your family get to open later—year after year after year.

And when that gift is opened, you’ll find inside peace, freedom, and the ability to say yes to the moments that matter most.

You’ll find the future you want—and deserve.

From my (imperfectly wrapped) family to yours—happy holidays.

While I will not be entering grade school in the fall, I will be turning 7 this summer.

I was born on January 24, 1973, which means my half-birthday is July 24. This year, I’ll be exactly 7 years away from 59½—the magical age when you can start accessing your retirement plan savings without that pesky 10% penalty.

July 24. My Un-Birthday.

We’ll be on beach vacation next week with family, and while I may not blow out any candles I’ll certainly be celebrating… and making a wish.

And I know exactly what I’ll wish for.

That this moment—this mix of freedom and beach and peace and laughter and time with the people I love—can be my forever reality.

That’s exactly what I want my retirement to look like.

But that kind of life takes planning. It takes saving. It takes time.

Retirement can feel forever away—like it’s something future-you will figure out. But time marches on. Quickly. And one day, you’ll blink and be seven years away.

Or closer.

So take advantage of every second. Continue saving money… and save more if you can. Stay focused on your goals and dreams and chip away every day. Give yourself the retirement you want and deserve.

And mark your calendar for your unbirthday. And celebrate it.

One day sooner than you think, that’s going to be a really big, fun party.

I was channel surfing on a quiet Sunday afternoon—not really looking for anything in particular—when I stumbled across it.

The Shawshank Redemption.

Let me be clear: I. Love. This. Movie.

Along with Jaws and The Silence of the Lambs, Shawshank is top-tier. It’s one of those I’ll rewatch every single time it’s on.

And I’ve seen it a lot. I know the twists, the heartbreaks, the moments of triumph. I know exactly how it ends. Still, if I happen upon Andy Dufresne carving chess pieces or dreaming of Zihuatanejo, I’m locked in.

Maybe my favorite scene—no spoilers, promise—comes when the warden and prison staff make a discovery that shocks them. Narrating the scene, Red (voiced by the one and only Morgan Freeman) delivers a line that hits you right in the soul:

“That’s all it takes, really. Pressure… and time.”

Red is talking about Andy and breaking through a prison wall. But he could just as easily be talking about life. About grit. Determination. Faith in the process.

And honestly? About saving for retirement.

Because that’s the formula.

Pressure… and time.

You contribute as much as you can (that’s the pressure), and you let it work for as long as possible (that’s the time). It’s not flashy. It’s not exciting. It’s not Hollywood. But it is powerful. And it works.

Like Andy with his tiny rock hammer, chiseling away night after night, it’s the steady effort that makes all the difference. It’s what builds freedom. It’s what builds your future.

It’s what gives you the retirement you want and deserve.

Morgan Freeman probably won’t narrate your retirement journey (although wouldn’t that be amazing?!), but you can have a beautiful ending.

All it takes is pressure… and time.

Over spring break, Rosemary and I took our twin boys on their first college tours.

Yesterday we were passing back goldfish crackers and sippy cups and today we’re walking through campuses asking about dorm life and meal plans.

It hit me much harder than I expected.

How did we get here so fast?

Time marches on, all too quickly. You can’t hit rewind. You can’t buy more of it. All you can do is make the most of the time you have.

And it’s not just parenting. It is everything.

When it comes to saving for your future, the most powerful ingredient is time. Not just years, but moments. Every month you save. Every contribution you make. Every little decision to prepare instead of postpone—it matters. It all adds up.

Life is expensive and we’re all juggling jobs and schedules and responsibilities. It’s easy to put off saving, thinking life will get easier and we’ll get to it “soon.”

But then you blink and another year has gone by. You blink and another opportunity to prepare for tomorrow gets swallowed by today.

You blink and your babies are going to college.

Walking those campuses was a gift. It reminded me just how fast this life moves—and how important it is to take advantage of every single moment.

Don’t wait another second. Give yourself the retirement you want and deserve.

Start saving now. Stay steady. Make the most of your time. It is indeed precious.

Just like my boys.