Category: Blog

What to Do Financially When Your Husband Dies: The First-Year Checklist

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Table of contents Everyone tells you to take time to grieve. Then someone…

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Gray Divorce Financial Checklist: The First 12 Months After the Decree

A gray divorce financial checklist for the first 12 months: QDRO, retitling, your first single filer tax year,…

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Solo Aging Financial Planning: Building Your Professional Family When There’s No One Obvious to Call

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Table of contents You’ve run the portfolio numbers, the withdrawal rate, the Social…

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Hazel Secco Named a Highly Rated Financial Advisor for 2026: What 19 Client Reviews Say

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Table of contents The email landed on a Thursday afternoon, in between a…

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Roth Conversion Window: The Years High Earners Miss

The Roth conversion window is the stretch of low-bracket years between retirement and RMDs, and it closes for…

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Can I Retire With $2 Million? Real Math for a Single Woman at 55

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® 🎧 Prefer to watch or listen? This episode of Align Your Retirement covers…

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RSU Tax Withholding: The 22% Mistake That Costs $18,000

Your employer withholds 22% on RSU vests, but your bracket may be 35%. How to close the RSU…

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IRMAA 2026: The Medicare Surcharge That Hits Two Years Late

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Table of contents Here is a letter nobody warns you about. You turn…

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The 4% Rule in Retirement: Why It Doesn’t Work for Women

The 4% rule assumes a 30-year retirement. Women often need 35 to 40 years. Here’s the real safe…

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Should a Widow Sell the House? The Two-Year Tax Deadline Nobody Mentions

Should a widow sell the house? The 2-year $500,000 exclusion, the step-up in basis, and when keeping the…

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