Stone Pine Financial Partners

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤-𝐈𝐧

A new month is a great time for a quick financial check-in.

Ask yourself:

- Do I know where my income is coming from this month?
- Are my withdrawals aligned with my plan?
- Has anything changed in my spending?

Retirement isn’t “set it and forget it”—small adjustments can make a big difference over time.

𝐀 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬

Looking for meaningful ways to give to your kids or grandkids? A 529 college savings plan is a great option—helping you celebrate a special young person while potentially earning a state tax deduction in Pennsylvania (and many other states!).

𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

Spring isn’t just for cleaning your home—it’s a great time to revisit your financial plan.

-Review your budget
-Rebalance your portfolio
-Check beneficiary designations

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞

You still have time to make your 2025 IRA or Roth IRA contribution!

Deadline: April 15, 2026

2025 Contribution Limits.
• $7,000 if you’re under age 50
• $8,000 if you’re age 50 or older

These contribution limits apply to both Traditional and Roth IRAs. If your income falls below the applicable phase-out ranges, this contribution may be fully deductible for a traditional IRA or fully eligible for a Roth IRA. It’s a great last-minute opportunity to boost your retirement savings - and potentially reduce your tax bill.

𝐔𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

We are looking forward to meeting with you in just a few weeks for our spring meetings - it’s always great to reconnect. These conversations are a valuable time to revisit your goals, make any adjustments needed for the year ahead, and review your progress. If you haven’t scheduled yet, we encourage you to reach out and secure a time that works best for you!

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩, 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞

For those in retirement or taking distributions from their investments, planning ahead becomes even more important. One way to prepare is by building a safety net into the portfolio. This safety net, what we often refer to at Stone Pine as the Safety Bucket, is designed to provide several years of planned withdrawals from more stable assets.

That allows you to continue your normal distributions without needing to sell investments that may be temporarily down in value during a market decline. We can’t control or predict when markets will drop. What we can do is prepare in advance and avoid compounding losses by reacting in the moment. Fire drills save lives. Financial fire drills may help save our savings.

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩, 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞

It’s also important to keep in mind that a difficult stretch doesn’t necessarily mean a bad year. While a 20% decline occurred in 29 different years, the market finished the full year down more than 20% only six times. In fact, in 10 of those 29 years, the market still ended the year with a positive return. This reinforces an important lesson: the most reliable course of action following a market downturn is often to remain invested.

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩, 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞

The concept of a fire drill is relevant to investing as well. Knowing the range of possible outcomes and how to behave in those circumstances is critical to long-term success. The odds are that investors will be tested with a downturn. U.S. stocks have experienced a decline of at least 20% at some point during 29 of the 98 calendar years since 1927.

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩, 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞

For many of us, the importance of a fire drill is ingrained starting as early as elementary school. The procedure - reacting to an alarm by calmly exiting the building - is repeated to build muscle memory for what to do in a real emergency. Just as importantly, it reinforces lessons on what not to do.

Stay tuned as we relate the concept of a fire drill to investing!

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫

Take control of your finances and avoid costly mistakes when you consider the five most important topics for every retiree: Social Security, Medicare, housing, income replacement, taxes and software to illustrate the impact and importance these decisions can have on your retirement. Learn an effective way to consolidate your retirement planning decisions to one page.

DATES: March 11 & 18, 2026, 6:30 p.m.

ORGANIZATION: Main Line School Night

LOCATION: Creutzburg Center