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Ways to Cut Down on Your Gas Expenses

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on April 13, 2026. Posted in Posts.

Due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, gas prices have risen sharply over the past month or so. Nobody wants to pay more at the pump, and even if the fighting ends quickly, it may take a lot longer for gas prices to return to normal. (Economists often say that gas prices go up like a rocket when the price of oil rises but come back down like a feather even when the price of oil falls.) For that reason, it’s never a bad idea to explore ways to save.

To help, we’ve put together a few easy tips on how to increase your car’s fuel economy and pay less — or at least less often — at the pump.

The Gas Tank

Making the right choice at the gas pump is an important first step to keeping your car running efficiently and economically.

Follow your owner’s manual recommendation for the right octane level for your car. For most cars, the recommended gas is regular octane. Using a higher-octane gas than the manufacturer recommends offers no benefit—and costs you more at the pump. Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gas can be a waste of money.

Gas savings gadgets? Steer clear. Be skeptical about any gizmo that promises to improve your gas mileage. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tested over 100 supposed gas-saving devices—including “mixture enhancers” and fuel line magnets—and found that very few provided any fuel economy benefits.¹ Those devices that did work provided only a slight improvement in gas mileage. In fact, some products may even damage your car’s engine or cause a substantial increase in exhaust emissions.

The Steering Wheel

When it comes to stretching your gas budget, how you drive can be almost as important as how far you drive.

Stay within the posted speed limits. Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 miles per hour.² Avoid unnecessary idling. It uses as much as a half gallon of fuel per hour.² Turn off the engine if you anticipate a wait. Avoid jackrabbit starts and stops. You can improve in-town gas mileage by driving smoothly and gently. Use overdrive gears and cruise control when appropriate. They improve fuel economy when you’re driving on the highway.

The Tires

Keeping your tires properly inflated and aligned can increase gas mileage by up to 3% compared to when they are inflated at only 75% of the recommended pressure.³ As you can imagine, fuel economy decreases even further the lower your tire pressure goes.

Under the Hood

You don’t have to be a gearhead to keep your engine purring at its fuel-efficient best.

Keep your engine tuned. Tuning your engine according to your owner’s manual and fixing more serious problems like faulty sensors can improve mileage by as much as 40%!²

Change your oil. Clean oil reduces wear caused by friction between moving parts and removes harmful substances from the engine. You can improve your gas mileage by using the grade of motor oil recommended in your owner’s manual and changing it according to the schedule recommended by your car manufacturer. Motor oil that says “Energy Conserving” on the performance symbol of the American Petroleum Institute contains friction-reducing additives that can improve fuel economy by 1.5-2.7%.⁴

The Driver’s Seat

The only sure-fire “equipment” guaranteed to get more from a gallon of gas is a fuel-conscious driver behind the wheel.

Combine errands. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.

Avoid keeping heavy items in your car. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle can increase gas costs by up to $0.3 cents per gallon.² You can also reduce drag and improve efficiency by placing heavy items in the cab or trunk rather than on roof racks. (The latter can decrease fuel economy by 8% in the city, and up to 25% on freeways.²)

So, there you have it! We hope you found these tips helpful. Of course, higher gas prices are a small thing compared to the human cost of war, and we fervently hope this conflict ends soon. But finding ways to save benefits everyone: Our families, our environment, and our economy. So, if you have any of your own tips that we’ve missed, please share them with us so we can share them with others, too.

¹ “Gas Saving Products: Fact or Fuelishness?” FTC, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-FT-PURL-LPS104499/pdf/GOVPUB-FT-PURL-LPS104499.pdf
² “Fuel Economy,” U.S. Department of Energy, https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/fuel-economy
³ “Fact #983: Proper Tire Pressure Saves Fuel,” U.S. Department of Energy, https://www.energy.gov/cmei/vehicles/articles/fact-983-june-26-2017-proper-tire-pressure-saves-fuel
⁴“Mastering the Basics: Lube Basics,” Motor Magazine, https://www.motor.com/magazine-summary/mastering-basics-lube-basics-november-2002/

Q1 Market Recap

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on April 9, 2026. Posted in Posts.

Whenever we look at history — and the first quarter is now exactly that — the temptation is always to simply recount what happened and leave it at that. It’s why many people could tell you, “Magna Carta was signed in 1215” or “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492,” but they couldn’t tell you why it happened…or why it matters now.

The same temptation exists in the financial services industry. Right now, nearly every institution in the country is releasing its own “Q1 market recap.” Most will start like this: In Q1, the S&P 500 finished down 4.6% for the quarter. The Dow slid 3.6%, while the Nasdaq fell 7.1%.¹

Many will go deeper, of course. They will say those numbers would have been lower had it not been for a strong rally on the very last day of the quarter. (The Dow rose 2.4% on March 31^st, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped 2.9% and 3.8% respectively.¹)

Some recaps will provide historical context for those numbers. They will say that these were all the biggest one-day gains the market has seen since May of 2025…but that the S&P and the Dow still had their worst quarter since 2022.¹ In fact, the Dow and Nasdaq both briefly fell into “correction” territory, meaning a drop of 10% or more from a recent peak.

Good recaps will tell you the “why” behind these numbers. They’ll tell you that for the first two months of the quarter, the markets were down only slightly, stuck in a “one step forward, one step back” type of cycle. There were three main reasons for this: concerns about overspending on AI, private credit, and labor market doldrums.

A good recap should also tell you why these topics matter. For the last few years, enthusiasm over artificial intelligence has been the single biggest propellant for the markets. More specifically, it has driven some of the largest tech companies — think Alphabet (Google), Amazon, NVIDIA, and Tesla, among others — to historically high valuations, which has helped to lift the overall market. But the companies behind the AI boom are also spending incredible amounts of money, and most are not yet profitable. As the year began, investors expressed concern that it might be years before these companies made money, prompting many to cut back on their investments.

At the same time, investors all began to worry about the impact of AI. If artificial intelligence is truly all it’s made out to be, it could have several unintended consequences. For example, many AI tools can generate code, and thus, software, at a dramatically faster rate compared to traditional methods. That leads to the question: Why would anyone need to hire or work with a traditional software company in the future when they can just use AI?

Now, it’s still an open question whether AI truly can replace most software companies, but the fear is there…which caused investors to move away from some of those companies, bringing their stock prices down, too. But some investors can’t, which brings us to private credit.

Private credit is essentially “non-bank” lending. The private credit market, which has grown substantially in recent years, allows both institutions and individual investors to loan money to companies the way a bank normally would. Now, many private credit funds have lent to the same traditional software companies we mentioned earlier. Due to the fear that those companies might be going the way of the dinosaur, some investors have tried to withdraw their money. And since many of those funds have themselves received loans from banks, all this volatility has extended into the financial sector, whose performance was also a drag on the markets last quarter.

Finally, we have the issue of what AI means for jobs. Many in the tech industry claim that AI will eventually be able to do most of the white-collar jobs that exist today. Whether that’s true or not is a topic for another day, but there’s no doubt that some companies already believe it. In Q1 alone, some of the world’s biggest businesses replaced thousands of workers with AI, including Dow Chemical, HP, Oracle, and Amazon.² That’s bad news for the labor market, which was already feeling the effects of slower economic growth. In February, for example, hiring fell to its lowest level in six years — when the pandemic was raging.³

All this takes us through the first months of the quarter. But here is where all those market recaps have to pivot to something nobody had prepared for. The single biggest reason why the markets ended the quarter in the red.

We’re talking, of course, about the war with Iran.

The conflict and the resulting surge in oil prices have renewed fears on Wall Street about elevated global inflation and higher interest rates. Typically, geopolitical events have a short-lived effect on the markets. But sometimes, conflicts can lead to economic disruption. When that happens, investors must contend with major uncertainty…and uncertainty means volatility.

And there is your Q1 Market Recap. You know what happened, why it mattered, and what the effects were. But while most recaps will end there, this one will not. Because to us, the real point of looking back at history, whether ancient or recent, isn’t just to recap what happened. It’s not even to figure out why it happened.

It’s to determine what lessons we can draw from it.

A few paragraphs up, we said nobody on Wall Street had prepared for a war in Iran. When the quarter began, it just wasn’t something on most investors’ list of things to worry about. With that in mind, we’ve been thinking a lot about the word “preparation” lately. It’s a strong-sounding word, isn’t it? To us, it’s a word that suggests maturity. Vigilance. Even wisdom. Throughout history, we doubt you’d find many people with bad things to say about preparation.

But what can we actually prepare for?

There are certainties in life that we know to prepare for. We know the sun will rise each day, so we prepare for tomorrow by laying out our clothes ahead of time. We know we will need to eat next week, so we do meal planning and buy the necessary ingredients in advance.

Of course, there’s plenty we can’t really prepare for. Nobody knows ahead of time when they will run over a nail and get a flat tire. Nobody knows ahead of time if this is the year the earthquake hits or the old tree finally topples over and lands on our garage. Nobody ever wakes up in the morning knowing that today’s the day they meet the person they will eventually marry. We simply can’t predict when these events will occur.

But we can prepare for possibilities. The possibility of getting into a car accident… which is why we wear our seatbelts each time we drive. The possibility of a natural disaster…which is why we buy insurance on our homes or ensure we have emergency food and funds. The possibility of meeting someone special…which is why we strive to look good, act well-mannered, and always put our best foot forward.

As investors, there are certain things that are difficult to prepare for. While we know conflicts can happen, they can still catch the markets completely by surprise. We know that an industry that propels the market forward can suddenly be the same one that drags it down, but we can rarely predict which and almost never predict when.

Many investors like to think they can predict events, or at least how the markets will react to them. Others spend a good deal of energy — and often, money — overreacting to everything they couldn’t predict. We are certainly starting to see that kind of behavior pick up again, just as we do in any volatile quarter. Which brings us to the single most important lesson of Q1:

The reason financial planning matters is that we can predict almost nothing; therefore, we cannot prepare for everything. But financial planning is about preparing for what we do know. And the more we do that, the less short-term surprises can affect our long-term progress to the things you care about most. We don’t know what will cause the next bout of market volatility, but we do know market volatility is inevitable. So, we can prepare for it by staying well-diversified and mentally disciplined. We don’t know when some unexpected life events will happen, but we do know about the life events you WANT to happen. (Like retirement!) We can prepare for them by ensuring your investments, savings, and spending are aligned with those events in mind. We don’t know what the markets will do tomorrow, what the government will do next month, or what the economy will do next quarter. But we do know what your taxes will probably look like, how much your family will need for college, and when it’s time to take Social Security… and that knowledge is far more powerful.

While Q1 was ultimately a “down” month for the markets, it served as an important reminder that while the future will always serve us surprises we cannot predict, it will rarely catch us unprepared. And when the future becomes the past, as all futures must inevitably do, we can look back…and in doing so, become even more prepared still.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or issues we can help with. In the meantime, have a great rest of your month…and a great second quarter!

¹ “Wall Street soars as traders bet on potential war off-ramp,” Reuters, March 31, 2026. /www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-rise-iran-war-de-escalation-hopes-indexes-set-monthly-drops-2026-03-31/
² “More companies are pointing to AI as they lay off employees,” CBS News, February 27, 2026. www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-layoffs-2026-artificial-intelligence-amazon-pinterest/
³ “US job openings fall in February,” Reuters, March 31, 2026. www.reuters.com/business/us-job-openings-fall-february-hiring-lowest-since-pandemic-2026-03-31/

Family & Finance Newsletter: Getting on the Same Page

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on April 2, 2026. Posted in Newsletter, Posts.

Talking about money can feel uncomfortable — especially when it’s with the people closest to us. Whether it’s partners, parents, or children, conversations about finances often get delayed, avoided, or reduced to passing comments. Yet, these are the very discussions that can bring the greatest sense of unity, understanding, and peace to a household.

Our latest Family & Finance newsletter is all about the discussions that families need to have together to ensure everyone is on the same page and moving in the same direction with their finances. Discussions include:

Family Financial Preparedness — The conversations your family should have to cement plans and intentions for the family’s wealth should the unexpected ever happen.
Family Financial Assistance — Conversations about what kind of assistance a family member may need in order to achieve a goal, pay off debts, bills, and other expenses…and what kind of assistance other family members are able (and willing) to provide.
Family Financial Priorities — Conversations to discuss what the family wants to do, see, and achieve together…and how to make it happen.

💬 Ready to start the conversation?
👉 Read and Subscribe: Family & Finance newsletter

Lessons from Covid: How Global Disruptions Impact Your Investments

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on April 1, 2026. Posted in News, Posts.

No, you are not reading a message that’s been stuck in our drafts since 2020. This message is about the world in 2026. But as you’ll see, the lessons we can apply today are drawn from the markets as they were exactly six years ago.

As you know, geopolitical conflicts tend to have a short-lived effect on the markets. But sometimes, conflicts can lead to economic disruption. When that happens, investors must contend with major uncertainty…and uncertainty means volatility. This is what we’re seeing now due to the ongoing war in Iran and the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Disruption, uncertainty, and volatility.

Here’s the situation in a nutshell: 20% of the world’s oil flows through the Strait.¹ With only a few tankers passing through over the last few weeks, the world is facing the single largest supply disruption in history, made worse by the fact that Iran has also struck nearby oil and gas facilities across the Persian Gulf. Due to this, the price of oil has risen to over $100 a barrel, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, rising as high as $113.¹

Oil, as you know, is the blood that powers the world economy. Furthermore, it’s not just oil that passes through the Strait. In fact, up to 20% of the world’s natural gas and 30% of its fertilizer transported by ship must first transit the Strait before reaching the wider ocean.²

Take a moment to visualize what this looks like. Three products, oil, gas, and fertilizer, all choked off in one of the world’s most important pipelines. Over the coming weeks, ships that have already left the Strait will finish delivering what supplies they have, but after that, shortages may begin.

Now, the United States does not heavily rely on oil and gas passing through the Strait, as we have our own supply of both. But Asia and Australia do, which means that goods produced on these continents may become much more expensive. Natural gas is a critical part of producing fertilizer; fertilizer is a critical part of growing food. Both gas and oil are used to produce plastic, which is used to contain nearly everything that gets shipped from one place to another. Shipping, of course, requires oil.

Some countries that normally depend on oil and gas from the Persian Gulf can potentially pivot to other forms of energy. China and India, for example, have enormous coal reserves. But not all countries can do this, and even those that can, probably won’t be able to replace all of what they normally get from the Strait. Furthermore, pivots take time. As a result, many countries simply may not be able to produce the amount of goods they normally do. And as we know from the Law of Supply and Demand, when supply goes down but demand does not, prices rise. Not just for oil and gas, but for everything that is made or transported by oil and gas.

Here is where the lessons of the Covid years begin to kick in, because we’ve seen something like this before. When supply chains get disrupted, as they were during the Covid shutdowns of 2020, prices rise. We call this inflation.

When the price of goods rises, something else tends to rise with it: The cost of money itself. By this, we’re referring to interest rates. Here in the United States, the Federal Reserve, which is mandated to keep prices stable, typically fights inflation by raising interest rates. (Investors learned all about this after 2020, too.) Higher interest rates make it more expensive to borrow money, which in turn tamps down on spending. Lower spending, in turn, forces businesses to reduce their prices, thereby reducing inflation.

As of this writing, the Fed has not raised the Federal Funds Rate, which is the key interest rate that our central bank controls. But this isn’t the only interest rate that matters. One rate that has jumped in recent weeks is that of the 10-year Treasury Note.³ This interest rate — which is essentially the rate at which the government borrows from investors for a term of 10 years — influences mortgage rates, credit cards, and other types of loans. The fact that it’s on the rise is the market’s way of saying that investors expect interest rates in general to rise, too.

Put all these factors together and you suddenly have a situation that looks a bit like the Covid-era. There are some important differences, of course. For one thing, oil prices initially plummeted during the Covid shutdowns. And it was the combination of snarled supply chains plus a major surge in demand after the world reopened that triggered inflation. But the potential trio of economic disruption, rising inflation, and higher interest rates is doing the same thing it did all those years ago: Inject significant uncertainty into the markets.

Which is why the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq are all in “market correction” territory.⁴ (A correction, remember, is a drop of 10% or more from a recent high.)

Now, note that we used the word “potential” just a moment ago. That’s because we’re still in hypothetical territory here. We don’t yet know exactly whether and how much inflation will go up, or for how long, or what that will mean for interest rates over the long-term. We certainly can’t predict what the markets will do. Corrections are common, and it’s possible the war could end as quickly as it started.

But there are two major mistakes an investor can make whenever uncertainty kicks in. The first is to bury our heads in the sand and pretend everything is fine. As you can see from all the analysis you just read, we are certainly not going to make that mistake here at Minich MacGregor Wealth Management. Because there’s no point in sugarcoating it: This situation has major ramifications for the global economy. And even if the war were to end tomorrow, that doesn’t guarantee everything will go back to normal overnight. Oil prices alone may remain elevated for some time. (There’s a saying among economists that oil prices rise like a rocket and fall like a feather.)

The second mistake is to take that uncertainty and think the sky is falling. And here is where the major lessons from Covid come into play.

Over the coming days and weeks, we may see plenty of headlines that point out just how serious the situation is. We might see words like “unprecedented” or “historic.” Terms like “correction,” “downturn,” or even “bear market” could be on the cards, too. But if that happens, remember this: We’ve been through this before. And we’ve made it through this before, too.

Close your eyes and think back to how much uncertainty existed in the spring of 2020. We can still remember where we were when we heard the news about quarantines and shelter-in-place restrictions. We can still remember how the schools closed, and “non-essential” offices closed, and grocery store shelves got frighteningly bare. And we can remember how the markets reacted to it all. We’re sure you can, too.

We can also recall what happened next. How the markets stabilized, rebounded, and expanded.

Covid taught us that patience, steadiness, and the ability to look past immediate headlines become more important during times of increased uncertainty, not less. Because while uncertainty creates volatility, it also creates opportunity. Opportunities for companies to adapt, and in adapting, find new ways to grow. Opportunities for the markets to rebound, and in rebounding, reach new heights. It’s not easy to endure the volatility to get to the opportunity. It never is. But the one thing we know for sure is that we do not want to be absent when opportunity comes.

The pandemic was a historic event that had major ramifications for the global economy. It’s possible that what’s happening in Iran will be, too. We don’t know how long it will last, or how deep its impacts will be. But even historic events eventually become just that: History.

One day, we expect we’ll write a message titled, “Lessons from Iran,” too.

The final lesson that we hope all our clients learned during Covid, is that our team will always be here for you. Whether the current volatility resolves or increases, we are always available to answer your questions, address your concerns, and examine every development. So, if you would ever like to talk — about Iran, about your portfolio, or anything else — please reach out. We always love to hear from you!

¹ “A new oil shock is building,” CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/28/oil-gas-prices-iran-war-hormuz.html
² “It’s not just oil. Here comes Hormuz inflation.” Politico, https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/14/hormuz-inflation-helium-fertilizer-00828680
³ “Treasury yields rise as Iran ceasefire optimism fades,” CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/26/treasury-yields-rise-uncertainty-ceasefire-talks.html
⁴ “Dow closes in correction,” CNN, http://cnn.com/2026/03/27/investing/us-stocks-iran

Middle East conflict market impact image

Middle East Conflict Market Impact: What Investors Should Expect

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on March 3, 2026. Posted in Posts.

On Saturday, February 28, the United States and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran. As part of this operation, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed. As you can imagine, this has caused an upsurge in market volatility — particularly the oil markets.

We want to assure you that our team has spent a lot of time analyzing the situation and how it might impact you. We’ll go over some of the details in a moment, but the most important thing for you to know is that we are keeping a close eye on everything. We remain confident in our investment strategy and in the path to your financial goals.

Because we are financial advisors, not geopolitical experts or military strategists, we’re going to refrain from commenting on the conflict itself and focus instead on its financial ramifications. Before continuing, though, we do want to say that our thoughts are with our armed forces and the innocent civilians in the region. So, while this message will focus on the economic side of the conflict, let us all remember that nothing compares to the human side.

With that said, let’s now turn to the central question: How will this conflict affect the markets?

Nobody has a crystal ball, including us. But when it comes to geopolitical events, the markets typically react in a fairly consistent way. First, there is the initial reaction. The most risk-averse investors tend to sell, and quickly. Fighting brings disruption — to both production and trade — and disruption brings uncertainty. Uncertainty, of course, is the ultimate cause of nearly all volatility.

Next, one of two things often happens. In some cases, the conflict resolves quickly and events normalize. In this case, the markets often rebound after their initial drop as investors seek to get back into the markets, or as those who stayed in seek out opportunities to buy at lower prices.

On the other hand, even if the conflict does not end quickly, investors, after digesting the news and its implications, will often treat it as merely one factor among a myriad of factors that influence the markets. We may already be seeing signs of that now. (On Monday, March 2, the major indices all fell early in the day, only to recover their losses by the afternoon.¹) Sometimes this “digestion” can take merely days. Other times, it may last weeks or even months. But in both scenarios, volatility eventually settles down.

For these reasons, geopolitics tends to have a surprisingly short-lived effect on the markets. For example, take the Cuban Missile Crisis. The world has never been closer to nuclear war than during those nerve-wracking thirteen days in 1962, yet during that time, the Dow only fell 1.2%. By the end of the year, the Dow was up 10%.²

For two examples from the Middle East, consider when Iraq invaded Kuwait back in 1990, which triggered the Persian Gulf War. The Dow declined more than 18% in the immediate aftermath – only to recover completely a few months later.³ More recently, when Israel struck Iranian bases and nuclear facilities last year, the stock market slid sharply but recovered quickly.

This phenomenon is common not just for stocks, but also for other markets. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, energy prices skyrocketed. (Russia is a large source of both oil and natural gas, and international sanctions put a limit on how much the Western world can import both.) But a year later, the oil market had “fully absorbed” the invasion’s impact, and prices returned to more normal levels.⁴

Now, we wish we could simply wrap up this message here. But while the markets typically shrug off geopolitics, that doesn’t mean we don’t need to pay attention to what’s going on. Because while the past offers lessons for the present, it is no guarantor of the future.

Unlike last year, when Israel struck Iranian facilities, this is a more significant conflict. The scale is much larger. The consequences are already more significant. Iranian counterattacks have also struck other nearby countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. For these reasons, it’s impossible to say how long the fighting will last or if it will widen. If it does, investors may be forced to process a continuing stream of ever-changing news rather than one single event.

In the meantime, the biggest question mark is what this all means for oil prices. Consider:

Iran produces 4.5% of the world’s oil and shares the largest natural gas reserve in the world.⁵
More importantly, Iran controls the north bank of the Strait of Hormuz. This waterway is one of the world’s most crucial arteries for delivering oil and natural gas. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an average of 20.9 million barrels of oil pass through the strait every day — about 20% of the world’s total consumption.⁶
As part of the conflict, Iran has struck multiple energy facilities in nearby countries, forcing them to suspend production. Some of the world’s major shipping companies have also suspended activity in the strait until further notice.

Now, it’s important to note that, as of this writing, the Strait is not completely closed — and any closure would likely be temporary. But even temporary interruptions to production and trade can cause oil prices to spike. This matters because higher energy prices can lead to higher shipping and travel costs, food prices, and supply chain snarls. Furthermore, all these price hikes can affect everything from inflation to interest rates to corporate earnings, thereby potentially denting the stock market.

The takeaway, then: While conflict rarely causes long-term pain in the markets, we should certainly be prepared forpossible heartburn in the short-term.

But here is what’s always so important to remember during times like these: Conflict means change and change means uncertainty.

Uncertainty triggers overreaction.

That’s why so many investors tend to lose money during periods of volatility: they make long-term decisions based on short-term emotions and events. The situation in the Middle East will likely change every day, hour, and even minute. Headlines we read in the morning might be obsolete by afternoon. That’s why it makes no sense when investors panic or make decisions under the fog of uncertainty. By the time they do, the situation they’re reacting to may have already passed!

For these reasons, the single best thing we can do is to simply hold on to our overall strategy and avoid overreacting, no matter how many headlines prompt us to do so.

With that in mind, we want you to know that our team continuously analyzes new information and market developments as they unfold. Should conditions warrant, we are prepared to act—either to capitalize on potential opportunities or to help mitigate risk in a thoughtful, disciplined manner.

If you have any concerns, questions, or uncertainties about the current environment, we welcome the opportunity to speak with you. While it is easy to say, “Don’t make decisions based on emotion,” we also recognize that market volatility can create very real and understandable feelings. Our role is to help you process those concerns with clarity and perspective, ensuring that any decisions are made carefully and strategically.

We are always available to discuss your goals and how current conditions may affect them. In the meantime, we hope you find this information helpful. If we do not connect before then, we wish you a productive rest of the month and a wonderful start to the spring season. Please feel free to reach out if there is anything we can do to assist you.to the spring season. Please feel free to reach out if there is anything we can do to assist you.

¹ “S&P 500 turns positive in dramatic comeback,” CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2026/03/01/stock-market-today-live-update.html
² “How Markets Respond to Geopolitical Crises,” A Wealth of Common Sense, awealthofcommonsense.com/2017/06/how-markets-respond-to-geopolitical-crises/
³ “Stock Market History: More Ups Than Downs,” Forbes, September 27, 2017. www.forbes.com/sites/johndobosz/2017/09/20/stock-market-history-more-ups-than-downs/?sh=71324c093951
⁴ “Oil market has fully absorbed impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Reuters, www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-market-has-fully-absorbed-impact-russias-invasion-ukraine-kemp-2023-03-09/
⁵ “Iran’s main oil and gas production and infrastructure,” Reuters, www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/an-overview-irans-energy-industry-infrastructure-2026-02-28/
⁶ “The Strait of Hormuz crisis explained,” CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2026/03/02/strait-of-hormuz-crisis-us-iran-israel-war-shipping-trade-oil.html

Supreme Court Strikes Down Tariffs: What the New 15% Global Tariff Means for Markets

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on February 26, 2026. Posted in Posts.

By now, you’ve probably heard the news: On Friday, February 20, the Supreme Court struck down a significant portion of the tariffs levied by President Trump last year. Then, on Saturday, President Trump announced that he would raise a new 15% “global” tariff on all countries.

Many investors now have the following questions: What just happened? What does it mean for the markets, the economy, and for us? And finally, what will happen next? In this message, we will try to answer them. (A word of warning: The next few paragraphs contain legalese!)

Let’s start with what, exactly, has just happened. First, some background. After President Trump took office last year, he announced a sweeping slate of “reciprocal tariffs” of up to 50% on imports from certain countries, and a baseline 10% tariff on imports from just about everywhere else.¹These Liberation Day tariffs, as they are frequently called, were not well-received on Wall Street and prompted a short but severe market correction. As a result, many of these tariffs were delayed or reduced. Still, when the dust settled, our nation’s overall average tariff rate was 13% at year’s end, the highest since before World War II.²

People can agree or disagree on whether tariffs are good policy. But remember that a tariff is essentially a tax on imported goods and services. That means whenever a U.S. business buys goods from a foreign country with a tariff on them, they must pay that tax along with the cost of the product itself. So, while tariffs can benefit some businesses, they can create added costs for others. As a result, many companies — and some states — banded together to sue the federal government, claiming the president’s actions were illegal. Those lawsuits eventually reached the Supreme Court.

Now, here is where things get tricky. You see, when President Trump enacted these tariffs, he did so through a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. This law, passed back in the 1970s, authorizes the president to declare a national emergency in the face of an “unusual and extraordinary threat…to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.”³ To help manage an emergency, the law also gives the president certain powers over international commerce.

But the IEEPA does not specifically mention tariffs, and the law has never been used as a basis for tariffs before. Previous presidents, including President Trump in his first term, levied tariffs through other laws…laws that set caps on how high or long those tariffs can remain in place. (More on this in a bit.) Furthermore, because a tariff is a tax and taxation is a power reserved to Congress, the Supreme Court found that the President exceeded his authority under the IEEPA. Here’s what the Court specifically said:

The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. [But] IEEPA’s grant of authority to “regulate . . . importation” falls short. IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties. The Government points to no statute in which Congress used the word “regulate” to authorize taxation. And until now no President has read IEEPA to confer such power. [Therefore], we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.⁴

Still with us? Good. The long and short of it is that all reciprocal tariffs have been declared null and void.

But that’s not the end of the story.

The Supreme Court’s decision struck down all tariffs enacted under the IEEPA…but not all tariffs, period. As we previously mentioned, there are several other laws that presidents can and have used to authorize tariffs. It’s no surprise, then, that merely a day after the ruling, President Trump announced a new global tariff of 15% on all countries under the authority of an entirely different law. So, while some countries still have a lower tariff rate than before, others now have a higher one.

Which brings us to the second question: What does this all mean for the markets, the economy, and for us?

Last year, the markets reacted negatively to nearly every major tariff announcement — and they dropped sharply again on Monday. The White House has also suggested that new tariffs may come soon. So, investors will be watching closely for any signs of new import duties. However, it’s worth noting that in the past, after investors had had time to digest each new announcement, the markets tended to stabilize quickly.

There are other reasons to expect the markets to have a rather muted reaction to all this. For one thing, any laws President Trump may cite come with far less flexibility than the IEEPA. Take the new 15% tariff, for example: It comes with a 150-day expiration date.⁵ After that, it’s up to Congress to decide whether to scrap or extend those tariffs. Other potential tariffs may take a lot of time to come online. That’s because they can only be implemented after the government conducts formal investigations into potential unfair trade practices by foreign countries.

How all this will affect the economy is a more complex topic — and what you believe sort of depends on what data you look at. According to the Congressional Budget Office (in a report released before the Supreme Court’s decision), revenue from tariffs could make the national deficit $3.0 trillion less than it would have been over the next ten years.⁶And there’s certainly an argument to be made that tariffs have helped the White House negotiate new trade deals with countries like Japan, South Korea, India, and the United Kingdom, among others.

On the other hand, there’s also evidence that tariffs are not having a positive impact on everyone. For one thing, our countries’ overall trade deficit in physical goods actually grew over the past year.⁷ That means the value of what the U.S. imports is still higher than the value of what it exports. (This matters because President Trump specifically cited “large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits” as the reason for enacting tariffs in the first place.¹)

Furthermore, according to research by the Federal Reserve, “nearly 90% of the tariffs’ economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers.”² If this is true, reductions to our tariff policy could affect both economic growth and inflation in ways that could be positive for the markets.

Now, there’s one other issue still up in the air. An issue that could affect the deficit, the economy, the markets, and even consumers. That’s the issue of refunds.

In the lawsuits that reached the Supreme Court, the question was whether, if tariffs enacted under the IEEPA were illegal, businesses that had to pay them were therefore owed refunds. Both the Court and President Trump have mentioned refunds as a possibility, but the Court’s ruling did not address the question. Those refunds amount to approximately $175 billion…which would be a massive injection of money into the economy, but also a major blow to the national deficit.⁹ In all likelihood, the issue will have to be decided by the Courts later. That date will be eagerly anticipated by investors, but we simply don’t know when or what the outcome will be.

Which brings us to the final question: What do we know about what will happen next?

We believe it is prudent to prepare for continued tariff-related volatility in the weeks and months ahead. While policy uncertainty can create short-term market swings, it also reinforces the importance of having a disciplined, long-term investment strategy in place. The investors who tend to fare best during periods like this are those with a clear plan — one designed to withstand both economic and political uncertainty. Our team continues to monitor developments closely, evaluating potential risks and identifying opportunities as they arise.

If you would like to discuss how current events may impact your personal financial situation, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you. A well-structured financial plan can help bring clarity and confidence, even during unpredictable times. Please feel free to reach out to schedule a conversation. We would be happy to learn more about your goals and explore how we may be able to help.

¹ “Executive Order 14257,” Federal Register, https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-06063.pdf
² “Who is Paying for the 2025 U.S. Tariffs?” Federal Reserve Bank of NY, libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/02/who-is-paying-for-the-2025-u-s-tariffs/
³ “International Emergency Economic Powers Act,” www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-91/pdf/STATUTE-91-Pg1625.pdf
⁴ “Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump,” U.S. Supreme Court, www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf
⁵ “Trump says US global tariff rate will rise from 10% to 15%,” Reuters, www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-will-raise-global-tariff-rate-10-15-2026-02-21/
⁶ “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2026 to 2036,” Congressional Budget Office, www.cbo.gov/publication/62105
⁷ “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services,” BEA, www.bea.gov/news/2026/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-december-and-annual-2025
⁸ “Supreme Court ruling makes over $175 billion subject to refunds,” Reuters, www.reuters.com/world/us-tariff-revenue-risk-supreme-court-ruling-tops-175-billion-penn-wharton-2026-02-20/

Last-minute tax reminders for 2026

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on February 25, 2026. Posted in Posts.

Run from it, hide from it, and it will find you just the same: Tax season is here.

You may have already finished filing your return by the time you read this message. If so, good for you! But if you haven’t, here are a few simple, last-minute tips to make the filing process easier and more efficient.

1. Get organized. Have you ever heard the phrase mise en place? It’s a French term chefs use that means “putting in place.” You see, a good chef ensures that all ingredients and equipment are set up and in place before they start cooking. This type of mindset is invaluable. It reduces mistakes and accidents and makes the entire cooking process less stressful!

You can practice mise en place with your taxes as well. Before you do anything else, gather every receipt, invoice, and piece of data that may relate to your taxes. Have it organized and close to hand. That way, when you start the actual filing process, you never have to interrupt your progress to look for something. Nor will you be likely to forget anything important. It just makes the entire affair easier, quicker, and less stressful. Specifically, be sure to have:

Social Security numbers/individual tax ID numbers for everyone listed on your tax return.
Bank account, routing numbers, and current address.
Any W-2s, 1099s, 1098s, and records of digital asset transactions.
Any documents or invoices from side jobs and self-employment.
Any documents for credits or deductions. (Like childcare expenses, donations, property tax records, healthcare expenses, retirement contributions, etc.)
Any notices from the IRS citing an amount received for a certain tax deduction or credit.

2. Remember to report all types of income. In the rush to file, it can be easy to forget all the various ways you generated income last year. These days, many people have second jobs and side hustles that bring in money. Then there’s investment income, property, and even yard sales to consider! So, as you file, remember to report all income from:

Any goods or items you have sold, whether online or in person
Investments
Part-time, seasonal, or gig work
Rental properties
Self-employment or other business activities
Foreign accounts and assets

This will help you avoid any notices or bills from the IRS – something no one wants!

3. Contribute to your IRA if you haven’t already done so. If you haven’t contributed to an IRA in the last year, there’s still time to do so. The deadline to contribute for the 2025 tax year is April 15, 2026. (Remember that if you do decide to contribute, you must designate the year you are contributing for.) For 2025, the maximum amount you can contribute is $7,000 if you’re under 50, and $8,000 if you are age 50 or older.¹

4. Get a written acknowledgement from charitable organizations you have contributed to. If you gifted $250 or more to any charitable organization last year, the recipient must send you a written acknowledgement of the gift upon request.² This should also state whether the recipient provided any goods or services in consideration for the contribution. (If so, the acknowledgement must include a good-faith estimate of the value of those goods or services.)

5. Tell the IRS to direct deposit your refund to get it faster. These days, eight out of ten taxpayers get their refunds via direct deposit.³ There’s a good reason for this – it’s the fastest and most secure method available! The IRS issues nine out of ten refunds in less than 21 days, but getting your refund via check adds unnecessary time to the process.³

Many people are unaware that they can have their refund deposited directly into up to three different accounts. That’s handy because it can help you allocate funds more effectively. For example, let’s say you want to use part of your refund to pay off a debt, another part to go into your rainy-day fund, and the leftovers to go on vacation. With direct deposit, you can ensure all three boxes get checked. Just have the refund portioned into the appropriate accounts!

Finally, you can track the status of your refund using the IRS’s Where’s My Refund Tool. You can find that here: https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund

We hope you found this helpful. Wishing you a smooth, stress-free tax season!

¹“IRA Contribution Limits,” IRS, https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits
² “Charitable contributions: Written acknowledgements,” Internal Revenue Service, https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contributions-written-acknowledgments
³ “Get Your Refund Faster,” IRS, www.irs.gov/refunds/get-your-refund-faster-tell-irs-to-direct-deposit-your-refund-to-one-two-or-three-accounts

4 Lessons from the Winter Olympics

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on February 22, 2026. Posted in Posts.

Every four years, the world tunes in for the Winter Olympics, where some of the most memorable sporting moments in history have occurred. The “Miracle on Ice” in 1980, when an amateur U.S. hockey team defied the odds to beat the Soviet Union. The Jamaican bobsledders of 1988. Shaun White’s spectacular twists and flips on a snowboard in 2010. The list goes on.

The Winter Games are a showcase of some of the world’s greatest athletes, all demonstrating breathtaking skill and death-defying speed. But there’s something else that happens every four years. Something that occurs between the medal ceremonies and new records.

Crashes.

Skiers miss a turn and tumble down mountain slopes. Speed skaters collide and skid across the ice. Figure skaters slip and lose their balance as the crowd gasps and groans. In real time, we watch as people crash and fall…taking their dreams down with them. It’s as inevitable as it is frightful and regrettable. But it’s also, I think, the aspect of the Olympics that we can most learn from and be inspired by. Not the crash itself, of course…but what happens after.

While watching the Winter Olympics this past month, we realized that it’s in those moments that we can learn how to truly “go for the gold” in our own goals.

1. SUCCESS ISN’T ABOUT GETTING IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. IT’S ABOUT GETTING IT RIGHT OVER TIME.

At the 1988 Olympics, speedskater Dan Jansen’s path to a gold medal seemed a formality. But then, on the day of his race in the 500 meters, he received the worst possible news: His sister had died.

It’s no surprise, then, that Jansen fell on the very first turn. He didn’t win the gold. In fact, he didn’t even medal. Another fall occurred in a different event a few days later.

If this were a Hollywood movie, Jansen would have come back in ‘92 and won. He didn’t.

Finally, in 1994, aged twenty-nine and certainly in his final Olympics, Jansen stood on the podium with a gold medal around his neck… for the 1,000-meter event, the race nobody expected him to win. In his arms was his daughter, Jane, whom he named after his sister.

When we think about our financial goals, we always picture the end, when the deed is done, and victory is achieved. What we don’t often picture is the road to that goal. The false starts.

Dead ends. And yes, falls along the way. We could delay getting started. Make a bad investment. Lose our job. Our personal life might fall apart. Sometimes, we may end up going for the wrong goal and only arrive at the one that will truly make us happy much later in life. But the lesson from Dan Jansen and other athletes is that it’s okay. Success does not have to be immediate; the road does not have to be straight. So long as we keep showing up to the starting line every time, we will keep learning, improving, and growing. Achieving the goal itself is just a matter of time.

2. SOMETIMES, OUR FALLS ARE NOT AS BAD AS THEY SEEM.

Crashes, while less common in finance than on the slopes, can occur. It could be a stock market crash. It could be an unexpected event that forces us to empty our savings or take on debt. It could be a financial decision that blows up in our face. Whenever this happens, it’s easy to imagine that our present situation is ever-present. That the stock market will always be bad, that we will never get out of the red, that all our decisions go awry. That what is merely temporary is in fact permanent.

When this happens, it’s useful to remember the example of a remarkable Austrian skier named Hermann Maier. At the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Maier was set to contend in several different events. But at his first event, tragedy struck. While competing in the downhill event, Maier flew right off the course, landed on his head, somersaulted several times, and crashed through two layers of safety netting. It was, in a word, horrific.

That’s how it looked, anyway. Incredibly, Maier was not only able to get up and walk away, but he also took gold in both the Super-G and Giant slalom events!

The lesson: crashes and falls are not always as bad as they seem. Nor are they always permanent. Markets recover and reach new heights. Savings accounts can be refilled; credit can be rebuilt. Most importantly, even a bad financial decision can end up being a net positive. That’s because…

3. EVERY SETBACK IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN.

In 2018, figure skater Nathan Chen was on top of the world. He was a superstar in the skating community, awing fans and competitors alike with his skill at quadruple jumps. When the Olympics began in South Korea, Chen was the sure favorite to win gold.

Yet on his first jump, he fell.

In fact, he made mistakes or lost his balance on every single jump in his routine, finishing fifth.

As he later described it, “[The] pressure really got to me. I felt as though this was my one and only chance. I felt such an urgency to be able to maximize this opportunity. I tended to gravitate towards things that I couldn’t control. The mistakes I made. I would gravitate towards anything I could have done better and sort of framed my mentality around that.”

Fast forward to 2022…to Nathan Chen standing on the winners’ podium, a gold medal around his neck. To Chen at a press conference, afterwards, where he was asked, “If he shook some demons from his Olympic past.”

“Rather than it being a demon,” he replied, “I think it was a helpful learning experience.”¹

Chen had spent the four years between Olympics reflecting rather than self-criticizing. He realized he needed to reframe his thinking and change his relationship with competition. That he needed to enjoy the entire Olympic experience rather than worry solely about the result.

He learned from his mistakes, got up, and got better.

We can do this with our finances, too. After we make a bad investment, choose the wrong financial professional, or make a mistake with our taxes. After life throws a challenge at us that we didn’t expect or prepare for. We can treat those setbacks for what they are: Opportunities to learn. To become better investors. To enhance our knowledge and expertise. As Chen put it:

“We’re all more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. You have to say, ‘Once you’ve become adapted to this new challenge, then you can handle any challenge of this same capacity again. [Think]: As I get through this, as I learn how to deal with this, if it ever happens again, I’m not going to be phased at all.’”¹

4. THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL IS MAKING THE DECISION TO TRY.

As financial advisors, we’ve helped so many people work toward a wide range of goals. And as rewarding as it is to see one of our clients retire early, succeed in their business, or finally take that trip they’ve always wanted, what really inspires us is the start of a client’s journey. When they dare to dream, when they have courage enough to try. Even if the path forward is new, scary, and filled with uncertainty.

Which brings us to the final story. One you’ve probably heard about, as it happened very recently.

The 2026 Winter Olympics were supposed to be the capper to Lindsey Vonn’s comeback story. After being riddled with injuries for much of her career, Vonn retired in 2019. But in 2024, she decided to make one final attempt for one final Olympic medal.

Then, just before the Games started, she tore a ligament in her knee. Despite this, Vonn decided to compete. So, when the first day of the downhill event began, Vonn was there at the starting line.

We’ll let her describe what happened next:

“Yesterday, my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tale, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches. I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash.

While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, I have no regrets. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. We take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes, we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is also the beauty of life: We can try.

I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.

I hope if you take anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying.”²

May we all have the courage to pursue our goals, even as the athletes on our screens pursue theirs. May we have patience with our progress and learn from our mistakes.

Most importantly, may we all have the resilience to get up after we fall.

¹ “What’s it like to fall at the Olympics?” The Athletic, www.nytimes.com/athletic/7035806/2026/02/11/olympics-nathan-chen-figure-skating-fall/
² “Lindsey Vonn confirms tibia fracture in crash,” The Athletic, www.nytimes.com/athletic/7034483/2026/02/09/lindsey-vonn-injury-update-fracture-olympics-post/

IRA Contribution Deadline

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on February 18, 2026. Posted in Posts.

If you haven’t already contributed to an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), there’s still time to do so. Many people don’t know that the 2025 contribution deadline is April 15, 2026.¹ However, if you do decide to contribute, you must designate the year you are contributing for. (In this case, 2025.) Your tax preparer should be able to help you fill out the necessary forms, but please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or need help.

The maximum amount you can contribute is $7,000 if you’re under 50, and $8,000 if you are age 50 or older.² This applies to both traditional and Roth IRAs. If you’re unsure whether to contribute, remember:

Contributions to traditional IRAs are tax-deferred, making them an effective way to decrease your tax bill each year. And while distributions from IRAs are taxed as income, your tax rate after retirement could possibly be lower than it is now, lessening the impact.
Contributions to a Roth IRA, on the other hand, are made with after-tax assets. However, the advantage of a Roth IRA is that withdrawals (distributions) are usually tax-free.
Whichever type you use, IRAs provide a great, tax-advantaged way to save for retirement.

If you have yet to set up an IRA for 2025, you can still do that. The deadline to establish an IRA is also April 15^th. In other words, if you want to take advantage of the benefits an IRA has to offer, there’s still time to do so, either by contributing to an existing account or by establishing a new one.

If you have any questions about IRAs – whether one is right for you, how it should be managed, or anything else – please give us a call at 518-499-4565 or toll-free at 866-998-7331. We’d be happy to help you.

¹“2025 Instructions for Form 8606,” IRS, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8606.pdf
² “IRA Contribution Limits,” IRS, https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits

The Mother of the Valentine

Written by Minich MacGregor Wealth Management on February 14, 2026. Posted in Posts.

In 1847, a teenager named Esther Howland received something unusual in the mail: A letter pasted with colorful, hand-cut flowers and ringed by an elaborate border of lace. In the center was a small green envelope containing a tiny poem.

She had just received her first Valentine.

Esther was so impressed and excited, she shared it with all her friends and family. What’s more, she convinced her father — who owned a stationary store — to give her the materials she needed to make her own. But she didn’t stop at just one. With painstaking precision, she handcrafted a dozen colorful, ornate cards which she gave to her older brother in the hopes that he could sell them. Maybe, if she was lucky, she might receive $200 worth of orders.

Within a few weeks, she had made $5,000 selling valentines to people across Massachusetts.¹

Soon, Esther was so busy filling out orders for more valentines that she enlisted all her friends to help. Together, they formed a kind of early assembly line. After Esther designed a prototype for each card, her friends would create multiple copies. Every girl had a job, whether it was cutting, pasting, coloring, embossing, or folding. Flowers, leaves, silk, satin, lace, vines, paintings, and even small mirrors were all used. Esther even developed some of the first “lift-up” flaps to appear on cards. The valentines weren’t just pretty to look at; they were tactile and interactive.

Esther’s business took off, capitalizing on what was already becoming a nationwide phenomenon. In 1849, the famous poet, Emily Dickinson, sent her cousin a letter on Valentine’s Day. It read:

The last week has been a merry one [here]in Amhert. Notes have flown around like snowflakes. [Even] ancient gentlemen and spinsters, forgetting time and multitude of years, have doffed their wrinkles in exchange for smiles. This aged world of ours has thrown away its staff and spectacles and now declares it will be young again.²

In 1853, one newspaper described what it was like to receive a valentine:

There is the earnest fluttering of the pulses as the postman advances—hopes and fears alternately swaying the desires for a valentine, replete with tender expressions and soft inducements. The postman knocks—the face is flushed—the heart beats, and the beautiful missive, all decorated with hearts slung up in a halter, or pinned together with butchers’ skewers is opened. Who can paint a feeling? We will not try to do it.³

As the decades passed, Esther’s business flourished, and her valentines were seen all over the country until she finally retired in 1881 so she could spend more time with her ill father. By this time, companies were starting to produce simpler, mass-produced “machine cut” valentines, and eventually, Esther’s more elaborate, handmade designs faded into the past.

These days, it’s not uncommon to think cynically of Valentine cards, and of the holiday itself. But in Esther’s time, Valentine’s Day was one of the highlights of the year. That’s because it was a genuine chance to let someone know how much they truly mattered, in an era when it wasn’t always socially accepted or even physically possible to do so. And to receive a Valentine was to know that you were loved, cared for, or desired — feelings that allhumans have wanted since the beginning of time.

Some historians, in fact, believe that Valentine’s Day played a big role in changing how people thought about love. In a time when most people still married for economic reasons, Valentine’s Day helped create “a shift toward widespread acceptance of romantic love, especially as a basis for marriage.”²

These days, Valentine’s is often seen as an obligatory thing, the domain of big greeting card companies and chocolate conglomerates. But beneath all the advertising is something much simpler, more wholesome, and more real: Valentine’s Day is a chance to let the people in your life know what they mean to you, whether romantic or otherwise.

That’s how our team sees Valentine’s Day, anyway…and it’s why you’re reading this message. So, while we unfortunately do not have Esther Howland’s skill with arts and crafts, please see this as our valentine to you. We are all so grateful for the relationship we share with you, and for the opportunity to know and work with you. It’s something we cherish and take pride in every day.

Valentine’s is just the day we wanted to let you know it.

On behalf of everyone here at Minich MacGregor Wealth Management, we wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day!

¹ “February 14, 1849: First American-Made Valentines Sold,” Mass Moments, www.massmoments.org/moment-details/first-american-made-valentines-sold.html
² “Mother of the Valentine”: Esther Howland,” The American Antiquarian Society, https://pastispresent.org/2011/good-sources/%E2%80%9Cmother-of-the-valentine%E2%80%9D-esther-howland-worcester-and-the-american-valentine-industry/
³ “Touching Sentiment: The Tactility of Nineteenth-Century Valentines,” Common Place, www.commonplace.online/article/touching-sentiment/

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