Blog

Summer Organization Can Improve Your Life – and Your Finances

Damian Beard, CFP®, CKA®, MBA, Associate Financial Planner

What’s your favorite part of summer? The longer days and endless sunlight? Fresh-cut grass? Or maybe it’s the satisfaction of organizing at the end of the season and preparing for fall (including that back-to-school checklist so many of us face). If your household is anything like ours, this is when we roll up our sleeves and get organized.

Finance Moment

In our latest Finance Moment podcast episode, Associate Financial Planner Cameron Pietzsch shares how investing isn’t just about chasing high returns — it’s about balancing risk and reward in a way that aligns with your goals. Tune into the episode here.

Financial Update

529 Account Updates

As a new school year begins, it's the perfect time to talk about one of the smartest ways to save for education: the 529 account. Not only is it tax-deferred AND tax-exempt, but recent legislation has made it more flexible than ever:

✅Can be opened before your child is born.

✅Covers tuition, fees, books, apprenticeships, and even student loan repayments.

✅Includes vocational training (welding, HVAC, cosmetology, etc.).

✅Eligible for continuing education for nurses, real estate agents, teachers & more.

✅Covers licensing-related costs—like CPA, CFA, or bar exam prep.

✅And if there’s money left over? You can roll up to $35,000 into a Roth IRA—tax- and penalty-free.

Events

• You and Medicare: 2025 - Sept. 24 (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), Syverson Strege Office: In this lunchtime workshop, Janis Van Ahn with Health Insurance Advisor, LLC, will share information on the process of Medicare enrollment, what each Medicare plan includes and means, and help you begin to determine which Medicare coverages are right for you. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP here  or to DLongseth@SyversonStrege.com.

• 2025 Client Appreciation Events: Sept. 26 (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.); RSVP for the Sept. 26 lunch on the grill at the Giovannetti Shelter.

• Retiree Coffee Meetup: Oct. 10 (8:30 a.m.), Syverson Strege Office; If you have recently retired, or are retiring soon, come connect with others in the same life phase, complete with coffee and pastries! RSVP here or to DLongseth@syversonstrege.com.

Inside Look

Congratulations, Damian Beard!

Congratulations to Associate Financial Planner Damian Beard who recently earned the Certified Kingdom Advisor® designation! CKA® professionals are equipped and empowered to carry biblical financial wisdom to their clients, peers, and community, and work to fully integrate their faith into their financial practice.

Office Closure

The Syverson Strege office will be closed on Friday, Aug. 27 at noon and Monday, Sept. 1 for Labor Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 2. 

Iowa State Fair Client Field Trip

Nearly a dozen Syverson Strege clients experienced the Iowa State Fair in style, complete with fair tickets, food credit, a cup of Barksdale cookies and dropoff/pickup directly at the fair gate! We look forward to hosting this event again in 2026 – watch this newsletter and your email for details. 

Philanthropy

CyHawk Competitive Food Drive benefitting DMARC

From Sept. 2-5, you can join the Syverson Strege team in our effort to tackle hunger with the DMARC Food Pantry Network as part of our CyHawk Competitive Food Drive!

Here is how your team scores points:

•  For every 1 item collected = 1 point
• For every $1 donated – 1 point (either in person or online – see the QR code below to donate
•  For every item donated from the “most needed” list = 2 points
• Most needed: Peanut butter, fruit (canned in its own juice), cereal (whole grain option)

The team with the highest score (most points) will win and the team’s flag will be displayed in our office. Winner will be announced Sept. 8. All proceeds/donations go directly to Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC).

Photo shows last year’s donations.