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MONTH-2-MONTH is intended to provide you with updates on AFP and timely financial planning and investment information on a variety of topics. 

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Memorial Day

With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, it is a good time to reflect and honor those who have fallen fighting for our freedoms. Memorial Day also signifies the start of summer. We’re looking forward to spending some warm nights outside and we hope you'll make some lasting summer memories!

• THANKS FOR ATTENDING – Our presentation on Disaster Preparedness was a big success. Thank you to everyone that attended! For those that were unable to come, we have posted the presentation in its entirety on our YouTube channel. You can click here to watch.



• AFP SUMMER HOURS – We will begin our summer hours on May 26th, which means we will close at 3 pm on Fridays instead of 5 pm. Our summer hours will last through Labor Day (September 1st). Any calls or emails received after 3 pm on Fridays during this period will be answered the following Monday.

• MUSIC ON THE LAWN – AFP is a sponsor of the Grandview Heights Public Library's 39th annual Music on the Lawn concert series. We are sponsoring the June 17th concert where the Hip Replacements will be performing. The Hip Replacements are a Columbus-based Rock/Soul band and a calendar of their upcoming performances can be found on their Facebook page.

• THE WOMEN'S $ CIRCLE – Our next quarterly gathering will be held on Thursday, June 19th at 6:30 pm. We're looking forward to seeing you all !

• FEE ONLY RANKING – Columbus Business First recognized Alexander Financial Planning, Inc. as the 18th largest fee-only financial planning firm in Central Ohio as of 12/31/2024.

Click below to read our May 2025 Blog edition.

Disaster-Proof Your Life:

How to Prepare for Natural Disasters in the Midwest

We would enjoy receiving your feedback on our Blog. Please share any comments or suggestions for future topics with us via email.

LESS WITH MORE – US Non-Farm Productivity fell 0.8% in Q1 for its first quarterly decline since Q2 2022. As productivity declined, Unit Labor Costs increased by a more than expected 5.7%, the highest quarterly increase since Q1 2024. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

TEACH THEM BETTER – Despite nearly half of high school students (45%) saying they took a personal finance class in school, 80% of teens have either never heard of FICO score or don't fully understand what it measures. Meanwhile, 43% of teens believe that an 18% interest rate on debt is manageable. (Source: Junior Achievement)

INFLATION – Inflation in April was mild, with the consumer-price index rising 0.2%, matching economists’ expectations and showing no immediate impact from recent tariff hikes. Year-over-year inflation cooled to 2.3%, the lowest in four years, largely due to a significant drop in gasoline prices. (Source: WSJ)

GOING DIGITAL – The Social Security Administration is launching a new feature that allows my Social Security account holders to securely access their Social Security number (SSN) online, offering an alternative to the SSN card. The feature will be available starting early this summer in the "my Social Security" online portal. (Source: SSA)

The annual inflation rate for the United States was 2.3% for the 12 months ending April, compared to the previous rate increase of 2.4%, according to U.S. Labor Department data published on May 13, 2025. The next inflation update is scheduled for release on June 11 at 8:30 a.m. ET, providing information on the inflation rate for the 12 months ending May.

Below is are charts displaying annual US inflation rates for calendar years from 2015 through 2025.

Click here to view the source

How Social Security and Medicare

Transformed Aging in America

Two lifelines for older adults reach important milestones in 2025

By T.R. Reid

Source: AARP

After a long career as an office manager in St. Louis, Debbie Haupt retired at age 60 so she could provide full-time care for her ailing husband. “I had been planning to work at least until 68, maybe 70,” she says, “but Parkinson’s had other ideas.”

There was a problem, though: The Haupts hadn’t built up much of a retirement fund. “My 401(k) was tiny,” she laughs. “If I had eaten nothing but dog food, it would have lasted less than three years.

”Fortunately, as an older American, Haupt could rely on another source of sustenance.

“Social Security has been my lifeline,” she says. “I paid into it all those years, and when I badly needed the help, it was there.”

She began taking her benefit at 62, the earliest age of eligibility. Her husband was already drawing Social Security by then. When she reached 65, Haupt, now 71, qualified for another federal benefit.

Click here to read this article.

Climate Change Affect Home Insurance

By Andrea Riquier & Ignacio Calderon

Source: USA Today

In the housing market, homeowners insurance has become the embodiment of the effects of climate change. Over the past several years, more frequent and more expensive severe weather events have strained insurance companies, even as skyrocketing premiums punish homeowners’ wallets.

Now, new research proves what many observers have assumed, but rarely quantified: insurance does shield homeowners from financial trouble in the wake of weather disasters, but existing guidelines for coverage are nowhere near adequate for the scale and scope of potential perils. Even more concerning, insurance costs may soon become too much for homeowners to afford.

Click here to read this article.

Do you know someone who can benefit from FINANCIAL PLANNING?

At Alexander Financial Planning, we are passionate about financial life planning. We also know that it is not just about the numbers. While numbers are important, they are there to support your hopes, dreams, and desires. When we can put all the components of financial planning together, (cash flow, insurance, investing, taxation, and estate planning) your unique picture of a path forward comes into view. For 27+ years, we have been helping individuals and families develop their plan and navigate the twists and turns each year.

Whether you’re planning for retirement, becoming an empty nester, or navigating how to take retirement distributions, we are your thinking partner. We are here to make sense of it all, one step at a time. If now is the time for you or someone you know to get serious about your financial future, contact us. We’d love to be of service. 

WHAT SETS US APART

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.”

- Franklin D. Roosevelt