Finance 101: February 2026

In February the financial advisors at Ruedi Wealth Management wrote three new columns for The News-Gazette’s Business Extra section. Make sure to look for them every Saturday in the weekend edition of the paper, but in case you missed any in February all three are below.

Keep Calm and Seek Help

Paul R. Ruedi, CFP®

The city of Santiago, Chile where I stayed a few weeks ago sits at the foot of the Andes mountains and it only takes an hour of driving before you are into some serious mountain terrain. I simply couldn’t resist taking what I thought would be a short Andean adventure. What resulted was a lesson in the importance of keeping calm and seeking help during a crisis.

I had just started to see snow covered peaks when I heard a terrible sound: a pop followed by the hiss of a tire deflating. So there I was, in a rental car, on a remote mountain road, by myself. And I have never changed a tire before!

It would have been easy to panic. But I knew that was the worst possible thing to do at that moment. I kept calm, went to the trunk to grab the jack and spare tire, and got to work. Surprisingly, I was able to get the tire replaced with relative ease. Crisis averted. Or so I thought.

As I was driving back down the mountain toward Santiago, very slowly and carefully I might add, another tire blew seemingly out of nowhere. Now I’m in some trouble I can’t get out of myself. Adding to the complication, I don’t speak Spanish. Certainly not enough to troubleshoot things with the rental car company.

Once again, I had to keep a level head, but this time I had to seek help. In this case, I had to call for help from my wife’s Spanish-speaking family to talk to the rental car company, call a tow truck, and get me off the mountain. Fortunately, an uncle came to my rescue and sorted out everything while I calmly waited and grabbed a churrasco sandwich at a local food stand.

It was a major lesson in the importance of keeping a level head during a crisis. Panic only clouds decision making. But when I had expended all my options to resolve things myself, I knew I couldn’t be too proud to call for help.

It is the same with financial issues. The stock market is down and suddenly you are worried you have 30% less money. You’ve lost your job and need to rely on savings. A large, unexpected expense shows up. First, you must not panic. Second, you must not be too proud to call for help if sorting out the issue is beyond your capabilities. If you are experiencing a financial issue you can’t resolve yourself, don’t be afraid to call a financial advisor for help.

Paul R. Ruedi is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with Ruedi Wealth Management in Champaign, Illinois.

Should Your Retirement Plan Count on Health Insurance Subsidies?

David Ruedi, CFP®, RICP®

Rising health insurance premiums and the expiration of enhanced healthcare subsidies for people buying insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace have drawn significant attention lately. While it's too late to react to a sudden spike in costs after it happens, this latest shock highlights why financial plans should always hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

While this issue received extra attention this year, health insurance costs have always been a crucial part of retirement planning. It's especially challenging for early retirees, who typically face years without employer coverage before qualifying for Medicare at age 65.

Many of these people were given a helpful tool when the marketplace plans were rolled out under the Affordable Care Act. These plans were paired with subsidies that lowered health insurance premiums for people with incomes below a certain threshold. These subsidies were temporarily expanded in response to the COVID pandemic, and it is actually the COVID-era expansions that expired at the end of last year.

When building financial plans for people who were expected to have subsidized health insurance costs, we as financial planners faced a tough decision. Do we assume the subsidies will last, and build plans around the subsidized costs? Or do we plan for the worst and include the full, unsubsidized costs in the plan, knowing that doing so will reduce the spending numbers?

I chose the latter approach for my clients, including their subsidy for the current year and assuming full price in future years. This way, if the subsidies were eliminated, the plan would still be fine. If the subsidies continued, their retirement would end up better than we initially planned.

My recommendation today remains the same. For those planning to retire before they can enroll in Medicare, I think it is wise to build your plan around paying the full, unsubsidized cost of health insurance. Assume the worst for annual premium increases and out-of-pocket costs. If things turn out better than expected, you can always adjust the plan. But if they turn out the way you planned, you know you can still retire comfortably.

No one can predict the future. But you can build a resilient plan with conservative assumptions and adjust the plan as new information becomes available. If you aren’t sure how to do that yourself, you may want to consider working with a financial planner.

David Ruedi is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with Ruedi Wealth Management in Champaign, Illinois.

Investing in AI

Paul R. Ruedi, CFP®

The prices of companies that are involved in AI have surged over the past year, and naturally we have received a lot of questions as a result. Should we focus our investing in AI? Should we avoid investing in AI since AI company stock prices are up so high? These are tough decisions, but fortunately diversified investors don’t have to make them. The market itself will allocate their money for them, and it is very good at doing so.

If you are a well-diversified investor who holds thousands of companies all over the globe, you are already invested in AI. Many of the largest companies in the S&P 500 are investing heavily in AI or have seen their business grow as a result of the AI boom. Not only are you invested in AI, as the market values of these large tech companies continue to grow, your portfolio is likely growing even more concentrated in AI.

If you are a diversified investor, you have definitely seen your portfolio grow as a result of the AI boom. Though you may not have been concentrated in the handful of highest-performing AI companies, you certainly benefitted from the AI boom. No research or decisions necessary.

When you invest your money in the great companies of America and the world, the smart people at those companies take that money and invest in the next big thing, which in this case was AI. The market does an incredible job of allocating capital to the most productive and profitable places. It does so without requiring any input from you.

It is a reminder of one of the less obvious benefits of spreading your money around to all different companies. Thousands, tens of thousands, or perhaps even more people are working for you, looking for the next smart thing to invest in.

If I asked you what it would cost to have your money managed by tens of thousands of professionals who are on the ground working in their respective fields, you’d probably expect an outrageous number. But these days investors can invest in globally diversified ETFs that will spread their money around to thousands of companies for next to nothing.

So when asked questions about whether or not people should “invest in AI” my advice remains the same: continue to spread your money around to thousands of companies, let the market professionally allocate your money for you, and you will benefit from the next big thing. If you need help with that, you may want to talk to a financial advisor.

Paul R. Ruedi is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with Ruedi Wealth Management in Champaign, Illinois.

Disclaimer: Past performance is no indication of future results. You should not make any investment decisions without first performing your own due diligence and consulting your financial advisor.