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Financial Behavior

How Wealth Changes Us—And Why Your Generosity Still Matters

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Photo by Jimmy Chang on Unsplash

As a financial planner, I spend a lot of time helping people make decisions about money. But some of the most meaningful conversations aren’t just about numbers. They’re about values—what matters to you, what kind of world you want to live in, and how money can reflect or support those goals.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about a set of deeper questions:


Does having more money change how we see the world?


Why do some people seem to grow more generous with wealth—while others pull back?


And when government support systems are shrinking, can private generosity truly fill the gap?

These aren’t abstract questions. And they affect how we think about giving, fairness, and shared responsibility.

What Research Says About Wealth and the Mind

There’s a growing body of research suggesting that greater wealth can subtly change the way people perceive others and the world:

  • People with higher income and assets often score lower on measures of empathy, especially toward those outside their social group. It’s not necessarily intentional—it’s a side effect of being more insulated from common struggles.
  • Wealth can lead to greater fear of loss—a phenomenon called loss aversion. Once people achieve financial security, they may become more protective, more risk-averse, and more resistant to change.
  • Those with wealth, especially if they built it themselves, may overestimate how much of their success was due to personal effort and underestimate the role of luck, public infrastructure, or community support. This can lead to an unconscious bias: “If I did it, others should be able to do it too.”

None of this makes someone unkind or selfish. These are just patterns worth noticing—especially as we look at the role wealth plays in a society where more and more resources are concentrated in fewer hands.

Self-Made vs. Inherited Wealth: Different Paths, Similar Pressures

People who inherit wealth and people who build it from scratch often arrive at a similar place: wanting to protect what they have. But the motivations can differ.

  • Heirs may feel a strong sense of duty to preserve a family legacy or live up to expectations. Their giving may be cautious, private, or heavily managed by advisors.
  • Entrepreneurs or self-made individuals may feel proud of what they’ve earned—and also quietly afraid of losing it. If they’ve known real financial struggle, they may hold a deeper fear that it could all slip away.

What both groups often share is a need for control—over where their money goes, how it’s used, and whether it feels secure. And sometimes, that need for control stems not from confidence, but from a shaky or anxious relationship to the idea of sufficiency.

“I worked hard for this—what if it disappears?”

“If I give too much, will I still be okay?”

“Can I trust that it will be used the right way?”

These are normal questions. But left unexamined, they can lead to withholding behavior, even when there’s a desire to help. And they’re a reminder that financial security doesn’t always translate to emotional ease.

When Charity Replaces Public Systems

A growing belief—especially in some libertarian or small-government circles—is that as government steps back, private giving will step in. In this view, tax cuts are framed not as loss of public resources, but as a way to empower individual generosity.

But in practice, this theory has limits.

  • Charity isn’t designed to be universal. Public programs like Medicare, Social Security, or public education are built for scale and equity. They offer consistent, predictable support across geography and time. Private giving, while often generous, is subject to economic cycles, donor interest, and personal preferences.
  • Philanthropy follows visibility, not always need. Wealthy donors often support causes that align with their values or identity: universities they attended, arts institutions they love, or targeted health initiatives. That’s human nature. But it means that less visible needs—like rural healthcare, housing affordability, or elder support—may go underfunded.
  • Many donors want influence. Large gifts often come with naming rights, program restrictions, or earmarks. That’s not inherently bad—but it shifts power from public consensus to private control.

This isn’t a critique of giving. It’s a reminder: we can’t outsource our shared responsibilities to the preferences of a few.

Where You Come In

If you’ve ever made a charitable gift and wondered whether it really makes a difference, you’re not alone. The scale of need today—locally, nationally, globally—can feel overwhelming.

But here’s what I want you to know:

Every gift you make, every value-driven decision, every act of generosity rooted in care rather than credit—those are not just drops in the ocean. They are acts of resistance against cynicism and disconnection.

Your giving may not carry your name on a building. It may not be public or strategic or part of a national foundation. But it’s real, and needed, and powerful—especially when combined with others doing the same.

You’re not trying to replace government services. You’re showing up where people are falling through the cracks. You’re choosing to act when others choose to insulate. And you’re doing it with thoughtfulness and heart.

The Bigger Picture

In a time when civic systems are under strain and inequality is growing, it’s tempting to believe that private generosity will trickle down and solve our hardest problems. But history and experience suggest otherwise.

What we need are strong, fair, public commitments—supported by tax systems that reflect shared values—and sustained by a culture that believes in mutual responsibility.

And in the meantime, what we also need are people like you.

The Hidden Risks of Shared Email Accounts in Financial and Estate Planning

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Shared email accounts, such as husbandandwife@provider.com, might seem convenient, but they pose significant cybersecurity and legal risks—especially when it comes to financial matters and estate planning. While these accounts offer some advantages, they can also create complications in security, privacy, and ownership after the passing of an account holder. Let’s explore the pros and cons of shared email accounts and what you need to consider for estate planning.

Pros of Shared Email Accounts

  1. Convenience: Both partners can access and respond to emails, ensuring that important messages don’t get missed.
  2. Centralized Communication: A shared account can serve as a hub for household matters, financial documents, and other joint responsibilities.
  3. Simplified Account Management: Fewer logins and passwords to remember can make account management easier.

Cons of Shared Email Accounts

  1. Security Risks: Shared accounts are more vulnerable to breaches due to multiple users and potentially weaker passwords.
  2. Lack of Accountability: It’s difficult to track who sent or responded to an email, leading to misunderstandings.
  3. Privacy Concerns: Personal or sensitive information could be unintentionally exposed to the other account holder.
  4. Compliance Issues: In regulated industries like financial services, shared email accounts may violate security and compliance requirements.
  5. Increased Phishing Vulnerability: More users mean a higher risk of falling victim to phishing attacks.
  6. Password Management Challenges: Regularly updating passwords is harder when multiple people need access.
  7. Potential for Unauthorized Access: If the relationship changes or one partner passes away, access control can become complicated.

What Happens to a Shared Email Account After Death?

Ownership of shared email accounts after a partner’s passing is a legally complex issue. Unlike joint bank accounts, email accounts typically don’t have a “right of survivorship.” Here are some key considerations:

  • Legal Ambiguity: There’s no clear legal framework governing ownership of shared digital assets like email accounts.
  • Provider Policies: Email providers have different policies for account access after death, often requiring legal documentation.
  • Estate Planning Challenges: Without clear instructions in a will, gaining access to a deceased person’s email account can be difficult.
  • Privacy Concerns: Accessing a deceased person’s emails may violate privacy laws or the provider’s terms of service.

Recommendations for Secure Email Management

To protect financial security and ensure smooth estate management, consider the following best practices:

  • Use Separate Email Accounts: For financial matters, individual email accounts are preferable—especially for communication with investment firms and custodians.
  • Plan for Digital Assets: Include specific instructions in your will about access to and management of digital assets, including email accounts.
  • Use Secure Alternatives: For sensitive financial communications, consider using secure messaging platforms provided by financial institutions instead of email.
  • Review and Update Accounts Regularly: Periodically check account access and security settings, particularly after major life events.
  • Enhance Security Measures: If you must use a shared email account, implement strong security practices such as robust passwords, two-factor authentication, and routine security audits.

Final Thoughts

While shared email accounts offer some benefits, they come with considerable security and legal risks, especially in financial and estate planning. To safeguard sensitive information, maintain separate email accounts for financial matters and establish a clear digital asset plan in estate documents. By taking proactive steps now, you can prevent complications and protect your financial future.

5 Insights for Long-Term Investors in the Second Half of 2024

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As we enter the second half of the year, it’s important for long-term investors to maintain perspective on the major events that drive markets. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, the stock market has experienced a strong rally as investors anticipate the first Fed rate cut and the rally in artificial intelligence stocks continues. During the first six months of the year, the S&P 500 gained 15.3% with dividends, the Nasdaq 18.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 4.8%. The 10-year Treasury yield declined from its April peak of 4.7% to 4.4%, allowing the overall bond market to be roughly flat on the year. International stocks have performed better as well, with developed markets generating 5.7% and emerging markets 7.7%.



This strong performance may have caught some investors off guard while others may not have been properly positioned to take advantage of the upswing across many asset classes. This is because market sentiment can often turn on a dime, especially when there is so much investor and media focus on short-term events. For example, the recession that was anticipated at the beginning of the year has not yet occurred and there are signs that inflation, which ran hotter than expected for a few months, is beginning to improve.



Of course, the market’s focus will now shift toward major events in the second half of the year. Perhaps the most notable is the upcoming presidential election. As investors prepare to cast their ballots in November, they will also wonder what each political party could mean for their portfolios and financial plans. Investors will also watch the timing and number of Fed rate cuts closely since lower rates are generally positive for both stocks and bonds.

While the outcome of these events is uncertain and introduces new risks, the first half of the year is a reminder that overreacting to day-to-day headlines, at the expense of long-term underlying trends, can often result in poor investment decisions. History shows that it’s important to separate our personal feelings around politics from our financial decisions in order to stay invested, diversified, and disciplined. Below are five key facts all investors should keep in mind to stay levelheaded through the rest of 2024 and beyond.

1. The market continues to reach new all-time highs

On its way to a 15.3% gain in the first half of the year, the S&P 500 has achieved over 30 new all-time highs. While this is positive, it can also make many investors nervous. When the market is in uncharted territory, it’s easy to worry that it may be “due for a pullback.”



The reality is that price swings are an unavoidable part of investing and the market will certainly pull back at some point. However, the timing of these declines is difficult if not impossible to predict. At the same time, major stock market indices will naturally spend a significant amount of time near record levels during bull markets, as shown in the accompanying chart. Trying to time the market tends to be counterproductive for this reason.



This year, artificial intelligence stocks – particularly Nvidia – have contributed greatly to market returns with the Information Technology and Communication Services sectors gaining 28.2% and 26.7%, respectively. However, other sectors have more recently begun to benefit as well with Energy, Financials, Utilities, and Consumer Staples all experiencing rallies of around 10%. All told, 10 of the 11 sectors are positive on the year. While it’s unclear where large-cap technology stocks may go from here, staying diversified allows investors to benefit from a wide variety of sectors.

2. With inflation cooling, the Fed is on track to cut rates later this year

Investors have been anticipating the first rate cut of the cycle since the beginning of the year. This has not only driven returns, but is one reason markets have swung so much when new economic data has caused expectations to shift.



The accompanying chart shows the possible path of the federal funds rate based on the Fed’s latest projections. At its last meeting, the Fed cited strong job gains and low unemployment as indicators of solid economic activity but emphasized that “inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated.” Fortunately, the latest inflation data in May showed a significant deceleration that has preserved the possibility of a rate cut this year.



Many of the additional rate cuts that investors previously expected have simply been pushed into next year and will depend on the economic data over the next six months. Regardless of the exact timing and path of Fed rate cuts, these projections represent a reversal of the emergency monetary policy actions that began in early 2022.

3. Steadier rates support the bond market

The path of interest rates has been highly uncertain over the past few years due to inflation, economic growth, and the Fed. Higher rates have defied the expectations of investors and economists, creating a challenging environment for the bond market, since rising rates push down bond prices.



After hotter-than-expected readings in the first quarter of the year, the latest Consumer Price Index data showed no change in overall prices in May for the first time in almost two years. Core CPI rose 0.2% in May, or 3.4% year-over-year, a healthy deceleration from the previous month’s 3.6% pace. Other data, such as the Personal Consumption Expenditures index that the Fed favors, and the Producer Price Index, have shown similar patterns.



These developments, along with new Fed guidance, have pushed rates lower in recent days, supporting bond prices. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a measure of the overall bond market, is nearly flat on the year after declining as much as 4% in April. This is in sharp contrast to 2022 when bonds fell into a bear market during the historic jump in interest rates, before stabilizing and rebounding in 2023.

4. Many investors remain on the sidelines in cash

In times of market uncertainty, investors often seek the safety of cash. This has been true over the past several years as markets have swung due to the pandemic, geopolitical events, Fed rate hikes, inflation, gridlock in Washington, technology trends, and more. Additionally, interest rates on cash are at their highest levels in decades, making it appear that there are attractive “risk-free” returns.



While cash is important, it can become problematic when investors hold too much cash. This is because cash is not truly risk-free for two important reasons. First, inflation quietly erodes the purchasing power of cash over time. So even if yields appear to be high, the real value of your money could decline.



Second, the prospects for cash will only worsen if and when the Fed does begin to cut rates. Investors would be forced to reinvest their cash either at lower interest rates or in stocks and bonds whose prices would most likely have already risen.

5. The presidential election is heating up

Coverage of the presidential election is heating up. While elections are an essential way for Americans to help shape the direction of the country as citizens, voters and taxpayers, it’s important to vote at the ballot box and not with investment portfolios.



History shows that markets can perform well under both major political parties. As the accompanying chart shows, the economy and stock market have grown over decades regardless of who was in the White House. What mattered more across these periods were the ups and downs of the business cycle.



Of course, politics can impact taxes, trade, industrial activity, regulations, and more. However, not only do policy changes tend to be incremental, but also the exact timing and effects are often overestimated. Thus, it’s important to focus less on day-to-day election poll results and more on the long-term economic and market trends. Ideally, investors concerned about the impact of specific policies on their financial plans should speak with a trusted financial advisor.



The bottom line? Investors should keep these five factors in mind as we head into summer. As always, it’s important to maintain a long-term perspective to achieve investing goals. Working with a trusted financial advisor can help you navigate through an uncertain future and be prepared for changes in the economy and stock market through the rest of 2024.

Personal Financial Planning for your Biggest Investments

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If you are like most folks, in your mind the word “investment” usually refers to your mutual fund holdings, or your 401k or IRA account. However, “investment” is a broad term that refers to a number of aspects of your life. Here are some of the biggest investments you have, that you might not be aware of, in your personal financial planning.

Your Career

Take a step back and look at your career. Do you enjoy what you do? Are you fairly compensated for the work you provide? Have you looked at your benefits recently? If you do not have a good benefit package, you can end up having problems while you are working, and when you stop working.

There are several ways to save for financial independence, but working with an employer’s retirement package is one of the best options. Not only should you look at the level at which you are investing, but the amount your employer matches. The other thing to consider with your job is the health insurance and life insurance programs you are being offered. Are you given a low rate for insurance? Can you buy an adequate and appropriate amount of coverage? 

Talk to your employer about your current benefit package to make sure you are not paying more than you should. Talk about other benefits like tuition reimbursement, credit unions, and corporate travel discounts to capitalize on these savings and enhance your personal financial planning.

This is an important aspect of personal financial management, as you need to know where your money is going, and what your employer is doing to help you.

Your Health

Do you take the time to work out each day? If you have a list of excuses as to why you cannot exercise, or you cannot give up the junk food for healthy options, you can easily hurt yourself financially. Healthier eating and living a healthier lifestyle is a smart part of personal financial planning as can help to shield you from excessive medical expenses.

Your Relationships

How do you fare with your personal relationships? Are you happy with your marriage? Are you happy with the relationships you have with your loved ones and friends? You need to improve your relationships to boost your health and overall well-being. If you must go through a divorce, you can face significant costs, which can take years to recover.

Money Behavior

Another investment you might not be aware of is the way you spend money. If you are an impulse buyer, you can end up spending more for a product than it is truly worth. If you can cut $5 from daily expenses and invest it at 6%, you can end up with $300,000 after 40 years! This shows the importance of a single dollar and why you need to have smart investment management to save money for your future.  Being wise with your money is a critical practice when it comes to achieving financial confidence. Learn how to manage all these different areas of your life to have a happier life, free of debt and stress.