Lifestyle & Mindset
March Comes in Like a Lion: Embracing Change in Every Season
From weather patterns to life transitions, March reminds us that change is constant and something to embrace rather than fear.
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inheritance planning
The Folder: What Your Kids Will Need to Find in the First Thirty Days
Someday your family will open a folder. What they find inside is up to you. Day four of our series: the first thirty days from your kids' side of the table, and the program we built at ARA so that month arrives organized instead of overwhelming.
Retirement Income
What Retirees Really Want: A Steady Paycheck Over Growth
Recent surveys show retirees prioritize dependable monthly income over chasing high returns, but many advisors still focus heavily on growth strategies.
Sugar Smarts
Sugar Smarts: Grilled Lemon-Herb Salmon with Zucchini Ribbons & Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, August 2026
August 2026 Sugar Smarts recipe: Grilled Lemon-Herb Salmon with Zucchini Ribbons & Blistered Cherry Tomatoes. Diabetic-friendly, 10g carbs per serving.
inheritance planning
The House They Grew Up In: What Really Happens When Kids Inherit Property
Day three of our series from the heir's side of the table. The quiet tax gift buried in an inherited home, the twenty-minute deed that skips the courthouse, why Arizona and Nevada families get an advantage most articles never mention, and the three-siblings-one-house problem.
inheritance planning
The Ten-Year Tax Bomb: What Your IRA Looks Like From Your Kids' Side
Your IRA statement says $900,000. Your kids will not inherit $900,000. Day two of our series sits in their chair for the one conversation that can change the number: the ten-year rule, their tax bracket, and the moves that only work while you are here.
Trusted by 14,000+ Families
“My full trust is in you folks and always has been since the beginning.”
— Dana B., ARA client since 2019
“Best decision we made years ago in AZ was finding American Retirement Advisors!”
— Ellen K., Scottsdale
“I told my friends I was in the same position and talked to American Retirement Advisors and got my questions answered.”
— Rod H., ARA client
“I was talking to a family friend yesterday and told him what a wonderful job Marc did.”
— Susan S., Mesa
“He comes highly recommended by close friends. I only want to talk to David Edge.”
— Gene M., referred client
“This is my first year in Medicare and your input was extremely helpful.”
— Randy B., new client
How It Works
1
Discovery
We start by learning what you want to accomplish and what you have to work with. We can't help if we don't know the full picture.
2
Build Your Plan
We keep the best of what you already have, replace what can be better, and make sure nothing is falling through the cracks.
3
Review Every Year
As life changes, so should your plan. We lock in an annual review to make sure everything is still working for you.
Medicare & Healthcare
See What Smart Medicare Planning Looks Like →
Medicare & Healthcare
Eddie and Betty Are Coming to the Big Screen
Betty gets to say it herself. On Friday, October 2, Eddie and Betty are coming to the big screen for one day only, two showings, at two Valley libraries, alongside the advisors you have been reading all summer. Here is everything, including how to save your seat at no cost to you.
Medicare & Healthcare
A Bill Arrives for Income You No Longer Have
You retire in the spring. Your income drops by two thirds. And the following January, Medicare bills you as though you are still earning what you earned two years ago. There is a form that fixes this, most people have never heard of it, and it is the last of our seven doors.
Medicare & Healthcare
She Picked Advantage Three Years Ago. Nobody Mentioned the Door Locked Behind Her.
There is exactly one window in your life when an insurance company cannot say no to you on a Medicare supplement. It is six months long, it happens once, and Medicare says plainly that it does not repeat. Almost nobody understands what they are giving up when it closes.
Medicare & Healthcare
He Turns 65 in March. She Is 62 and on His Plan. Nobody Asks About Her.
Medicare is an individual program. There is no family plan and no spouse rider. So when the older half of a couple ages into it, the younger half can quietly lose coverage, and the moment that happens determines whether she has good options or almost none.
Retirement Planning
Discover How Retirees Protect Their Income →
Retirement Income
The Annual Physical for Your Money
You would not skip your annual physical, and you should not skip your money's either. To close out our week on financial interactions, here is what actually happens in a real annual review, piece by piece, and the moment from one of ours that I would put up against any product pitch in the country.
Retirement Income
Every Product Had Its Own Salesperson
One of our clients sees more doctors than anyone I know, and every one of them is careful, thorough, and completely unaware of what the others are doing. His money worked the same way for thirty years. Here is what happens when nobody is the general practitioner, and what it looks like when somebody
Retirement Income
The Death Benefit You Already Own
Plenty of retirees are carrying a death benefit they forgot about, tucked inside an annuity, an old policy, or a benefit from a job they left years ago. Before you buy new life insurance, take an inventory. The smartest sentence I've heard in a review meeting this year explains why.
Retirement Income
Your Money Has Drug Interactions Too
You would never take a new medication without checking what it does alongside the ones you already take. But most people buy annuities, life insurance, even funeral policies without asking the same question. One client's story shows why the question matters more than the product.
Inheritance Planning
Learn How Families Preserve Their Legacy →
inheritance planning
Show Up Once: Badly Prepared Beats Perfectly Absent
The last card on the fridge is the easiest one to misread. You do not prepare for a first meeting with an advisor; the meeting is where preparing happens. Day five of The Fridge List closes the series: why walking in with a shoebox and three questions beats staying home with a perfect plan you never
inheritance planning
Put It in the Box: One Place Your Family Can Find Everything
The documents exist. The accounts exist. The passwords exist. Almost none of it lives in one place, and most of it lives in your memory. Day four of The Fridge List is one job: gather it all where your family can actually find it, and why a single labeled box beats a lifetime of good filing.
inheritance planning
Tell the Kids: The Call Parents Put Off
The documents are signed. Nobody has told the kids what is in them. Day three of The Fridge List is the executor conversation: who to call, what to say, and why the kids are relieved by that call, not burdened by it.
inheritance planning
What Actually Happens in the First Trust Meeting?
The appointment is on the calendar, and the dread changes shape. What happens in that room? Day two of The Fridge List walks you into the first trust meeting: a conversation, not an exam, fewer decisions than you fear, and a cost you learn up front. And almost everyone says the same thing on the way