Random excerpts from our podcast posted June 13, 2026! Listen here: Guard Your Savings Podcast With Dolph Janis
For decades the way people used their money felt “exclusive” to a lot of average Americans. People assumed you needed a broker, had to have lots of money, and special knowledge just to get started. Today the proliferation of podcasts has helped normalize the conversation about financial advice. Retirement accounts have compounded their growth in a way that feels approachable and practical, through dollar cost averaging.
Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) means investing a fixed amount of money at regular intervals (like monthly or weekly weekly), regardless of whether stock markets are down or up. This is typically how 401(k) account contributions work through an employer.
Has fintech or AI advice helped people in younger generations? Maybe yes, maybe no. But at least the younger generations are starting to think about what they’re going to do with their financial portfolio, and they are worried about retirement. I think the parents are finally getting involved and getting the kids to think about it, too. They do want personal advice, and there are a lot of money managers out there, wealth managers, (which I’m not one of them) who charge you fees. They charge anywhere from a half percent to a percent and a half in fees to “manage” your money.
And over a long timeframe, maybe 10 or 20 years, you’ve given them a lot of money! And I think what fintech has done is taken some of that. People ask themselves, “Why am I paying this guy $2,000 a year to do nothing, or just to have my money sit in a Fidelity brokerage account, I don’t know.” And they read different advice, and I think AI has made it easier because you can just say, “Hey Siri, or hey ChatGPT, what’s the best way to protect my money and make it work for me?”
If you decide to listen to chat or AI, you still have to find a person to do it with! Unless you’re going to try to do it on your own. And if you try to do it on your own, well, that a lot of things can happen that way. Like procrastination. The younger generation might be the king of procrastinators. But no one at any age is immune to the thought, “Why should I do it today when I could do it tomorrow?” That’s where a good financial advisor can come in.
And that’s what we do; we’re here to take away that procrastination. We’re going to give you options. And younger Americans really do seem to be more aware. Many people in their 20s today know more about Roth IRAs and ways to achieve financial independence than previous generations at the same age. A lot of that comes from necessity, like student debt, unaffordable housing costs, and other challenges.
I think inflation has also forced people to think about money sooner now because things are not going down. Prices have gone up, unfortunately. But social media has also made financial education part of everyday culture. I mean, there’s this site I call it, it’s called the Flyover. And if you are subscribed to the flyover, it sends you an email every day. And it covers what’s happening in the world in small bits and pieces, gives a little financial advice. What’s happening in the political world? What’s happening in sports, what’s happening in weather and stuff? So, I’m giving a little throw out there to the Flyover. I mean, they do a great job, but they’re also giving advice on Roth and financial independence to help people out there save money.
Keep in mind Roth IRA accounts can be any type of investment or account; Roth just means you fund it with after-tax money that is subject to IRS rules, like they must be in place for five years and you must be age 59-1/2 in order to withdraw earnings without tax penalty.
It’s not just going to be given to us, so we need to get our plan together. And like we’re talking about annuities. People ask, “Do you need an annuity or do you want an annuity? Well, what are they going to do for you?” Recently a couple of months ago, I got my CAA. I got my certification because I’ve really seen the right annuities work for some people. I’m now a Certified Annuity AdvisorSM and I pursued and earned that designation. I did my 50 hours of work, took the test and all that. So, I can actually talk about them now with more knowledge. For the right person, for the right situation, annuities can work for retirement income and for protection, except for variable annuities or RILAs, those are not for protection because they contain stock market risk and can therefore lose money. Fixed indexed annuities are the type that offer potential growth along with principal protection from stock market risk guaranteed by insurance company contract.
But when you’re looking and you’re educating yourself like, “Okay, I’m 30 years old and I want to open a Roth IRA. What’s the best way to do it? Do I do it with a CD? Do I do it in a brokerage account? Do I do it with an annuity?” But you got to do something with it where you can add the funds.
Because when you turn 55+ years old, you’re going to be like, “Holy moly, how much tax-free money do I have?” These are the sorts of practical situations that we’re talking about with clients. And when I’m meeting with clients, I also bring up their children. “Say, have your children opened up a Roth IRA yet?” And if they haven’t discussed with them, bring it up! Often they will open up one for the kids (if they are earning income) and then put it on the kids, meaning it’s their responsibility to keep putting money in; to keep funding it.
One reason financial influencers gain traction is because consumers generally feel frustrated with traditional financial systems. Simple as that. The conversation around hidden fees, high expense mutual funds, confusing products in the worst aggressive sales technique has become much more public online. And people see that the influencers understand that. And that’s one of the positives that they bring. They are talking about the hidden fee structure out there, and I have to say I don’t like fees. I’m against them. I don’t charge them. I try to stay away from them unless you’re going to get something for that fee and even more.
Like we always talk about no pressure, no judgment, no tension, those aggressive sales tactics, I just don’t believe in them. We’re going to listen. We’re going to find out what your situation is and what your goals are. We’re going to see if we’re a fit. We’re not going to pressure you into anything. We’re going to ask you about protection. We’re going to ask you about family. We’re going to ask you your goals financially going forward. And then see if we are a fit.
