VFP In The Media (3rd Quarter of 2026)

Written by Jonathan Vance, CFP®, EA

You may already know this if you’re one of my clients, but I really do enjoy talking about retirement planning, taxes, low-cost diversified investing, and related topics. 

You’ll also notice that I’m passionate about radical transparency in the financial planning and wealth management profession. I take almost any chance that I get to advocate for other CFP® professionals to abandon older compensation models (such as more opaque commissions or percentage based charges) for what I believe is a more equitable and modern approach. 

If you’ve been reading my blog posts for the last few months, you’ll notice that this is the third edition of my ongoing series where I compile my media mentions from the prior quarter into one easy to read summary. 

You can look at the previous edition here.

I’ll stop introducing myself and this series and get right into it. Below you’ll find brief summaries and links to articles and even a local newscast here in Springfield, Missouri that I was able to contribute to in the third quarter of 2026. I’ll plan to continue making one summary post each quarter moving forward, and I hope you enjoy it!

Fixed-Income Strategies To Consider for Your Retirement Portfolio

By Rebecca Rosenberg | Investopedia | July 1, 2026

I jumped at the opportunity to contribute to this article. Almost every week, I work with my clients to solve a difficult, yet very important question. That is, how much fixed income is the right amount to have in their retirement portfolio? 

• The VFP Take: As you may guess, there isn’t one simple black and white answer to this question. However, there are many ways to approach fixed income investments when you’re nearing or already in retirement. In this piece, I talk a little about my favorite way for finding an answer to this question, known as the “bucket approach”. 

Americans Feel Ready for Retirement — But Do They Know These 6 Key Concepts?

By Jordan Rosenfeld | MoneyLion | July 10, 2026

This piece served as a high-level overview of some concepts that are easy to overlook as we approach retirement. Whereas there’s not as much depth in my thoughts here, I hope it serves as a good bullet-pointed list of things to be thinking about.

• The VFP Take: If I could focus on my favorite part of this article, it would easily be at the top. If there's one thing to take away, it would be this quote that I’ll use from time to time: "Your pre-retirement lifestyle, your ideal lifestyle and the lifestyle that your personal retirement plan can support are almost definitely three different numbers.”

This classic rule about bonds ‘could actually be a riskier move’ — and financial advisers say you may want to do this instead

By Alisa Wolfson | Market Watch | July 21, 2026

Rules of thumb are great for pointing you in the right direction, but broad generalizations will almost always fall short of a custom fit. Think of it like buying a sport coat: one off the rack at the mall gets the job done, but one measured and tailored specifically for you will look and feel better. Financial planning works the exact same way. When it comes to your bond portfolio, personalization makes all the difference.

• The VFP Take: Similar to above, you’ll find me advocating for the bucket approach when it comes to holding the “right amount” of bonds in your retirement portfolio. Whereas we’ll almost definitely never get this perfect, using the information available to us today can help to arrive at the most confident answer looking forward.

Back-to-school spending surge strains Missouri family budgets, financial planner says

By Phil Rodriguez | KY3 | August 7, 2026

I usually stick to retirement strategies, tax planning, and investments, but it was a privilege to branch out recently and speak to a different audience on a topic that affects so many families.

On a personal note, appearing on KY3 was deeply meaningful to me. Growing up in a farm house in Bolivar, the KY3 nightly news was on TV every single evening while my mom made dinner. Getting to appear on that very same broadcast years later put the biggest smile on my face.

• The VFP Take: For many local households, back-to-school shopping can create a financial strain, especially for those without a buffer for unexpected expenses. The best way to cushion these periodic spending shocks is to budget for them year-round by saving a consistent amount each month. Most importantly, if back-to-school expenses are causing real stress for your family, remember that you don't have to navigate it alone. Springfield has incredible non-profits dedicated to helping families in need. If you're not sure where to turn, email me anytime and I will gladly help point you in the right direction.

I retired last year with $3.4M after 31 years in law enforcement. I’ll get $8.4K a month in income. What are my next moves for retirement?

By Alisa Wolfson | Market Watch | September 8, 2026

I got right back into the world of retirement planning with my contribution to this piece. In this circumstance, I provided my input for where someone in a situation similar to this can find a starting point to answer retirement’s many questions.

• The VFP Take: Spoiler alert: I encourage the readers to start with spending. Whereas that may sound simple, it really is the starting guide to having any other conversations in a broad retirement plan. If you don’t know where to start, try to work backwards. How much have you been spending? How much can your financial assets realistically support? Once you start to gain some clarity on spending figures, the rest of your retirement equation can follow. 

Medicare's hidden surcharge: Every retiree should know about IRMAA

By Jonathan Vance | Springfield News-Leader | September 12, 2026

To blend my last two articles together, this one stays in the realm of retirement planning while also being a local news outlet here in the Ozarks. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to contribute a special to the Springfield News-Leader, and this topic is a good one!

• The VFP Take: No spoilers, here. You’ll need to subscribe to the Springfield News-Leader to read the whole piece. If you’ve been meaning to find an excuse to be a subscriber, they also post regular updates about Missouri State University’s football program!

Looking Ahead

That summarizes what I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in on the media front over the past few months. I’m looking forward to continuing contributing over the remainder of 2026. 

As I look ahead, I am extremely grateful for the opportunities I’ve had so far this year. If you’re reading this as someone who has helped in any way, shape, or form with the pieces above, thank you!

If you are a reporter, editor, run a podcast, or otherwise would like my contributions, please don’t hesitate to send me an email (my email address is on the bottom left corner of this page). I’d be happy to discuss if I can help. 

And if you liked this content, you can read my deep dives on taxes, investments, retirement, and more by clicking over to my blog.