September has a sketchy reputation for stocks, and this year was no exception. Listening to the TV pundits, you might have thought the market had fallen into the toilet. The actual numbers, thankfully, tell a different story. September 2026 Performance: S&P 500: -0.45% Nasdaq Composite: +1.86% Dow Jones: -4.29% Russell 2000: -5.40% Despite September's mixed results, 2026 has been an excellent year for investors. Through September, the S&P 500 gained approximately 11.8%, the N

People who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them. — Dominican University Starting to invest early can dramatically increase lifetime wealth through compound growth. — Kiplinger A 22-year-old investing $5,000 per year until age 30 could still potentially build more than $2.5 million by retirement. — Kiplinger Research shows people with clear long-term goals demonstrate greater persistence, resilience, and self-control over time. — Behavioral psychology

Parents often assume that teaching children about investing requires a deep understanding of the stock market or years of financial experience. The good news is that research tells us otherwise. Some of the most important financial lessons children learn have very little to do with picking investments and everything to do with developing healthy habits, patience, and the right mindset. By understanding what researchers have discovered about how children learn and how successf