It is easy to tell someone to “ride it out” when they have enough money to wait for the market to recover. But for everyday Americans balancing retirement savings with mortgages, student loans, credit card debt and medical bills, a badly timed downturn can change far more than an account balance.

Most financial conversations about children revolve around college. But if there's only $100-$200 a month available, is age 18 really the most important problem to solve? A conversation about grandkids, Florida Prepaid, and long-term planning sent me down a rabbit hole I couldn't stop thinking about.

Annuities have a bad reputation — but the problem isn’t the tool itself. It’s how annuities were sold, misunderstood, and misused. This article breaks down the myths and explains where annuities actually fit in modern retirement planning.