Can you manage finances better than your Uncle Sam?

As seen in The Oakland Press

November 23rd, 2025

Can you manage finances better

than your Uncle Sam?

by Ken Morris

With so many financially related issues and concerns at the forefront, this has been a tumultuous year. For many households, these issues have blown up their budgets and caused financial turbulence. It’s hard to believe we’re already celebrating Thanksgiving, and given the current circumstances, I suspect there might be some interesting dinner conversations.

Barring any late year collapses or meltdowns, most investors will likely be pleased with their year-end statements. And although they may be content, it certainly appears that an increasing number of households are feeling financial stress.

We have fellow citizens who are receiving huge health insurance premium increases. Hard-working frontline government workers had been working every day for weeks with no pay. And, sad to say, the high cost of food has led to more people relying on food banks. Those who were already on financial assistance from Uncle Sam had to sweat it out, not knowing if, how or when they would be able to feed their families. Fortunately, Uncle Sam finally delivered.

To sum it up, inflation has resulted in higher grocery prices. Health insurance premiums have skyrocketed. Food banks have seen an enormous increase in traffic. And too many people have had long stretches of work without getting paid. Meanwhile, a certain group of government employees who took quite a while to do the right thing, did not miss a paycheck.

As a financial advisor, there’s something I can say with conviction, no matter what your perspective on the world’s financial condition may be. If you don’t pay close attention to your own finances and make smart decisions, you could be facing financial peril.

For example, one of my sons received a monthly health insurance premium increase of $350 per month, a boost of nearly 30 percent. That’s obviously a significant increase, so he needs to reevaluate both his short-term and long-term financial plans for 2026. In other words, lifestyle adjustments need to be made, and financial goals reviewed and modified accordingly.

The stated reason for the government shutdown was the high cost of health insurance premiums and the expiration of the government subsidies that were used to help pay for the ACA. Many households, like my son, are not eligible for government subsidies. Keep in mind that any government assistance that’s used in such subsidies is essentially borrowed money and adds to our already overburdened $38 trillion national debt.

This proves, once again, that the government throwing money at a problem does not necessarily solve that problem. Sadly, households that face such unanticipated increased expenses need to adjust if they hope to avoid future financial fallout. Credit card debt comes to mind.

Keeping your financial house in order is a demanding job. Nobody needs the government throwing a monkey wrench into the process.

I would like to advise all households to increase their retirement plan contributions in 2026. More good advice would be to up the money in the kids’ college funds. Of course, many situations will require altering and adjusting longer term goals. Unfortunately, some families have had a nasty curve ball thrown at them which could necessitate major lifestyle changes.

But in the here and now, let’s focus on having a Happy Thanksgiving. Let’s be thankful for good food, good friends and family, good conversation and a big win for our Detroit Lions.