EPISODE 125 – What Is a Fiduciary Financial Advisor, Really, and Why It Matters

If you have ever searched for a financial advisor, you have probably seen the word “fiduciary” everywhere. It shows up on websites, in ads, and in almost every “how to pick an advisor” checklist.

But what does it actually mean in practice, and how do you know whether someone is truly obligated to act in your best interest, or simply using the right buzzwords?

In Episode 125 of The Last Paycheck Podcast, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional Archie Hoxton and advisor Jimmy Sutch unpack what it means to work with a fiduciary, how that standard compares to the old “suitability” model, and why the difference can have a real impact on your money and your long term financial security.

This blog walks through the key points from the episode and gives you a practical lens for evaluating advisors in the real world.

What is a fiduciary advisor?

Archie defines a fiduciary in the simplest possible way. A fiduciary is someone who has a binding obligation to act in your best interest, even when that conflicts with their own short term financial interest.

In other words, if the choice is between what is best for you and what is most profitable for the advisor, a fiduciary standard requires the advisor to choose you.

In the financial world, that means:

  • Recommendations must be made in your best interest, not just “good enough.”
  • Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed, not hidden.
  • Advice should be supported by careful analysis, not sales scripts or generic rules of thumb.

For many families, the appeal is straightforward. When you sit across the table from someone who is helping you decide how to invest, when to retire, or how to protect your family, you want to know they are not quietly being rewarded for steering you in a particular direction.

Fiduciary vs. suitability: “It fits” is not enough

The episode contrasts the fiduciary standard with the older “suitability” standard, which is still used in parts of the industry.

Under a suitability standard, an advisor only has to show that a recommendation is “suitable” for you in a broad sense. Jimmy and Archie liken it to buying a suit from a salesperson who does not really care whether it is the best choice for your wardrobe, only that it technically fits.

You needed a suit. They sold you one. Suitable, yes. Best, not necessarily.

In financial terms, suitability might sound like:

  • “This product could be reasonable for someone your age and risk level.”
  • “You need life insurance, and this policy technically meets that need.”

The problem appears when commissions or incentives line up behind one choice instead of another. Without a fiduciary standard, it is easier for an advisor to justify the higher paying option that still meets the minimum bar of “suitability,” even if there is a better, lower cost or more flexible alternative you never see.

A fiduciary standard raises that bar. It is not enough that the “suit fits.” The recommendation should fit your entire financial picture, your long term goals, and your best interest, even if that is less profitable for the advisor.

Where the CFP marks fit in

The episode also highlights the role of professional standards.

Many advisors talk about being fiduciaries in specific situations, for example, when giving investment advice on certain accounts. However, that duty may not cover every area of your relationship with them.

One reason Archie and Jimmy advocate for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER designation is that CFP professionals are required to act as fiduciaries for all financial advice they provide, not just on one account or product line.

That means:

  • Investment recommendations
  • Financial planning advice
  • Insurance and risk management guidance
  • Retirement and tax planning strategies

All must be delivered in your best interest, with a duty of care and diligence behind each recommendation.

For a consumer, that simplifies the question. You do not have to untangle “when” someone is a fiduciary and when they are not. With a CFP professional who is committed to that standard across the relationship, the expectation is more consistent.

Why compensation and conflicts still matter

Compensation comes up often in the episode, and Archie and Jimmy are careful to make an important distinction.

How an advisor is paid does not automatically prove they are, or are not, a fiduciary. However, it absolutely shapes where conflicts of interest are likely to appear, and you should understand those clearly.

Common models include:

  • Fee only or fee based on assets under management
    The advisor is paid a percentage of the money they manage or a flat planning fee. This model was created in part to reduce transaction based conflicts and align the advisor’s success with your long term results.
  • Commission based or hybrid models
    The advisor is compensated when certain products are implemented, such as insurance or annuities, sometimes alongside asset based or planning fees.

The podcast does not claim that one model is always good and another is always bad. Instead, Archie and Jimmy urge you to look at two things:

  1. Is your advisor required to act as a fiduciary when making recommendations, regardless of how they are paid?
  2. Are conflicts of interest clearly disclosed and explained in plain language?

A commission structure can be abused, but it can also be used appropriately to access products that only exist in that world, such as term life insurance. Conversely, a fee only structure can reduce some conflicts, but it does not remove the need for diligence, thoughtful analysis, or transparency.

Why this matters for your long term plan

On the surface, the difference between “suitable” and “best interest” might sound technical. In practice, it can ripple through your entire financial life.

The wrong product or strategy can:

  • Increase your lifetime tax bill
  • Lock you into inflexible contracts or high fees
  • Put too much risk or too little growth in your portfolio
  • Delay your retirement or force painful course corrections later

The right advisor relationship, built on a fiduciary standard and clear communication, can help you:

  • Stress test your plan under good and bad markets
  • Make better decisions about Roth conversions, withdrawals, and timing
  • Coordinate investments, insurance, tax strategy, and estate planning
  • Move forward with more clarity and less second guessing

That is the real point of this episode. The fiduciary conversation is not about jargon. It is about making sure the person guiding you is truly aligned with you when the stakes are high.

Questions to ask when interviewing an advisor

Drawing on the spirit of the episode, here are a few concrete questions you can use:

  • Are you a fiduciary at all times when you are giving me advice, or only in certain accounts or situations?
  • How are you compensated, and who else pays you besides me?
  • Are you a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional, and if so, how does that affect your responsibilities to me?
  • Can you describe a situation where you recommended something that was not in your own financial interest, but was better for a client?
  • Who owns your firm, and whose interests are considered when big business decisions are made?

Good advisors welcome these questions. They should be able to answer them directly, without defensiveness or jargon.

Ready to see how a fiduciary team approaches planning?

If you want to go beyond buzzwords and see how a fiduciary planning process actually works in real life, a good next step is to understand the full picture of your financial life, not just your investments.

Hoxton Planning & Management uses a Six Disciplines framework to coordinate cash flow, tax planning, risk management, investments, estate planning, and retirement strategy.

You can explore that framework and see how your own situation lines up here

Learn More
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.

EPISODE 124 – Revenge Saving vs Revenge Spending – How to Stop Swinging Between Extremes

What Is Revenge Saving and Revenge Spending?

In Episode 124 of the Last Paycheck Podcast, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals Archie and Rob Hoxton explore a pair of patterns that sound dramatic but are surprisingly common. Revenge spending and revenge saving describe the emotional swings many people experience when reacting to stress, deprivation, or guilt about money.

Revenge spending became a buzzword after the Covid lockdowns. People who felt cooped up or restricted rushed to travel, dine out, and spend on experiences once restrictions eased. In more everyday life, it can look like overspending after a stressful period, or buying something extravagant after an argument as a way to “reset the scales.”

Revenge saving is the opposite swing. After a period of overspending or during times of economic uncertainty, people clamp down hard. They cut aggressively, hoard cash, and sometimes deprive themselves of reasonable comfort or important spending, all in the name of getting “back on track.”

Both behaviors are understandable. Neither is sustainable.

The Pendulum Effect With Money

Archie and Rob compare these patterns to dieting. After a stretch of overeating, someone might respond by barely eating at all for a day or two. That extreme reaction is not meant to be permanent, and it is usually followed by another swing in the opposite direction.

Psychologists call this the pendulum effect. When we feel out of control or guilty, we often respond with an extreme corrective action. With money, that can mean shifting rapidly from splurging to strict deprivation and back again.

The danger is not in occasionally tightening up or enjoying a treat. The danger is living at the extremes, where long term planning disappears and financial stress increases, even if you are technically saving more in the short term.

Turning Guilt Into Productive Action

The good news is that the same emotional energy that drives revenge saving can be channeled into productive changes. Rob and Archie suggest several practical moves that help you regain control without sliding into all or nothing thinking.

1. Rebuild or strengthen your emergency fund

If spending got away from you, start by shoring up your safety net. Aim for three to six months of essential expenses in an easily accessible account. That cushion protects you from surprise costs, prevents future credit card debt, and reduces anxiety about everyday spending.

2. Attack high interest debt

If the “holiday report card” on your credit card statement is painful, prioritize paying down consumer debt. High interest balances make it difficult to adjust your lifestyle when circumstances change. Reducing or eliminating these obligations gives you flexibility and frees up future cash flow.

3. Review your investment mix

Revenge savers often let large amounts of cash pile up in low yielding accounts because it feels safe. The hosts encourage listeners to evaluate whether they are holding more cash than they truly need, and whether those dollars could be working harder in a diversified portfolio that outpaces inflation over time.

4. Automate your good decisions

For people who tend to oscillate between splurge and clampdown, automation can be a powerful stabilizer. Increasing contributions to a 401(k) or automatic transfer into a savings account means the money is directed to a productive goal before it ever hits your checking account.

Introducing the “Joy Fund”

To keep the pendulum from swinging wildly, Archie and Rob also recommend building in structured fun. One idea is to create a small “joy fund” that you contribute to regularly.

A portion of each paycheck goes into this separate bucket, earmarked for travel, special dinners, or hobbies. When the fund has a balance, you can spend it guilt free. When it is empty, you wait and rebuild. This approach acknowledges a simple reality. Most people will want to indulge or celebrate occasionally. Planning for that up front keeps those moments from sabotaging your bigger goals.

Use a Financial Plan to Narrow the Swings

At the core of the episode is a familiar theme. A written financial plan is one of the best antidotes to reactionary decisions. If you know how much you need to save, what your investments are doing, and how your spending aligns with your goals, you are less likely to overreact to a single month of higher expenses or a scary headline.

Archie and Rob point out that modern planning tools can show you whether you are on track, even when markets are volatile. Instead of guessing, you can log in, stress test your plan, and see whether a course correction is truly needed.

When you have that level of clarity, “revenge” becomes unnecessary. You are not trying to correct for chaos. You are making adjustments inside a framework that already supports your long term success.

Final Thought: Choose Balance Over Backlash

Revenge saving and revenge spending are really about emotion, not math. They often signal that you feel out of control, guilty, or anxious about the future. The real solution is not to punish yourself financially, but to build systems that make your decisions calmer, more predictable, and aligned with your values.

Small, consistent actions like rebuilding an emergency fund, paying down debt, automating savings, and creating a joy fund can move you from boom and bust behavior to steady progress.

Ready to step off the financial roller coaster.

Download our Net Worth and Budget Worksheet to get a clear snapshot of your money, build a realistic spending plan, and start moving toward balance.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.

EPISODE 123 – From Saver to Spender – How to Confidently Live on Your Retirement Savings

Stepping Into Retirement: Why Spending Can Feel So Hard

In Episode 123 of the Last Paycheck Podcast, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals Archie and Rob Hoxton tackle an issue many retirees do not expect. After decades of saving diligently, actually spending that money in retirement can feel uncomfortable, even frightening.

They describe two common personality types they see in their practice: people who are excellent savers but reluctant spenders, and people who are enthusiastic spenders but poor savers. Retirement planning is difficult for both groups, but that first group often faces a unique psychological hurdle. They have done the hard work of accumulating assets, yet feel anxiety when the paycheck stops and withdrawals begin.

For many, this hesitation is rooted in early money memories. Scarcity during childhood, parental messages about never touching principal, or memories of periods like the Great Depression or the 2008 crisis can all shape how someone feels about drawing down savings in retirement.

The Emotional Side of “Turning the Spigot Around”

Archie and Rob explain that this is not just a math problem. It is an identity and mindset shift. Throughout working years, the pattern is simple. Earn income, save a portion, never touch the nest egg. That habit is reinforced for 30 or 40 years.

When retirement arrives, the entire model flips. Income from work stops and your portfolio becomes the source of your lifestyle. Even when a financial plan shows a high probability of success, many retirees still feel uneasy. They worry about outliving their money, market volatility, or losing their sense of purpose once work is no longer central to their lives.

Rob notes that some of the people who struggle the most with this shift are also the people who delay retirement, even when they are financially ready. The fear of spending, combined with uncertainty about what comes next, keeps them working longer than they might otherwise choose.

Rethinking What Your Portfolio Is For

A major theme in the episode is reframing the role of your investments. Archie encourages listeners to ask a basic but powerful question: What were you saving for.

If the answer includes travel, time with family, meaningful volunteer work, or simply having flexibility, then at some point you must allow your money to do its job. That means seeing yourself not only as a worker, but as an investor whose capital is now doing the earning on your behalf.

They describe portfolios not as static piles of money, but as a productive “army of dollars” deployed into companies, bonds, and other assets that generate dividends, interest, and growth. Understanding how a diversified portfolio is designed to support long term withdrawals can make the idea of spending feel less like erosion and more like using a well engineered tool as intended.

The Power of a Scalable Lifestyle

One of the most practical concepts in the episode is the idea of a “scalable lifestyle.” Instead of a rigid, all or nothing retirement budget, a scalable lifestyle allows for spending that can be dialed up in good markets and pared back during more challenging periods.

Rob and Archie emphasize that being debt free is one of the most important foundations for this approach. Fixed debt payments reduce flexibility. Without them, you can temporarily reduce discretionary spending such as travel, large purchases, or luxury items if markets are struggling, without jeopardizing your basic needs.

This flexibility helps retirees feel more in control, which directly reduces anxiety about drawing from their portfolios.

Stress Testing Your Plan Against Real World Risks

Education and planning are at the heart of building confidence. Archie and Rob highlight several steps that can help a saver feel ready to spend.

1. Build and maintain a detailed financial plan

A good retirement plan does more than list account balances. It projects spending, taxes, Social Security, and investment returns under a range of scenarios. Modern planning tools can run thousands of simulations to estimate the probability that your plan will succeed, even if markets perform poorly in the early years of retirement.

2. Understand how market volatility affects withdrawals

Many retirees vividly remember 2008, along with other market shocks. The hosts explain that it is crucial to understand how different withdrawal rates behave during downturns, and how a properly diversified portfolio is designed to weather corrections and bear markets over time.

3. Clarify your non financial purpose

Part of the fear around retirement is not just about money. It is about identity. Rob jokes that he does not want to become “Rob who sits on the couch.” Thinking ahead about the roles, routines, and contributions that will give retirement meaning can make it easier to embrace the shift away from a paycheck.

From Anxiety to Confidence

The message of Episode 123 is not that fear is irrational, but that it is manageable. With a clear plan, a scalable lifestyle, and a better understanding of how your investments work, you can move from perpetual accumulation to thoughtful, confident spending in retirement.

You saved for a reason. At some point, it is not only acceptable to spend. It is the fulfillment of the plan you built.

Ready to find out if your retirement plan can support the life you want?

Download our Retirement Readiness Checklist and take the next step toward spending with confidence.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.

EPISODE 122 – Social Security Pay Raise? The Gotchas You Need to Know

Social Security's 2026 Pay Raise: What You Gain—and What You Might Lose

As retirees gear up for a 2.8% Social Security increase in 2026, it’s tempting to view it as a long-overdue raise. But before you celebrate, it’s crucial to understand how much of that bump might get clawed back by taxes, rising Medicare premiums, and inflation.

In Episode 122 of The Last Paycheck Podcast, CFP® professionals Rob and Archie Hoxton pull back the curtain on how the Social Security COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) is actually calculated—and why it’s not as intuitive as most people think. Unlike standard year-over-year inflation comparisons, the COLA is based on third-quarter changes in a very specific inflation measure: the CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers).

This year’s COLA is 2.8%, translating to:

  • $56 more per month for the average individual
  • $88 more per month for the average couple

But here’s the catch: Medicare premiums are also rising.

The base Medicare Part B premium is expected to jump from about $185 to $206/month. That means as much as half—or more—of your “raise” could go straight toward healthcare costs. For higher-income retirees, the IRMAA surcharge can make premiums even steeper.

Then there’s the issue of tax thresholds. Social Security benefits are subject to taxation once your income exceeds $25,000 (single) or $32,000 (married). But those thresholds haven’t budged in years. As your benefits rise, so does your chance of triggering the “tax torpedo”—where 50% to 85% of your benefit becomes taxable income.

And for high earners still in the workforce, the FICA wage cap is rising to $184,500 in 2026. That means you’ll pay more in payroll taxes—while still receiving the same capped benefit later in life.

Take Control of What You Can

Despite these complexities, there’s good news: With smart planning, you can reduce the impact of taxes, Medicare premiums, and inflation on your retirement income.

Re-evaluate your Social Security claiming strategy
Consider income shifting or Roth conversions
Review your Medicare premium brackets
Update your retirement projections using realistic inflation rates

Want help understanding how these changes affect you?

Download the Social Security + Medicare Planning Audit

Use our free worksheet to estimate your real net benefit after taxes and Medicare deductions, and plan your next steps.
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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.