The Guided
Ascent Journal
Financial planning insights on retirement, tax strategy, investment management, and estate planning — written for individuals, families, and business owners across northern Arizona and throughout the country.
Recent Insights
How to Claim a Trump Account: The $1,000 Deposit and the Dell $250
How to Claim a Trump Account: The $1,000 Deposit and the Dell $250 Your child almost certainly has a Trump Account already. The Treasury opened more than 60 million of them automatically on October 1, 2026, and Michael and Susan Dell have deposited $250 into 25 million of them. But no one can see that money, add to it, or receive the $1,000 newborn deposit until a parent claims the account.
We’ve Moved: A Sneak Peek Inside Our New Home
We've moved. After a summer of construction and one very long moving weekend, the Babb Financial Group team is now working from our new Flagstaff office at 1117 W. Route 66, the former KAFF building. The place is still being put together, but we wanted to share a few photos with you.
Short-Term Rental Taxes: The Rules Vacation Rental Owners Get Wrong
A cabin in the pines or a casita near the red rocks can be a solid source of income, and short-term rental taxes follow a different set of rules than a long-term rental. Whether the property belongs on Schedule E or Schedule C, whether its income is passive or nonpassive, and whether a cost segregation study is worth the fee all turn on facts about how you run it. Get those facts right and the return follows. Get them wrong and you can pay tax you did not owe, or lose a deduction you had earned.
Selling Your Business: The Tax Decisions to Make Before the Buyer Shows Up
Most owners spend decades building a business and a few months selling it. The taxes on selling a business are often the single largest cost of the deal, and nearly every lever that reduces them has to be pulled before you sign a letter of intent. After that point the structure is set, the price is allocated, and your options narrow to filing the return.
Northern Arizona Healthcare Benefits: Getting the Most From Your NAH 401(k), 457(b), and HSA
The Northern Arizona Healthcare benefits guide is thorough about what exists: a 401(k) that matches dollar for dollar up to 5% of pay, a 457(b) for eligible employees, a health savings account NAH helps fund. What it cannot do is tell you what to choose. How much to defer, and pre-tax or Roth? Is the 457(b) worth using if you are eligible? Spend the HSA on this year's bills, or let it build? The guide describes the accounts. The decisions are yours.
How Emotions Affect Financial Decisions: Our Wealth & Wellness Event
Some of the most important financial decisions we make have very little to do with math. On March 26, 2026, we gathered with clients and friends of the firm at the Moonshot Accelerator in Flagstaff for our Wealth & Wellness lunch event, an afternoon devoted to the why behind our money decisions. Our guest presenter, Emily Krushefski, CEO and Co-Founder of Emotional Innovations, shared research-based insights on how emotional patterns influence saving, spending, and long-term choices.
Is Social Security Really Tax-Free Now? How the $6,000 Senior Deduction Works
If you are 65 or older, a new federal deduction worth up to $6,000 per person, or up to $12,000 for a qualifying married couple, is available right now and is scheduled to expire after 2028. It can lower the tax you owe on your income overall, including the taxable portion of your Social Security. It also phases out as income rises, which means ordinary retirement decisions, an IRA withdrawal, a Roth conversion, the sale of a stock, can quietly change how much of it you keep.
Business Meal Deductions in 2026: What You Can Still Write Off, and What You Cannot
If your business buys food, the tax rules changed on January 1, 2026. The biggest shift: most meals you provide to your own employees are no longer deductible at all. Meals with clients did not change, and your holiday party is still fully deductible. Here is what business owners need to know, in plain English, and a simple way to keep your books clean so nothing gets lost at tax time.
1031 Exchanges: Should the Tax Tail Wag the Investment Dog?
A 1031 exchange is a powerful tool, but it is a tax-deferral tool, not a magic eraser. Understanding that distinction is the key to using it well, or knowing when to skip it. Here is how it works, why people do them, and the question we think matters most: are you making an investment decision or a tax decision?
Are IPOs Worth Investing In When a Company Goes Public?
Is buying an IPO on its first day a smart move for the average investor? This guide looks at how IPOs work, who sits on each side of the deal, why underwriters often price shares below market value, and what research suggests about how IPOs have tended to perform over six months, a year, and longer.
Retiring from NAU: What to Know Before You Make Decisions You Cannot Reverse
If you are an NAU employee within a few years of retirement, you have probably started asking questions that did not feel urgent on your first day. Back then, somewhere in the onboarding paperwork, was a retirement plan election form. You had 30 days to choose between ASRS and the ORP. Most people filled it out quickly, or missed the window and defaulted into ASRS, and moved on...
ASRS or ORP? What NAU Employees Should Know Before Making an Irrevocable Decision
When a new employee joins Northern Arizona University, one of the first financial decisions on the table is also one of the most consequential. Eligible employees have 30 days to choose between the Arizona State Retirement System, known as ASRS, and the Optional Retirement Plan, or ORP. If no election is made within that window, the employee is defaulted into ASRS, and that default is irrevocable.
Gore Employee Financial Planning: ASOP, Stock Concentration, and Health Insurance Questions Answered
Gore's Associate Stock Ownership Plan is one of the more generous private-company retirement benefits in the country, and it also creates a specific set of financial planning decisions that do not come with an instruction manual. This covers what the plan actually allows, the tax strategy some associates have never heard of, and what health coverage looks like on the other side of Gore.
Trump Accounts: What Every Family Should Know Before July 4
A new tax-deferred investment account for children launches July 4, 2026. Any child under 18 with a Social Security number is eligible. These accounts will be now be part of the investment discussion for minors, but two issues have gone largely unreported heading into the launch date. Notably, state tax may apply on an account that does not permit withdrawals, and an estate tax gift form may need to be filed even though contributions are below the annual gift exclusion. Here is the full picture.
How to Choose a Financial Advisor: What Actually Matters
At certain points in life, financial decisions can begin to involve more moving pieces and greater coordination. Maybe it's approaching retirement. A business transition. An inheritance. Or simply the realization that the pieces — income, taxes, investments, [...]