Who Is “ABLE”?—Achieving a Better Life Experience 

In the finance industry, you will find an abundance of acronyms. From IRA to RMD and everything in between, we don’t expect you to keep track of all the acronyms, but there is one we wanted to break down with you here: the ABLE account.

What are ABLE accounts? They are tax-advantaged savings plan or investment option for individuals with disabilities who qualify.

Who is eligible?

Individuals are eligible to open an ABLE account if their disability began before age 46 and they meet the required severity of disability in one of two ways:

  1. Receiving Supplemental Security Income or Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, or
  2. Having a licensed physician sign a document including the diagnosis and notes stating they have “marked and severe” functional limitations that began before age 46.

What’s the purpose? The goal is to take advantage of tax-free growth potential and allow beneficiaries to save for qualified disability expenses, such as:

  • Housing
  • Transportation
  • Health
  • Education

Another benefit of ABLE accounts is they do not affect eligibility for benefits like SSI and Medicaid. Lots of public benefit programs restrict eligibility to people with less than $2,000 in countable resources (like cash or retirement accounts). With ABLE accounts, up to $100,000 can be excluded as a countable resource.

ABLE plans available vary by state. It’s recommended to review the plan of the state where you live first because there may be tax deductions or credits available.

How are they opened and funded? ABLE accounts can be opened and managed by the beneficiary themselves, or if the beneficiary is under 18, another individual can be appointed to manage the account. Anyone can deposit money directly into the ABLE account, including the account owner, friends, or family. (Do keep in mind that the total ABLE plan balance limit is the same as the state’s limit for 529 plans, which varies.)

For those who need it, ABLE accounts can be a great resource. We believe that everyone should have access to investing and saving opportunities, and ABLE accounts are another option to consider when appropriate.

The market doesn’t discriminate, and neither do we. Clients, if you want to talk more about what options may be available to you, reach out any time.

For more information on this topic, visit the ABLE National Resource Center, managed by the National Disability Institute.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.  

Investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.  

This information is not intended to be a substitute for individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax situation with a qualified tax advisor

Play the audio version of this post below:

Who Is “ABLE”?—Achieving a Better Life Experience – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

The text of this episode is available at ⁠⁠228Main.com⁠⁠.

We Are All Connected

It’s not as simple as “us” and “them.” Whether it’s politics, social issues, or economics, there are real costs when we forget the fundamental truth: we are all connected. This week Mark takes a thoughtful look at how our choices and lives are tied to one another. What’s the future we want to build, together

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You already have it within you?

You don’t need to follow a yellow brick road or consult a man behind a curtain to feel confident about your financial future. This week, Greg borrows a little inspiration from a classic story to remind us the key to a successful retirement may already be within our reach.

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Adulting 101: Three Money Buckets

Those first paychecks can be thrilling. It’s like a signal of being a real adult—and all the responsibilities that come with that term. You’re earning real money, but how do you make those earnings powerful? When you spend less than you earn, you develop savings—but how do you learn how to manage those funds?

We think the easiest place to start is to try and sort your financial goals into three buckets.

The first one you have is short-term. This is where you go to find money to deal with emergencies. You also use the short-term bucket to save for annual expenses like real estate taxes or insurance premiums. This bucket must be stable and liquid, to provide money when you need it. Returns are secondary.

On the other end, you have a long-term bucket. If you ever hope to retire instead of going to work every day, or accumulate wealth for other long-term goals, you need one of these—even if retirement feels like forever away. Unlike the first bucket, this one may endure more volatility in the hopes of garnering higher returns over a long-time horizon. You should plan on not tapping this bucket except for those long-term goals, short of an emergency which can be met no other way.

Naturally, the third bucket is in-between. You may have goals for things that happen in a few years, on an intermediate time horizon. It might be for a major purchase like a boat or camper, to meet educational expenses for a child, a down payment on a home you intend to buy at some point in the future.

Not surprisingly, the third bucket may balance stability and higher returns with a middle of the road approach. It might use a mix of investments from the other two buckets, or other types of investments with intermediate stability and returns.

The idea of three buckets is a helpful way to understand the functional purposes of investing. You will need to know something about the basic kinds of investments, styles of investing, some tax considerations, and the options available.

Clients, if you need help sorting the buckets to reach your financial goals, please email us or call.

Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.

Play the audio version of this post below:

Adulting 101: Three Money Buckets – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

The text of this episode is available at ⁠228Main.com⁠.

Choose Your Ingredients 

by Mark Leibman, Advisor

More content from Mark

I learned how to make soup back in the last chapter. Now a variety of soups are a staple of my diet. 

Crafting a new soup recipe recently, I started with a chicken, six herbs and spices, and seven kinds of vegetables. I used some olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. It may be served with a mix of seven kinds of beans, and rice, of course (you know how I feel about rice and beans!). 

It came out really good!—according to a biased observer that I recently married.  

Contemplating the choices made in the creation of the soup, I thought about how we build portfolios here at 228 Main.  

From many alternatives, we select what we want to own and determine the proportions of each. Another school of thought holds that portfolios should consist of some of everything—500 stocks go into the S&P 500 index, for example, so portfolios get to hold a little of each. 

That led me to wonder, What would Index Soup look like? 

  • 150 herbs and spices? 
  • 50 kinds of vegetables? 
  • Beef, pork, chicken, fish, and eight more kinds of animal protein? 

And it might even be served with 25 kinds of beans, and 10 varieties of rice! 

That would have to taste like a little bit of everything, and not much of anything, wouldn’t it? 

Just as different recipes can reflect a wide variety of tastes and textures and smells, and we humans have an appetite for different things at different times, our portfolios evolve and change as conditions unfold. 

By looking for the best bargains, by avoiding stampedes in the market, by planning to own the orchard for the fruit crop (thinking long-term), our collection of opportunities has diverged from the most popular kind of Index Soup, the S&P 500.  

Creating our own recipe helps avoid another possible pitfall of Index Soup—not that it can get too bland in its attempt to average everything, but that it can get too heavy-handed in spicy times. 

Recently, slightly more than half of our long-term portfolios are invested in small- and mid-size companies. We’re diversified around the world, although about two-thirds of value is still invested in the U.S. While AI-related stocks have captured the public imagination, we’re focused a little more on value-style stocks than the mega-size growth companies, which we believe may be over-valued at present. No guarantees, but we’re trying to be intentional with our flavors. 

Meanwhile, Index Soup focuses on large U.S. companies, with an emphasis on growth. Technology is nearly 37% of the mix in that soup, and the top seven holdings are mega-size tech companies.  

We know that the flavor can get “too strong” at times: back in the year 2000, the S&P 500 index, and technology stocks generally, left a bad taste in the mouths of many investors the last time valuations approached extreme levels.  

We can’t know the future, but we are hopeful our recipe is going to “taste” a lot better in the months and years ahead. No guarantees—past performance is not an indicator of future results. 

But we don’t have to be the best chefs in the world. We’re just trying to find a blend that works for us. 

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Investing involves risk including the loss of principal. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. 

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk. 

The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index which cannot be invested into directly. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.  

Play the audio version of this post below:

Choose Your Ingredients – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

The text of this episode is available at ⁠⁠www.228Main.com⁠⁠.

Going public: Billy’s thoughts on IPOs

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have been in the headlines lately. More than a dozen companies offered IPOs in June 2026. So we’re encouraging you to take five minutes to hear Billy talk about our take on IPOs.

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It’s Your Story

Even heroes get knocked down a time or two when fighting their monsters. There may be a couple of bumps in the road, but what good plot doesn’t have some conflict? With our passions in mind, a little bit of perseverance, and a good plan, we all get to be the hero of our own story. Want to talk through what’s important in your story? Call or email to chat.

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TENDING TO THE FLOWERS: Each season makes way for the next

by Whitney Engle, Client Services Coordinator

More content from Whitney

We were talking as a team the other day when Mark brought up a vivid memory from his first summertime job. He worked at Peony Park in Omaha, Nebraska, an entertainment venue that included everything from an amusement park and a swimming pool with a third of a mile of beach, to a dance hall and picnic grounds.  

You’d think the first memory to flood back might have been a thrill ride or the Sprite Nite dances. But Mark remembered something else. 

Walking through the park each day to get to work at the pool, Mark passed an old fellow, dressed in overalls, working in the flower beds. Day in and day out, the man tended the garden. For a long time, Mark didn’t know what he was witnessing. 

Turns out, the Malec family’s early businesses capitalized on a neighboring peony farm: Joe Malec, now of the overalls, was one of three brothers who started what became Peony Park. Fifty years later, it had blossomed into a major force in the community. 

As a kid, Mark found it odd. Wouldn’t a founder have more important things to do? 

With age comes wisdom. Fast-forward another fifty years: Mark understands why Joe was in the flower beds. Between his own efforts and the help of his descendants, Joe found the freedom to focus on what he enjoyed the most. Sure, tending the flowers wasn’t the flashiest work, but that is how he wanted to spend his time. 

Mark doesn’t have overalls, but he too gets to “tend the flowers” now, doing what he loves most: talking with you and trying to find new investment opportunities. He spends half his time in Louisville, the other half working from afar—focusing more on making memories and building relationships. 

Leibman Financial Services is now a team of seven, so Mark no longer has to be a jack of all trades. You can reach out to any one of our advisors to get the same service and care as if you were talking to the founder himself. So, if you ever try to schedule a meeting with Mark and he’s not available right away, please remember that just like a farm, the firm is a team activity. 

Doing work you love, for a living, is a true blessing. Thank you for being a part of our story. 

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Play the audio version of this post below:

Tending to the Flowers – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

The text of this episode is available at ⁠www.228Main.com⁠.

Distracted by Shiny Objects?

“There’s gold in them thar hills!” Gold and the rush to grab it have fascinated Americans for so long.  

We’ve been hearing again about the allure of it and other precious metals as investments. Hear from Greg on whether the enchantment makes sense for us.

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Where are you on the ride?

Anybody else remember the drop of your stomach when your folks drove a hilly country road and you weren’t expecting the quick downhill drop? We never knew when the highs and lows or the next turn was coming—sounds a lot like the markets, doesn’t it? 

Where are you on the ride? Check out Caitie’s take on thrill rides and the rhythms of the markets this week

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