What 2025 Taught Us About Money, Markets, and Planning

Financial Planning

Jan 3

And what to expect from 2026!

The start of a new year is one of the few natural pauses we get.

It’s a moment to step back, quiet the noise, and look at what actually happened, not what we feared might happen, not what headlines suggested was inevitable, but what unfolded in real life.

So as we look back on 2025, it’s worth asking: what did the year really teach us about money, markets, and planning?

Because the lessons are often clearer in hindsight than they feel in the moment.

Markets Don’t Need Certainty to Perform

Coming into 2025, a lot of folks were on the edge of their seats.

After a strong market in 2023 and 2024, many questioned whether the stock market could continue to rise another year.

Inflation hadn’t fully faded from the conversation. Jobs growth was slowing down immensely. Economic data sent mixed signals. Tariffs and policy uncertainty gave everyone a spook.

There were definitely no shortages of reasons to believe that markets “should” struggle.

And yet, despite all of the above concerns, 2025 proved to be another strong stock market year!

The S&P 500, the 500 largest US companies by market valuation, finished up 16%.
However, the MSCI EAFE, an international stock index that excludes stocks in the US and Canada, was up 31%!

That disconnect, between how uncertain things felt and how markets actually behaved, isn’t unusual.

Markets don’t require comfort or clarity to move higher. They require reality to be better than expectations.

2025 reinforced a familiar but uncomfortable truth: waiting for things to feel calm or obvious is rarely rewarded.

Long-term success tends to come from staying invested through uncertainty, not trying to outguess it.

The Value of Flexibility in Financial Planning

If markets reminded us of the limits of prediction, financial planning in 2025 reminded us of the importance of flexibility.

Look no further than the introduction of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) last year.

This new tax bill reshaped parts of the tax landscape.

Some of the changes were beneficial to many, while others felt restrictive.
For many people, the initial reaction was frustration, another reminder that the tax rules in the U.S. continue to change and become more complex rather than simpler.

But tax laws always change. They always have and they always will.

The difference between good outcomes and poor ones often comes down to how quickly people accept those changes and adjust.

The most effective planning in 2025 didn’t rely on preserving old assumptions. It focused on adapting—rethinking income timing, revisiting tax strategies, and using the opportunities that still existed under the new rules.

Good planning isn’t about resisting change, it’s about responding to it thoughtfully.

How to Carry These Lessons Into 2026

Looking ahead, the takeaway from 2025 isn’t that markets will always be strong or that policy changes will always be manageable.

It’s that uncertainty is permanent.

Markets will continue to surprise. Economic narratives will keep shifting. Tax rules will evolve again. And none of that is a reason to abandon planning; it’s the reason planning matters in the first place.

The goal isn’t to predict 2026 correctly. It’s to enter the year with a plan that can absorb change without forcing reactive decisions.

That perspective, more than anything, is what 2025 ultimately reinforced and what will continue to work in 2026 and beyond.