Because Money Doesn’t Come With Instructions
Welcome to Sterk Financial Services, a financial planning practice in the Dakota Dunes suburb of Sioux City, Iowa. Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team of experienced professionals to help you live your best life. That’s where we come in. You have doctors, attorneys, and tax professionals you rely on to keep your life running smoothly, and we are prepared to do the same for your financial future. Sterk Financial Services has programs specifically designed to help you manage investments and strategically plan for life changes such as retirement, divorce, job changes, or entering a caregiving role. We can help you preserve and grow your portfolio to help set yourself up for a successful financial future. Our goal is simple – to provide advice and strategies that aligns the money you have with the life that you want to lead.
Our team of professionals has years of experience in strategic financial planning. We are ready to address your needs today and guide you through every phase of life. Let us help you take the complexity and uncertainty out of financial planning, and help create clarity and confidence as you move forward.
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We offer specialized programs that center around managing money and planning for life’s crucial financial events. Your needs & goals. Our advice & strategies.
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As your full-service financial partner and guide, we are here when you need us. Every situation. Every time.
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There are no do-overs in retirement. You need a path. You need a strategy. You need a guide you can trust. Mary’s latest book will arm you with the essential knowledge to create a strategic plan so you can retire with confidence.
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Are Alternative Investments Right for You?
With alternative investments, it’s critical to sort through the complexity.

Investing with Your Heart
For some, the social impact of investing is just as important as the return, perhaps more important.

The Cost of Procrastination
Procrastination can be costly. When you get a late start, it may be difficult to make up for lost time.
The Most Overlooked Item of Any Home Improvement
The item most homeowners forget on their home improvement project checklist is insurance.
Lesser Known Provisions of the SECURE Act
Learn about clauses in the SECURE Act that affect 401Ks, students, and families.
Debt Stress
There’s a link between debt and stress.
Budget Check Up: Tax Time Is the Right Time
Tax preparation may be the perfect time to give the household budget a check-up.
Medicare Advantage 101
Overview of Medicare Advantage, what’s in them, special rules, and more.
The Half Million Dollar Baby
The true cost of raising a child may be far more than you expect.
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What Is My Risk Tolerance?
This questionnaire will help determine your tolerance for investment risk.
A Look at Systematic Withdrawals
This calculator may help you estimate how long funds may last given regular withdrawals.
What Is My Life Expectancy?
Estimate how many years you may need retirement assets or how long to provide income to a surviving spouse or children.
Should I Pay Off Debt or Invest?
This calculator will help determine whether you should invest funds or pay down debt.
What Is the Dividend Yield?
This calculator helps determine your pre-tax and after-tax dividend yield on a particular stock.
Can I Refinance My Mortgage?
This calculator can help determine whether it makes sense to refinance your mortgage.
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Long-Term-Care Protection Strategies
The chances of needing long-term care, its cost, and strategies for covering that cost.
Investment Strategies for Retirement
Investment tools and strategies that can enable you to pursue your retirement goals.
5 Smart Investing Principles
Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.
Managing Your Lifestyle
Using smart management to get more of what you want and free up assets to invest.
Protecting Those Who Matter Most
The importance of life insurance, how it works, and how much coverage you need.
Your Cash Flow Statement
A presentation about managing money: using it, saving it, and even getting credit.
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The Power of Tax-Deferred Growth
Why are 401(k) plans, annuities, and IRAs so popular?
Should You Invest in Exchange Traded Funds?
There are hundreds of ETFs available. Should you invest in them?
Should I Invest in Gold?
Learning more about gold and its history may help you decide whether it has a place in your portfolio.
What Can a Million Dollars Buy You?
$1 million in a diversified portfolio could help finance part of your retirement.
The Real Cost of a Vacation Home
What if instead of buying that vacation home, you invested the money?
Bridging the Confidence Gap
In the world of finance, the effects of the "confidence gap" can be especially apparent.