Why should I hire a financial advisor? That is the big question many people will ask at some point in their life. It’s a big decision and should be well thought out. In the past, an advisor’s main value-add was investments. The question then of whether it’s worth hiring an
What do you do with extra cash flow after you have a basic level of financial security in place? You have an emergency fund, no high-interest debt, and you’re on track to retire at a normal age. A common desire is to live mortgage-free, so you might consider making extra
I work with a lot of mid-career professionals. One trend I’ve noticed is a common desire to create freedom and flexibility with their money today. They want to go beyond simply saving for a retirement decades in the future. Semi-retiring, or the “work-optional” life, is much more appealing. They want to
It’s open enrollment season, which means it’s a good time to talk about the Health Savings Account (HSA). HSAs are the most overlooked and underutilized investment vehicle there is. What is an HSA? An HSA is a tax-deferred savings vehicle for health expenses. It is triple-tax advantaged, which means: Your
In the world of financial advice, we spend most of our time talking about investments, taxes, insurance, etc. These are good things and there is a lot of value in fine-tuning these variables, but sometimes I think we miss the pillar that all of this is built on: saving money.
If you have employee stock options, one of the most important things to understand is your potential tax consequences. Managing your taxes effectively can be the difference between reaching your financial goals and falling short. First, you need to know what kind of stock options you were granted. They are
If you have shopped online recently, you have probably noticed an option at checkout to spread your purchase over smaller future payments, sometimes without paying any interest. This is known as “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) and it has been all over the news the last few weeks. There have
The emergence of Robinhood and zero-commission trading has led a lot of younger investors to speculate on the next big thing, bringing back memories of the tech bubble in the late 90’s. We now have meme-stocks, cryptocurrency, and NFTs, all vehicles that feed our desire to get rich quick. There
“Invest in yourself” has become a rallying cry for millennials and gen z. Search the phrase and you’ll find articles telling you to travel more, set goals, build relationships, meditate, and get outside. We have taken the idea and applied it to virtually anything that may make us happier. While
Incentive stock options can be a major wealth creator for employees of startups. Many of the fastest-growing companies today are staying private longer, which means the public doesn’t have access to buy their stock. Included in the lucky few shareholders of these high-growth companies are the employees who either own
