What Happens to Your Tax Liability With Proper Financial Planning? When we think about managing our finances, it’s impossible to ignore the impact of taxes. Taxes are integral to our financial lives, affecting everything from our income and investments to estate planning and retirement. The decisions we make in our financial planning have direct consequences…
Over the last decade, I’ve noticed a theme when working with my client families. While the question may not come out exactly this way, the essence usually distills to, “How should we allocate our hard-earned dollars?” One of the key concepts in financial management is cash flow – the inflow and outflow of money in…
The concept of retirement is undergoing a metamorphosis. Demographic, societal, and workplace trends have all converged to offer a stage of life that is much more fluid and flexible than what most of us previously imagined. In fact, retirement has become a matter of personal definition. If you prefer to listen to this post, click…
In our video “First Step Cash Management: Simplify and Automate Your Finances” you’ll learn about a cash flow plan called First Step, which aims to help individuals align their spending, saving, and investing with their values and goals. Why First Step Cash Management We start by emphasizing the importance of knowing where our money goes…
If you think money can’t buy happiness, you’re not spending it right. At least, that is the conclusion of researchers Elizabeth Dunn (University of British Columbia) and Michael Norton (Harvard), two rising stars in the world of behavioral science, authors of Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending. In the book, Dunn and Norton provide an…
Victim of Fraud – What to Do Last year, a dear friend of mine became a victim of fraud. She came across an investment opportunity with a small business promising great returns for initial investors. She wired $100,000, only to find weeks later that the company didn’t exist. When sharing this story with me, she…
Second to income replacement, healthcare coverage is one of the more important planning opportunities to consider as you transition to retirement. Whether you’re working or already retired, this post is designed to give you a high-level overview of Medicare, what Original Medicare covers (and what it doesn’t), and your options around supplemental policies. What is…
I was honored to be featured in CanvasRebel Magazine, featuring artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs under the “Doing Things Your Way” category. In it, I share the defining ‘why’ moments that drove me to pursue a life-planning approach and Collective Wealth Planning, along with some brass tacks around the ‘how’ behind getting started and continuing to…
Change is situational. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological. It is not those events but rather the inner reorientation or self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life. – William Bridges, PhD | Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes If you prefer to listen…
Planning for Medicare and adequate healthcare coverage is central to retirement planning. Often, unknown Medicare surcharges lurk for those over certain income thresholds. This post discusses those fees, thresholds, and your options for reducing them. What is a Medicare Surcharge? Medicare surcharges (also known as income-related monthly adjustment amount or IRMAA) increase the premiums paid…