As your income grows, so do the complexities of your financial planning. One common frustration for high-income earners is hitting the IRS’s income limits for direct Roth IRA contributions. But here’s some good news: there’s a way around it—the Backdoor Roth IRA.

We live in a world where we constantly search for more information. Whether it’s about finding the best appliance for our home, figuring out the latest fitness trend, or learning about new investment strategies, we spend so much time gathering knowledge that it can leave us stuck. The truth is, what you think doesn’t matter nearly as much as what you actually do.

A friend recently asked me this question after Grandma and Grandpa sent them some money for their newborn. They weren't sure where to start, and I get it—when it comes to your child's financial future, you want to make the best possible choice.

A lot of it boils down to what you expect from their future, but here is what we talked about...

You can have the most carefully crafted financial plan, the most dialed in budget, and the greatest investments, but if you aren’t prepared for when life send unexpected (undesired) events your way, the whole thing can get ruined. Getting hurt, losing your job, facing an unexpected financial emergency, or even passing away are the main areas that can derail your financial future. They are also areas that you can protect against.

Many people seem uncertain about what they truly want. For instance, when I ask people when they want to retire, they often default to saying, “65.” When I ask why, the answer is usually, “Isn’t that when everyone retires?” They haven’t really thought about their own reasons or personal goals. People often make choices, like buying a nicer car, because it feels good at the moment, but they don’t consider whether these things truly improve their lives. When they don’t have a clear sense of what they want, the long-term cost of these decisions becomes an abstract idea rather than a tangible loss.

If you’re in your 30s, chances are you’ve got a lot on your plate. You’re likely well into your career, maybe you’re thinking about starting a family or buying a home, and somewhere in the back of your mind, there’s the constant reminder to save for retirement. But let’s be honest: with all the competing financial priorities in life, it’s easy to feel like you’re just treading water. This is exactly why your 30s are the perfect time to start working with a financial planner.

We’re all trying to do the best we can with what we have, but it can be tough when there is so much competition for our dollars. Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know, and there is some truth to the fact that what we don’t know can hurt us. Even seemingly small mistakes can have a significant impact over time. Here are some common pitfalls I often see people make, along with tips on how to avoid them.

Most people hate budgets. As a result, even more people don’t have them at all. In my experience, you don’t HAVE to have a budget to be successful financially, but I have noticed a correlation between clients who have one, use it, and are able to save consistently, and those who do well.

Amongst the abundance of decisions we make in our finances, what types of investment accounts we use is a common one I am tasked with helping clients think through. While IRAs and 401(k)s are popular choices due to their tax-free growth potential, there's another option that often flies under the radar but offers incredible benefits: the Health Savings Account (HSA).

As parents, one of our greatest responsibilities is preparing for our children's future, which often includes saving money. When I was growing up, college was the assumptive path for a life of success and while that is still largely the case, we are all aware that the college landscape is changing. Soaring costs and lower perceived value may change how our kids look at it over the next 10-20 years. However, as societal and economic landscapes evolve, so do our perspectives on what constitutes a secure future for our kids.

While there were several changes we had to adapt to, here are the 5 financial steps we took in the year after our son was born:

We all love predictions. We want to know the future and be prepared. We can't help ourselves. Every time someone stands with confidence and declares, "This is what is going to happen!" We are drawn in a little bit. There is a piece of us that wonders, "What if they're right? Should I act on this?”

The best time to do a Roth conversion is when you will pay the least amount of taxes on it. The hard part is we can't guarantee what tax rates will look like in the future (congress is a fickle bunch). We only know what we would pay if we did it TODAY.

Picture this: It’s the summer of 2009. Windows down, sunglasses on, and a custom medley of Weezer, Blink 182, and Fallout Boy echo from the dashboard panel. Life is good—courtesy of your new custom playlist on your recently burned compact disc. That CD is great—but today we’re going to be focused on another type of CD, the Certificate of Deposit.

While this expense may have been isolated, life is filled with plenty of “one off” expenses. One month we are doing maintenance on the house, the next there's a vehicle issue, then my son needs new shoes (again), and then there's a health care expense....the list goes on. There is no category for all of these things on a line item budget and it begins to feel like every month has an unexpected expense.

It happens so often you might wonder why I am surprised by it. Surely anger and annoyance root from some form of unmet expectations.

If you've ever had to select investments within a 401(k) plan you've probably run across something like the picture above, but with 20+ more rows of options. It can be hard enough to figure out where to invest and somehow more information doesn't make it easier to decide.

Today we're going to learn about "Net Expense Ratio." You can see this in the second to last column of the picture above. An expense ratio is the annual rate that the specific investment charges the investor (you).

You’ll often hear me say “focus on what you can control” when it comes to your personal finances. Let me show you why.

When you’re in your 20s, 30s, & 40s, the amount of money you save and invest will have a larger impact on your investment outcome than your investment returns. Take a look:

Have you ever heard the phrase “align your finances with your values!” and wondered what that even meant? It sounds so vague that while it is intended to be appealing, it just lacks any real gusto. Kind of like saying “we have great service!”……..yeah, you better!

I believe there is incredible value in aligning your finances with your values, but I fear it might not translate to something that is easily understood.

Trying just to AFFORD your kids is one thing, now you have to think about how you can help them afford college as well! What a gift! Most parents want to do everything they can to set their kids up for success (myself included). Here are some things to keep in mind.

Have you considered using an inheritance to buy a house? I had the chance to help a client think through this toward the end of last year. They were building new and needed to have their down payment ready at the beginning of this year for an estimated move-in of Fall 2024.