Published Articles

Business owners often figure once they’re ready to retire, they’ll sell the business. That’s what happens in many cases, but many small businesses simply aren’t suited to a sale. It’s imperative for these owners to recognize this and take intentional action to create a no-sell exit strategy that supports their long-term financial and lifestyle goals.

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July is a month where we celebrate our independence, both as a nation and as individuals and families. It’s a month of ice cream, swimming pools, movies, fireworks, relaxation, and fun. School’s out, vacation is the priority and we’re free! All that makes July a great time to reflect on the concept of independence — specifically financial independence.

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Small-business owners often accept an offer to buy the business without having a realistic idea of what their post-exit financial situation will really look like.

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Retirement planning can be a difficult and stressful subject for business owners. The sale of the business alone might generate enough income to sustain an entrepreneur and their family through retirement—but that’s not always the case. There are steps that business owners can and should take to guarantee the future health of their business as well as their personal interests.

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It’s common for real estate investors and owners of privately held businesses to reject the idea of retaining a financial advisor. What could the engagement possibly offer these money-savvy professionals that they don’t already know?

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Financial advisors can help their clients manage their assets, save for big purchases, decrease their taxes, build their investment portfolios, find areas for budget savings and more—if they have the right information. A financial advisor needs a well-rounded view of each client’s financial situation to be able to give them the full benefit of their expertise.

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First the good news: Women are making more money than ever. But we still face stubborn challenges in managing it effectively. Factors can include fewer working years, a narrowing but still-present pay gap, and social conditioning.

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Before covid-19 threw the world into chaos, women breadwinners were a rapidly growing demographic across every swath of American society. Their rising economic power was accompanied by increasing power in the domestic realm as well, albeit more slowly. What happens to that power now that so many women are back in the home full-time?

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Covid-19 has sucked for pretty much everyone, in every possible way. We all feel its health effects, the fear and anxiety, and don’t forget the frustration, annoyance and isolation of these long months. For women in particular, though, this horrible pandemic packs a powerful wallop right in the pocketbook.

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has reshaped the economic landscape and transformed the business environment. It’s a broad swath of changes this time, too, not just a gentle nudge in a new direction. Everything from supply chain bottlenecks and staffing issues to a sudden lurch into fully remote work (which employees aren’t going to give up easily) has made its mark.

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Building a business from the ground up is no easy feat. And when an owner is ready to step aside and enjoy a well-earned retirement, there’s still some work to get through: thoroughly planning for the transition and succession.

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Fear. Anxiety. Inadequacy. These feelings are extremely common around money issues and personal finance, regardless of income level. It’s especially true of women, who often have a sense that money matters are “beyond them” or simply belong on a list of things that are somehow inappropriate or otherwise irrelevant for them personally.

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Fear. Anxiety. Inadequacy. These feelings are extremely common around money issues and personal finance, regardless of income level. It’s especially true of women, who often have a sense that money matters are “beyond them” or simply belong on a list of things that are somehow inappropriate or otherwise irrelevant for them personally.

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Teaching toddlers about money is different than teaching teenagers, but some core principles of financial education persist from age to age. That is, I believe the lessons appropriate for each age group should be structured to support a set of key tenets that remain constant no matter how old or young your child may be.

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Parents often wonder how to handle the time-honored tradition of providing their children with an allowance, or whether it’s a good idea at all. You’ll find a wide range of opinions among experts, but one point of agreement: Kids should receive an allowance of some sort to give them practice budgeting, spending, saving and making financial choices.

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We all know the pattern our lives are supposed to follow:
Act 1: Be a kid and learn everything you can.
Act 2: Graduate and go to college (if your parents can afford it or you and they take loans).
Act 3: Build your career, work on saving money, pay off your debt.

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People often ask me whether financial planning services actually provide any value. Oh, not directly, of course. They’re far too polite to spell it out that way, but that’s definitely the meaning behind their diplomatically worded queries. Where is the true value in financial planning?

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To be prepared for a bright future—as well as the unexpected—careful financial planning is essential not only for businesses but for individuals. It’s not just about saving for retirement, either. Having a well-thought-out budget also allows you to pinpoint where you may be spending more than you’d like and make wise decisions when it comes to big-ticket purchases.

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How many times have you been smugly informed that your generation sucks? To be more specific, that millennials are irresponsible and all financial challenges you face are a result of your foolish addiction to avocado toast. If you weren’t so self-indulgent, then you’d be financially secure by now!

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The racial wealth gap and the racial income gap are two distinct, yet deeply related issues. When discussing economic disparity, it can be easy to lump them together or discuss them as if they’re interchangeable, so this is an attempt at explaining from a financial advisor’s perspective, why the distinction between these macro issues matters so much on a family and individual level.

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Relative to my advisor peers, my practice is very planning-centric as opposed to focusing mostly on managing accounts. Reflecting on this reminds me of a quote by Dwight Eisenhower: “In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless … but planning is indispensable.”

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As collective public awareness of the disparities in wealth between White and Black households grows, along with the various causes from a historical and contemporary perspective, the scope and magnitude of the issue can take on a mythological and possibly even insurmountable scale. Black families have a median and mean wealth of less than 15% of White families.

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You’re considering a mortgage refi that will free up 100 bucks a month. You are in the process of purchasing some life insurance (finally) and wonder how much to buy. After all, you don’t want to be worth more dead than alive (a common and annoying phrase often heard in my line of work). You want to retire or go “work optional” at some point. Are you on track to have enough savings?

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Financial planning: Many people see it as a box they have to check. They get to a point when they start to have more “stuff,” more money and more complications, which prompts them to think, “Maybe I need to hire a professional.”

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Politics has been screaming at all of us for the better part of 6 months, and we naturally tend to give attention to what screams the loudest. I caught myself last weekend constantly thinking about politics, which is only to be expected when we’re deluged by political news and discussions wherever we turn.

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Politics has been screaming at all of us for the better part of 6 months, and we naturally tend to give attention to what screams the loudest. I caught myself last weekend constantly thinking about politics, which is only to be expected when we’re deluged by political news and discussions wherever we turn.

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Did you know that women fill the primary breadwinner role within families nearly as often as men do? This is especially true in the later years of the partnership. One highly successful entrepreneur I know likes to joke that her long-time husband was the primary breadwinner for the first 25 years of the marriage and that she will be the primary breadwinner for the second 25 years. The role reversal she describes is actually quite common, with women often becoming the primary earner as the couple reaches mature years.

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Even in the most egalitarian partnerships, there is a power dynamic that percolates throughout the couple’s day-to-day life and decision-making processes. It’s simply the nature of human behavior; we are attuned to relative differences in power, detecting and responding to the subtlest cues that distinguish higher-ranking members of a group from others with less status.

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The number of people in the U.S. who freelance has been growing in recent years, and the pandemic has accelerated this trend. There can be definite financial and lifestyle benefits from making a living as a full-time independent contractor or padding your regular income with a side hustle. However, freelancing comes with unique financial responsibilities as well as potential pitfalls, so it’s wise to be prepared.

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With sales plummeting in 2020 for many small businesses, the need for sound financial analysis to help guide strategic decisions has never been greater. How long can the business stay afloat if most or all revenue is gone? How much of my Small Business Administration (SBA) loan can I afford to use this month? Questions like these demand more than wild guesses, or even educated ones. Yet at an awful lot of companies, that’s the kind of answer they have.

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We are in strange times. External forces à la COVID-19 have created massive disruption in our lives. In an ideal world, everyone would have been financially prepared for tough times, but the reality is few were. And regardless of our position going in, we will all most likely feel the effects of this tumultuous period on our assets and income for years to come.

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Establishing financial security is an important goal, but it doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll need to cultivate good financial habits over your lifetime to reliably grow and maintain your nest egg. You’ve likely heard about the usual financial health habits, like creating a budget or setting aside money in a savings account. However, several other important strategies can help you achieve the financial future you want.

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Many people would like to establish a budget or financial plan or take a more active role in managing their investments. With an abundance of “expert” financial advice out there, though, newcomers to financial planning may well feel overwhelmed. To get started, it can be helpful to have one simple first step.

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For the 22 million Americans who have lost their jobs in recent weeks, the coronavirus pandemic is a financial setback. People who are still working may also be cutting their expenses and rethinking their financial futures as the country prepares for a deeper economic downturn.

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In financial planning, we sometimes talk about “one-dimensional money.” This is money that’s dedicated for a single purpose. You’re not likely to use it for any needs or wants except the one it’s originally slated for, nor would it be easy or financially wise to do so. The money is tightly bound to a specific purpose, which guides the way it is invested and the choice of investment vehicles.

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You say it’s your birthday…happy birthday to you! If you’re old enough to have read those words to the tune of a popular Beatles song, you should be aware of key birthday milestones that hold financial significance.

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In my experience, most people delay or avoid preparing and updating estate planning documents. That's understandable, since facing our own mortality puts us in a less warm, comfortable place than remaining in blissful denial. My wish for you, though, is that you do face your mortality and hire a specialized estate planning attorney to help prepare for the ramifications of this inescapable truth. In the estate planning and attorney world, that means creating a will or a revocable living trust.

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Gendered roles around money have affected women’s access to wealth, class, employment (Mcginn & Oh, 2017; Hu, 2019), and marital satisfaction (Addo & Sassler, 2010; Durband, Huston, & Britt, 2010). As financial planners frequently meet with couples in the planning process, it becomes key for planners to understand both historical context for the lack of financial literacy and financial power that women have in many heterosexual couples.

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A simple Web search for financial advice will yield trillions of results — but many of the financial “experts” dishing out sage advice online may not actually have real experience or expertise. While there is a lot of useful financial information to be found on the Web, there are bad apples that can sour an investor’s entire portfolio.

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When someone approaching retirement comes to me, almost ready to begin living off the hard-earned savings they have accumulated over 30-plus years, I’m reminded of an intriguing factoid that the Discovery Channel never tires of sharing: More people die descending Mount Everest than on the ascent. Spending down your retirement accounts is similar in that it involves more risk than the trek up the savings mountain.

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You know it’s true. You’ve heard it a thousand times. You need an emergency savings account, but somehow you’ve never quite gotten the details sorted out and set aside the money. Oh, but it’s OK, because you do have money put aside, just not formally designated as an emergency fund.

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Regularly meeting with your financial advisor can help you maximize your money and keep track of your long-term financial goals. However, these meetings are only beneficial if all the essential bases are reviewed.

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