How to Optimize Your Charitable Giving
As Lynne Twist says in her book, The Soul of Money, “When you make a difference with what you have, it expands.” Giving your resources in a way that’s aligned with your values can have a compounding effect on your overall wealth and well-being. Giving to charity, as it happens, can also offer some worthwhile […]
Simple Ways to Prepare for Tax Filing
Shockingly, we haven’t yet written a post on how to prepare for filing your taxes! We know taxes aren’t the most exciting topic, but they are a crucial part of your financial health. Now is a great time to get organized ahead of tax time. Whether you do your taxes yourself or pay a professional […]
What’s Your Money Love Language?
Have you ever taken the Love Language Test? It’s a fun quiz that helps you understand how you like to receive love from the people in your life. The quiz is broken down into five primary categories: Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. While we each have some affinity […]
Changing the Retirement Savings Paradigm?
As a financial planner, one of the most common things I hear is about everyone’s need to “save for retirement.” The phrase itself is vague, impersonal, and unspecific. People who are decades away from the presumed end of their working lives have “saving for retirement” as a primary goal. I’ve also heard from plenty of […]
How Do You Save Money When You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck?
In a recent post, we talked about why you should save money, including how to build resiliency to emergencies and give yourself more freedom of choice in life. But what about the how of saving money? When you live paycheck to paycheck, saving money in any meaningful way can feel impossible. Matters become even more […]
Should I Worry About Inflation?
Everyday it seems like we’re reading a new headline on inflation. We worry about how high inflation is or whether or not it’s temporary. Where’s inflation coming from? Supply chain shortages? Or a tight job market? My question is: Does all this navel-gazing really help you? My professional opinion: No! So, should you be worried […]
How to Make Your Finances More Resilient to Climate Change
In my previous post, I wrote about how we can use our finances to fight climate change. Simultaneously, we need to think about how we protect our finances in uncertain—and unprecedented—times. While we have time to slow planetary warming, scientists still say that we’re headed towards more frequent and intense destruction of ecosystems. According to […]
How to Use Your Finances to Fight Climate Change
The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was a “code red” warning for humanity. Scientists say that planetary warming is speeding up and will bring about more frequent and intense destruction of ecosystems. Earth has warmed by one degree Celsius, and keeping the warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius will require […]
What Should I Do with My Money?
What should I do with my money? This is one of the most common questions that clients have when they come into financial planning work. And, for better or worse, it’s a question I really can’t answer for them! Lurking beneath this question is another, more central one: Am I doing the wrong thing with […]
How to Think About Debt: Is it Good or Bad?
Debt is a loaded topic in financial planning. When is it good or bad, and what’s the best way to approach it? There are two main things to consider: What’s “financially optimal” and what feels right given your own unique circumstances. Not all debt is created equal. Clearly, high-interest credit card debt is “bad” and […]