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A Winning Tax Planning Strategy Doesn’t Have a Big Tax Refund

A Winning Tax Planning Strategy Doesn’t Have a Big Tax Refund

Every year, as the calendar pages flip toward April, a certain buzz fills the…

What if your 401(k) offers after-tax and Roth contribution options?

What if your 401(k) offers after-tax and Roth contribution options?

When it comes to saving for the long-term, the 401(k) plan is the most…

Merging Finances as a Couple: Which Path to Choose?

Merging Finances as a Couple: Which Path to Choose?

In our last post, we discussed the foundational steps couples needed to take to…

Financial Planning for Couples

Financial Planning for Couples

Since I’ve started working as a financial planner, I’ve learned so much from my…

How High(er) Interest Rates Affect Financial Planning

How High(er) Interest Rates Affect Financial Planning

Interest rates play a pivotal role in our economic landscape, making them an aspect…

Why Aren’t My Investments Growing?

Why Aren’t My Investments Growing?

Why Haven’t My Investments Grown as Promised? Over the past year, you may have…

What It Means That We’re CFP® Professionals

What It Means That We’re CFP® Professionals

In the world of financial planning, the Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designation is considered…

Planning for Inflation in Your Cash Flow

Planning for Inflation in Your Cash Flow

For the first time in 25 years, the US is contending with higher inflation…

How Do You Care For Your Parents and Loved Ones?

How Do You Care For Your Parents and Loved Ones?

Whether it’s a parent or relative or even a friend, taking care of our…

How to Tell If You’re Saving Enough for Your Future Self

How to Tell If You’re Saving Enough for Your Future Self

How much to save for the future is often the main reason clients come…

Planning for Your Wishes, With Love

Planning for Your Wishes, With Love

Imagine this: You’ve suddenly passed away in a tragic accident.  Your partner, while in…

Why Physical Wellness Should be a Part of Your Financial Plan

Why Physical Wellness Should be a Part of Your Financial Plan

Somewhere in my mid-twenties, bunions started to form in my feet. They’re a common…

The Truths About Passive Income

The Truths About Passive Income

Brandon and I were recently talking about how we grew up playing Monopoly. We…

What’s Your Statement of Financial Purpose?

What’s Your Statement of Financial Purpose?

Money influences everything in our lives: the choices we make, the opportunities we pursue,…

Planning for a Mid-Career Job Exit

Planning for a Mid-Career Job Exit

The decision to leave a job can be one of the biggest and scariest…

LGBTQ+ Planning for the Long Run

LGBTQ+ Planning for the Long Run

One of my favorite definitions of the work we do comes from Elizabeth Jetton,…

Building Financial Resilience for Trans Individuals

Building Financial Resilience for Trans Individuals

Building Financial Resilience for Trans Individuals For many decades, the focus of the LBGTQ+…

Investing Doesn’t Need to be Fancy

Investing Doesn’t Need to be Fancy

Investing for your future doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating. In fact, as…

What is SIPC Insurance?

What is SIPC Insurance?

Financial security and resilience are essential parts of a healthy financial plan. One critical…

Reminder: Investing Should Be Boring

Reminder: Investing Should Be Boring

I don’t know about you, but with the news of bank failures in the…

What Can We Learn from Recent Bank Failures?

What Can We Learn from Recent Bank Failures?

Last week’s bank crisis that caused the failure of three banks sent a powerful…

The Benefits of Diversification in Your Life and Investment Portfolio

The Benefits of Diversification in Your Life and Investment Portfolio

I’ve been contemplating recently how we humans seem to have a tendency to define…

What if I Don’t Have Any Big Goals?

What if I Don’t Have Any Big Goals?

Have you ever thought, “Financial planning isn’t for me. I don’t have any Big…

Why is it so easy to spend money?

Why is it so easy to spend money?

It’s a month after the holiday season and looking at your credit card bill…

Do you really need a budget?

Do you really need a budget?

Budgeting is one of the most mainstream topics of personal finance. If you search…

‘Lives Under Care’ Instead of ‘Assets Under Management’

‘Lives Under Care’ Instead of ‘Assets Under Management’

We were recently inspired to make a small tweak to one of our business…

But, Why?

But, Why?

I purchased this sketch of Carl Richard’s “Why” to hang on the wall in…

What Are the Money Stories We’re Telling Ourselves?

What Are the Money Stories We’re Telling Ourselves?

I won’t survive without a full-time job that pays benefits.  I’m going to cling…

What’s Your Worst Case Scenario? Let’s Have Some Fun with It!

What’s Your Worst Case Scenario? Let’s Have Some Fun with It!

My husband and I play this game that we borrowed from the popular TV…

Why Estate Planning is Important

Why Estate Planning is Important

Most people kick the can down the road on estate planning for as long…

Tick-Tock! Time Is Money…or is it?

Tick-Tock! Time Is Money…or is it?

With a second child on the way, I’ve been thinking a lot about Ben…

How Much Should You Spend on Housing?

How Much Should You Spend on Housing?

One common question we get from clients is: How much should I be spending…

What does a recession actually mean for me?

What does a recession actually mean for me?

As if the last three years of a pandemic, lockdowns, and political turmoil weren’t…

Should I (continue to) Buy Stocks Now or Wait?

Should I (continue to) Buy Stocks Now or Wait?

We’re starting off this post with the question that’s on everyone’s mind: Should you…

How Is Financial Life Planning Different from Traditional Financial Planning?

How Is Financial Life Planning Different from Traditional Financial Planning?

Here at Thinking Big, we practice Financial Life Planning (FLP). If you’ve never heard…

Coming Out: A Lifelong Journey that Shapes Our Finances

Coming Out: A Lifelong Journey that Shapes Our Finances

There’s a mainstream notion that the coming out process for LGBTQ+ folks is a…

A Thriving Community: LGBTQ+ People Reimagine Their Lives

A Thriving Community: LGBTQ+ People Reimagine Their Lives

For me, being a part of the LGBTQ+ community comes with a sense of…

What Happens When You Embrace Your Money Regrets

What Happens When You Embrace Your Money Regrets

We’re all familiar with the motto of living with “no regrets.” It means you…

Where Should I Put My Money?

Where Should I Put My Money?

How do you know if you’re putting your money in the right places? It’s…

Our Financial Planning Process

Our Financial Planning Process

Not all financial planning firms approach this work in the same way, which is…

How a Scarcity Mindset Impacts Your Finances

How a Scarcity Mindset Impacts Your Finances

The other day, I found myself looking at real estate listings. I was searching…

The Ongoing Costs of Raising a Child(ren)

The Ongoing Costs of Raising a Child(ren)

I did a simple google search of “how much does it cost to raise…

How to Optimize Your Charitable Giving

How to Optimize Your Charitable Giving

As Lynne Twist says in her book, The Soul of Money, “When you make…

Simple Ways to Prepare for Tax Filing

Simple Ways to Prepare for Tax Filing

Shockingly, we haven’t yet written a post on how to prepare for filing your…

What’s Your Money Love Language?

What’s Your Money Love Language?

Have you ever taken the Love Language Test? It’s a fun quiz that helps…

Changing the Retirement Savings Paradigm?

Changing the Retirement Savings Paradigm?

As a financial planner, one of the most common things I hear is about…

How Do You Save Money When You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck?

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…

Should I Worry About Inflation?

Should I Worry About Inflation?

Everyday it seems like we’re reading a new headline on inflation. We worry about…

How to Make Your Finances More Resilient to Climate Change

How to Make Your Finances More Resilient to Climate Change

In my previous post, I wrote about how we can use our finances to…

How to Use Your Finances to Fight Climate Change

How to Use Your Finances to Fight Climate Change

The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was a…

What Should I Do with My Money? 

What Should I Do with My Money? 

What should I do with my money? This is one of the most common…

How to Think About Debt: Is it Good or Bad? 

How to Think About Debt: Is it Good or Bad? 

Debt is a loaded topic in financial planning. When is it good or bad,…

Can You Stay Calm and Carry On? Here’s What Happens When Interest Rates Rise

Can You Stay Calm and Carry On? Here’s What Happens When Interest Rates Rise

In the past 10 to 12 years, we’ve seen two major crises: a global…

How to Save for Retirement When You’re Self Employed

How to Save for Retirement When You’re Self Employed

If you’re self-employed or a small business owner, you know that saving for retirement…

Why Should You Save Money?

Why Should You Save Money?

Saving money is one of the most fundamental parts of building a successful financial…

Make Saving for Vacation (and Rest) Part of Your Planning!

Make Saving for Vacation (and Rest) Part of Your Planning!

I want to shout it from the rooftops: I just got back from vacation!…

Should I Sell My RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)?

Should I Sell My RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)?

Restricted Stock Units (aka RSUs) are a common form of supplemental compensation for employees…

What is a Money Script? And What are Yours?

What is a Money Script? And What are Yours?

You would think that, as a financial planner, I would know my own money…

How Being LGBTQ+ Shapes Your Finances

How Being LGBTQ+ Shapes Your Finances

Even with recent societal and legal changes that have granted more protections, LGBTQ+ people…

Generational Differences in the LGBTQ Community and their Impact on Finances

Generational Differences in the LGBTQ Community and their Impact on Finances

When it comes to finances, our relationship with money is shaped immensely by our…

How to Build an Investment Plan that Works for You

How to Build an Investment Plan that Works for You

If you haven’t already heard it from us, you’ve likely heard it somewhere that…

The Values We Live By

The Values We Live By

Four years ago this month was when TBF officially launched it’s work as a…

Thinking Big’s Approach to Socially Responsible Investing

Thinking Big’s Approach to Socially Responsible Investing

One of the most important things we do as financial planners is help clients…

What Speculation vs. Investing Has to Do With Tulips

What Speculation vs. Investing Has to Do With Tulips

It’s hard to imagine that just a year ago, we were in some of…

Value Your Time More to Increase Happiness and Wealth

Value Your Time More to Increase Happiness and Wealth

We spend our days making constant trade-offs between time and money. Together, they’re the…

The Importance of Being Optimistic When You Invest

The Importance of Being Optimistic When You Invest

The importance of optimism when you invest can’t be overstated. In fact, it’s scientifically…

Let’s Have a Baby! Fertility Treatments for LGTBQ Family Planning

Let’s Have a Baby! Fertility Treatments for LGTBQ Family Planning

For the last installment of our Let’s Have a Baby series, we’ll be talking…

Let’s Have a Baby! Adoption for LGBTQ Family Planning

Let’s Have a Baby! Adoption for LGBTQ Family Planning

In our next installment of “Let’s Have a Baby” we’re going to look at…

Let’s Have a Baby! Surrogacy for LGBTQ Family Planning

Let’s Have a Baby! Surrogacy for LGBTQ Family Planning

My son was born by a gestational surrogate. The process was a whirlwind for…

Queer Family Planning: A Introductory Guide

Queer Family Planning: A Introductory Guide

If you’re a queer person, LGBTQ family planning may seem like a monumental feat.…

How Marriage for Same-Sex Couples Impacts Their Financial Plan

How Marriage for Same-Sex Couples Impacts Their Financial Plan

Marriage for same-sex couples has recently come into the media spotlight after Justices Thomas…

Worried about Stock Market Performance in Election Years?

Worried about Stock Market Performance in Election Years?

As if 2020 wasn’t turbulent enough, the news is all over speculating about stock…

Don’t you forget about me: What to do with an old 401k plan?

Don’t you forget about me: What to do with an old 401k plan?

In the midst of changing jobs, whether taking on a new full time job…

What happens if something happens to me?

What happens if something happens to me?

Right now, one question is in the back of everyone’s mind: What happens if…

The Racial Wealth Gap Explained

The Racial Wealth Gap Explained

The events of the last few weeks are a sad reminder of how deeply…

The CARES Act & Student Loan Forbearance

The CARES Act & Student Loan Forbearance

Who would have thought that only a few months into 2020 we’d be talking…

How Will This Crisis Change You (And Your Financial Plan)?

How Will This Crisis Change You (And Your Financial Plan)?

The recent global pandemic has thrust one thing to the forefront in our lives:…

Should I Invest Right Now?

Should I Invest Right Now?

When the stock market is down 20-30% and it’s scary. It’s emotional. And the…

How to Prepare for a Recession?

How to Prepare for a Recession?

Right now, we’re in the middle of some very stormy weather. Aside from our…

Planning for a Baby, Financially? Things to Consider

Planning for a Baby, Financially? Things to Consider

Are you planning for your baby, financially speaking? Besides buying the crib and taking…

Financial Planning for the Gig Economy: A RoadMap

Financial Planning for the Gig Economy: A RoadMap

Becoming a freelancer seems like a dream for a lot of people: you make…

The Power of Incremental Change in Your Financial Life

The Power of Incremental Change in Your Financial Life

I’ve recently become enamored with the concept of incremental change, and how it impacts…

A Reflection on Money: Your Year in Review

A Reflection on Money: Your Year in Review

A new year is upon us, and with that comes the natural desire to…

Choosing Health Insurance: Why The Right Choice Matters More Than You Think!

Choosing Health Insurance: Why The Right Choice Matters More Than You Think!

Choosing Health Insurance: Why the Right Choice Matters More Than You Think! I learned…

A Secret Wealth Builder: Health Savings Accounts

A Secret Wealth Builder: Health Savings Accounts

When people think about building a nice nest egg, creating a Health Savings Account…

How to Build Wealth: Debunking Some Myths

How to Build Wealth: Debunking Some Myths

One myth perpetuated by our culture is that in order to become wealthy, we…

How To Reduce Money Anxiety & Feel More in Control!

How To Reduce Money Anxiety & Feel More in Control!

Mental accounting is an economic concept that has gained recognition over the past thirty…

Why I Decided to Work with an LGBTQ Specialty

Why I Decided to Work with an LGBTQ Specialty

Fifty years ago this month, we will celebrate the seminal event that brought the…

Are you worried about your parents’ finances?

Are you worried about your parents’ finances?

When working with diverse ages of people, I hear all sorts of concerns: everything…

What is Asset Allocation? And Why It’s Important for Your Investing.

What is Asset Allocation? And Why It’s Important for Your Investing.

With every client, my goal is to create a tailored investment strategy that manages…

The Next Millionaire Next Door: A Book Review

The Next Millionaire Next Door: A Book Review

The Next Millionaire Next Door: Enduring Strategies for Building Wealth by Thomas J. Stanley,…

Financial Windfalls: Take it Slow!

Financial Windfalls: Take it Slow!

“What would you do if you suddenly had a million dollars?” Everyone’s asked the…

Happy Money: A Book Review

Happy Money: A Book Review

Some Thoughts on the Book Happy Money Finally! A book packed with insight on…

Your Relationship with Money

Your Relationship with Money

Where did you learn what to do with money? By default, family, friends, and…

Podcast Interview: The Role of Money in Our Lives (VoiceAmerica)

Podcast Interview: The Role of Money in Our Lives (VoiceAmerica)

In November 2018, I was interviewed for VoiceAmerica’s “On Living“: a podcast dedicated to…

Pay off Debt or Save? What should I do with my extra money?

Pay off Debt or Save? What should I do with my extra money?

Raise your hand if you’ve seen a headline like this recently: “How I paid…

What is a custodian bank? (You should know)

What is a custodian bank? (You should know)

The argument for knowing exactly what a custodian is can be summed up in…

What is Socially Responsible Investing? And Some Practical Considerations

What is Socially Responsible Investing? And Some Practical Considerations

In today’s socially conscious culture, everyone wants to demonstrate their values. We see it…

What is Long Term Disability Insurance Coverage? Do I Need It?

What is Long Term Disability Insurance Coverage? Do I Need It?

What would you think if you knew you had a 1 in 4 chance…

A Guide to Understanding Employee Stock Options

A Guide to Understanding Employee Stock Options

In an age where companies frequently cut corners, being offered “incentive compensation” like employee…

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