How to Get the Most Value From Your Financial Advisor in 2027
If you're paying a financial advisor 1% a year, do you know what you're getting for it? A lot of people don't. Stay with me, because not everyone needs an advisor, and all roads don't lead to us. But if you have one, or you're thinking about it, here's what a good advisor should actually be doing for you, and how to make sure you're getting more value than you pay.
Should You Roll Over Your 401(k) When You Retire?
You are six months from retirement. Your money is spread across several 401(k)s, a 403(b), and an IRA. You may also have an HSA, a cash balance pension plan, a 457, or something else you accumulated along the way.
Today we will talk about when to rollover your money to an IRA, when not to, and I’ll give you some tips if you have money with one of the large retirement plan providers.
How Much Do I Need to Retire (or Make Work Optional)? Retirement Planning Series, Part Three
“How much money do I need to retire?” Or better yet, “How much money do I need to make work optional?” To be more precise, “How much net worth is needed to support my lifestyle?”
The answer depends on many variables. Rules of thumb can be useful as a quick check, but they should not be mistaken for a plan.
Which “Retirement” Account Is Best? Retirement Planning Series, Part Two
Which retirement account is best?
It is a fair question, but it can lead people in the wrong direction if the account label becomes the focus. Of the many different types of accounts available, some are considered retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, while others are not retirement accounts at all. Taxable brokerage accounts, Health Savings Accounts, and 529 plans are a few examples.
So, which one is best for the next dollar you invest?
Before deciding which type of account to use, it is important to understand that one of the primary considerations among these accounts is how they are taxed.
Is Retirement the Right Goal? Retirement Planning Series, Part One
For many people, retirement still means working for decades, stopping in your sixties, and gradually slowing down.
But that view can make the financial plan too narrow.
What if retirement were less about stopping work—and more about making work optional?
When Is Debt Okay to Have?
Debt is one of those financial tools that can either help build wealth or quietly work against it. It has helped families buy homes, build businesses, and acquire income-producing real estate, and it has fueled economic expansion. It has also created financial stress, damaged relationships, and limited freedom.
Are You Tracking Your Net Worth?
Families sometimes don’t track their finances at all, while others track income, bank balances, investment accounts, home values, or the performance of a particular asset. Those numbers matter, but they do not tell the whole story.
Do You Need a Long-Term Care Insurance Policy?
Whether you need a long-term care insurance policy is really several questions under the same umbrella. Do I need long-term care insurance at all? Should I keep the policy I already have? If someone has approached me about coverage now, which type of policy deserves consideration? And if the proposal is a paid-up policy, what exactly am I being asked to buy?
Financial Planning in an Age of Abundance
If you step back and look at the long arc of human living standards, you may realize the baseline lifestyle of modern life is closer to paradise compared with almost all of history. For most of human history, the average person lived very close to the edge, in squalid conditions.
Should I Apply for a Trump Account for My Child or Grandchild?
We have recently fielded questions about the new Trump Accounts for children. Many families with young children are asking the same question right now: Should I apply for one of these new Trump Accounts?
Tax-Loss Harvesting (and Where Direct Indexing Fits)
At its core, tax-loss harvesting is a tax management technique: when part of a taxable portfolio is down, you may be able to sell at a loss, reinvest promptly, and potentially use that loss to reduce taxes. Done well, it can improve after-tax outcomes over time. Done poorly, it becomes an expensive and unintended drift into market timing.
Fluency + Interest: Financial Roles in a Family
A financial plan can look perfect on paper and still fail in real life if it ignores how a household actually operates. Two people can love each other, share values, and still get stuck around money—not because they’re “bad with finances,” but because they have different levels of fluency and interest.
Your Money Personality: How One Question Can Improve Your Plan (and Your Marriage)
A financial plan can be technically sound and still feel “off” if it doesn’t fit the people living inside it. That’s because money decisions are rarely just math. They’re tied to deeper emotional drivers—security, freedom, family, accomplishment, and meaning. Your money personality is the pattern behind those drivers: how you naturally think, feel, and act around money.
Divorce Financial Planning - What to Do Now
If you’re searching things like “what to do before a divorce,” “how to protect myself in a divorce,” or “divorce financial checklist,” you’re probably in one of two places:
You want this to be civil and efficient, or
You can already tell it’s going to be contentious.
A Financial Path for Widows (and Those About to Be)
If you have recently lost a spouse—or you expect you may soon—this is for you.
In the middle of grief, you can get forced into an administrative job you never applied for. Sometimes a feeling comes that administrative things must be done NOW. Sometimes this is true, and other times not.
Should I Buy A Vacation Home: Second Home Benefits and Cost
A second home is easy to romanticize. A lake house where the grandkids learn to swim. A beach condo that turns Thanksgiving into a real tradition. A ski cabin where “we should get together sometime” becomes an annual week you actually protect on the calendar.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium Is Ending — Here’s What To Do Next
If you’re a Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium client, you may have heard the update: Schwab is discontinuing Intelligent Portfolios Premium in the first quarter of 2026. The service is already closed to new enrollments.
That naturally leads to one question: What should you do next?
Cash Freedom Model: Replace Budgeting with Family Harmony
Traditional budgeting sounds great—until you try to live with it. One partner wants spreadsheets, the other wants simplicity, and nobody enjoys friction over every purchase. The Cash Freedom Model lowers the temperature while raising clarity: you always know what you can spend and still stay on track with saving and investing. It also steadies the ride for irregular income so month-to-month swings don’t run your life.
Happy New Year: Here’s a 2026 Financial Planning Checklist
Is this the year to improve your financial plan? Sooner is better than later when it comes to a plan that achieves what you want. Whether you are a professional, business owner, or both, you don’t have to fix everything at once. Instead, look at this planning checklist and pick one thing to work on this year to improve your financial life. One clear win may be better than many unfinished projects.
Charitable Giving Strategies for 2025 and Beyond
Looking to give smarter in 2025? Learn how new tax rules—including senior deductions, contribution thresholds, donor-advised fund strategies, and QCDs—can help you maximize your charitable impact while minimizing taxes.