ThimbleberryU

Through Amy Walls' work in the medical and tech sectors, she often deals with non-qualified deferred compensation plans - under which employees can defer part of their earnings to be paid later.

Amy explains what differs these plans from qualified plans like 401k and 403b plans.   Employees can often contribute more money. By not being in the employees name, taxes are not paid at the time of compensation, but there are risks to these plans.

Amy explains the pros and cons, and can help you decide if one of these plans is right for your individual situation.

For help with your financial future, contact Amy Walls at Thimbleberry Financial:

https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Or call: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

Today, Amy Walls from Thimbleberry Financial joins Jon Gay to talk about windfalls - money that comes to you suddenly, often unexpectedly. This can be an inheritance, settlement, or even lottery winnings.

70 percent of people who come into sudden money deplete those funds within a few years, so today Amy walks us through steps to avoid windfall pitfalls.

• Plan ahead
• Be honest, not manipulative
• Put a strong team in place
• Make a wish list
• Keep quiet!
• Save appropriately
• Take responsibility for mistakes.

For help with your financial future, contact Amy Walls at Thimbleberry Financial:

https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Or call: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

One of Amy Walls' key tenets at Thimbleberry Financial is creating a good client experience - one that is based on mutual trust and accountability.  The firm makes commitments to clients, and clients make commitments in return.

• This includes:
• Responding to communication.
• Revisiting the planning process annually
• Updating the plan
• Knowing what's important to our clients, but also where the boundaries are
• Knowing which clients are a good fit, and which ones are not
• Providing education
• Having processes and setting expectations around them
• Honest communication, even when it's what a client doesn't want to hear.

As an example, Amy began scheduling her clients out for the year. She explains how well that was received.

Resources:

Thimbleberry Financial Website: https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Thimbleberry Financial Phone Number: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

Today, Amy Walls of Thimbleberry Financial sits down with Jon Gay to explain the ubiquitous story of day traders on Reddit and Robin Hood driving the stock of GameStop through the roof, much to the chagrin of Wall Street Hedge Funds.

When investors believe a stock is about to fall, they can bet against it by "shorting" it - they profit when the value falls.  But they also lose when the value rises.  Tough times for a brick-and-mortar video game retailer had been well documented and Wall Street assumed the stock price would fall.   Then the investors on Reddit jumped in, buying up the stock so quickly it shot the share price from $18 to $347, costing hedge funds $5 billion by some estimates.

The Robin Hood app temporarily stopped day traders from  buying up the stock, not because of collusion with Wall Street, but to meet their financial obligations as an RIA. 

The bottom line - investing in short-term fads or trends is dangerous.  Retirement planning should be a slow, long-term cautious approach that won't be affected by momentary market swings.

Resources:

Thimbleberry Financial Website: https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Thimbleberry Financial Phone Number: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

With interest rates historically low, many of Amy Walls' clients at Thimbleberry Financial have asked about refinancing their mortgages. Today we explain the different types of loans and what to consider when looking at refinancing.

What are the different loan types?

• Primary
• Fixed Second or Second
• HELOC

What happens to my 2nd or HELOC if I refinance my primary loan?

When does it make sense to refinance?

What is the process to refinance?

Can someone else (my advisor) handle this for me? (Spoiler alert: No!)

What if my house is paid off -what are my choices?
 

Resources:

Thimbleberry Financial Website: https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Thimbleberry Financial Phone Number: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

Amy Walls knows from her experience with the medical community that when a resident becomes a physician, it's often accompanied by a significant increase in income - sometimes over 500%.  This increase in revenue necessitates some financial planning - and today we cover 5 items every new doctor should do.

1. Shore-up or Build a cash reserve
2. Have a plan for student loan debt and know the consequences of that plan
3. Obtain disability and life insurance policies.
4. Start saving for retirement/know how much you need to save
5. Start working on other financial goals.

Doctors are notoriously bad at saving and financial planning.  Like patients who find them, docs should seek out an expert to help.

Resources:

Thimbleberry Financial Website: https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Thimbleberry Financial Phone Number: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

When your employer announces they are going public, this can lead to many possibilities surrounding your financial future. Today, Amy Walls and Jon Gay break down some of the more commonly asked questions.

1. What does “going public” mean? And what does it mean to me?

2. What do I need to know and do? What do I need to know about stocks and lock up periods?

3. What do I do with my stock? What are RSUs and ISOs?

4. Are you financially independent? How does this play into the decision process?

5.  Special Tips - don't increase spending and have a plan.

• Pay down Debt
• Buy or upgrade Home – know your means
• Fund College for kids
• Front-load retirement/Buy yourself future flexibility

6, What about diversification and different types of investments

Each situation is different based on goals, expenses/spend down rate, retirement age, health and life expectancy.

Resources:

Thimbleberry Financial Website: https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Thimbleberry Financial Phone Number: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

Amy Walls of Thimbleberry Financial likes to talk about "rainy" and "sunny" times when it comes to personal finance.  Taking distributions from a Roth account can be one of the sunny times, if you follow the rules.

First we recap the ways we can contribute to a Roth IRA. They are:

• Contributions – annual contribution put directly into a Roth IRA. Directly is the key word here. 
• Conversions – This is money put into a traditional IRA, or 401(k) or 403(b) and then converted into a Roth. There are two types:
  • Pre-tax: an employer plan that is rolled over into a Traditional IRA or Rollover IRA that is later CONVERTED to a Roth IRA.
  • Non-Taxable Conversion: This is the strategy we’ve talked about before that is often referred to as a Back-Door Roth. Contributions are made after-tax to an IRA, and then CONVERTED to a Roth IRA.
• Rollover of a designated Roth account – This is when your employer allows you to
• Contribute after-tax money to your 401k or 403b as a Roth designated contribution. Not all employers do this.
• Earnings: This is growth on the money inside the account.

Now we can look at the ways in which money is distributed out of a Roth account, keeping in mind the acronym  "Real Tacos Can Not Contain Eggplant."

Assets are distributed in the following order:

1. Regular Roth IRA participant contributions, includes rollovers of directly contributed Roth 401(k) and 403b dollars.

2.Taxable Conversion and rollover amounts- Pre-tax IRA contributions or an old employer plan that is converted.

3.Non-taxable Conversion and rollover amounts - After-tax IRA contributions and internal 401k conversions (Mega backdoor Roth)

4.Earning on Roth assets- Growth.

For illustrative purposes, Amy gives an example of these. Here it is, laid out.

Sara opened a Roth IRA in March 2019 and makes contributions for 2018 and 2019. The 2018 contribution treats the account as if it were opened on January 1, 2018. In 2019 she converted a $35,000 Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Sara is 57 years old at the end of 2020. The account contains:

• $15,000 in contributions for 2018, 2019, and 2020.
• $30,000 taxable traditional IRA coversions from 2019.
• $5000 of non-taxable Roth IRA conversions from 2019.
• $5000 in earnings.
• $55,000 TOTAL

Let’s say Sara wants to take a $52,000 distribution.

• Sara can take up to $15,000 without taxes and penalties.
• The next $30,000 that is from taxable traditional IRA conversions will not be subject to income tax, but will be subject to the 10% penalty. This is because she paid tax on the conversion.
• The next $5000 of non-taxable Roth conversions are not subject to taxes or penalties as the conversion was a non-taxable event.
• The last $2000 is from earnings will be subject to income tax and early distribution penalty of 10%. The penalties and taxes are because she is tot 59.5 and the account has not been open 5 years.

The rules around Roth accounts are not always easy to understand.  Hiring a professional like Amy can go a long way.  You can find her online at https://thimbleberryfinancial.com

or give her a call at 503-610-6510.

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

Today, Amy Walls of Thimbleberry Financial explains how to create SMART goals.  SMART is an acronym for  

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time Bound

SMART Goals also need to resonate with you - if you don't have a connection to the goal, you won't achieve it.

SMART Goals should also be put into writing - and there's neuroscience to back this up!  Amy gives us a high level recap of Mark Murphy's study "The Gender Gap and Goal-Setting" (link below).

People who have vividly written down their goals are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to accomplish their goals. Writing things down happens on two levels: external storage and encoding. It doesn’t take a neuroscientist to know you will remember something much better if you’re staring at a visual cue (aka reminder) every single day.  And writing improves the encoding process. 

Finally, there needs to accountability.  It's much easier to achieve a goal if you have someone to hold you accountability.  That's where a financial advisor like Amy can help!

Resources:

Mark Murphy Study in Forbes:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2018/04/15/neuroscience-explains-why-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-if-you-actually-want-to-achieve-them/?sh=7415a20a7905

Thimbleberry Financial Website: https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Call Thimbleberry Financial: 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/

2020 has been a stressful year, and you certainly don't need us to list the reasons why. Today, however, Amy Walls from Thimbleberry Financial talks about how stress can affect decision making, as well as how to avoid that pitfall.

Here are 4 steps to making good decisions in stressful circumstance.

1. Take space and Identify what’s important to you.
2. Recognize and acknowledge what you don’t control and influence. Then move past.
3. Focus on where you do have power...the things you control and influence.
4. Reduce your decisions.

We break each of these steps down, including an example of how a significant change in Amy's daughter's virtual learning affected her, and how they dealt with it as a family.

All of these ideas are key when dealing with money.   Stress can cause you to make poor financial decisions, and that's why its important to work with a trusted professional on your finances.

Contact:

Thimbleberry Financial Website: https://thimbleberryfinancial.com/

Call or text Thimbleberry Financial at 503-610-6510

To get in touch with Amy and her team at Thimbleberry Financial, call 503-610-6510 or visit thimbleberryfinancial.com.

The ThimbleberryU Podcast is produced by JAG Podcast Productions - https://jagpodcastproductions.com/