Work Your Wealth Podcast

This week I sat down again with Wende Headley, CFP® to talk through some financial planning needs for women and some of the hurdles we tend to face.

Wende is a Certified Financial Planner™, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, and Partner at Abacus. She leads the firm-wide Women & Money initiative, which provides resources and education about the broad range of financial issues faced by women. In addition to her primary role as wealth manager for her clients, she regularly speaks at local women's and professional organizations, hosts investment discussion circles with women in Pasadena, and serves as an AARP Tax Aide volunteer for low-income seniors.

She earned an MBA from Harvard University, a BA in Economics and French from the University of Michigan, and a Certificate in Financial Planning from UCLA.

She enjoys spending quality time with her husband and children. Whenever possible, you might find her skiing, running, doing a triathlon, volunteering at her kids' school, or attempting to get that next book read for her Book Club.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• A big issue women tend to face around money
• Why it's challenging for women to take action in their financial lives
• The best way to tackle money organization in your life
• How a financial planner can help when you're feeling stuck
• How to take the first step in getting organized with your money
• The different approaches Wende takes with her clients
• What goals clients come to Wende with around their money
• The biggest money topic women tend to struggle with
• How Wende engages with women who don't normally handle the finances in a relationship
• The motivation for change for women around their finances

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Women in Money Abacus Page

GET SOCIAL WITH WENDE AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• Abacus Website
• Wende's e-mail
• Abacus Facebook
• Abacus Twitter
• Abacus LinkedIn

This week I sat down again with Wende Headley, CFP® to talk about how to align your career with your values by giving yourself permission to make the pivots and changes you want to make.

Wende is a Certified Financial Planner™, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, and Partner at Abacus. She leads the firm-wide Women & Money initiative, which provides resources and education about the broad range of financial issues faced by women. In addition to her primary role as wealth manager for her clients, she regularly speaks at local women's and professional organizations, hosts investment discussion circles with women in Pasadena, and serves as an AARP Tax Aide volunteer for low-income seniors.

She earned an MBA from Harvard University, a BA in Economics and French from the University of Michigan, and a Certificate in Financial Planning from UCLA.

She enjoys spending quality time with her husband and children. Whenever possible, you might find her skiing, running, doing a triathlon, volunteering at her kids' school, or attempting to get that next book read for her Book Club.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Challenges that dual career couples face
• The career and family decisions that led Wende to becoming a financial planner
• The transitional challenges of full time employee to full time stay-at-home parent and then back to full time employee again
• An insight into discussions Wende had with her husband before the transition
• How communication played a critical role in each career shift
• What it took to become comfortable with all of the changes
• The best way to view your life and career to allow yourself to breathe
• Wende does this to reduce the "noise" in her life
• A great place to start if you're struggling to give yourself permission in your life and career
• What a values conversation with yourself or your spouse can do for your life
• How often you should check in with life goals for you and your spouse
• What conversations to have with little ones while going through career transitions
• Why it's important for you and your partner to support each other when discussing career moves to your children
• The most impactful way to create empowerment around your money
• The benefits of understanding your own risk factor
• The comfort of having a financial plan B or plan C

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Couples That Work

GET SOCIAL WITH WENDE AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• Abacus Website
• Wende's e-mail

This week I sat down again with Lindsey Woodward, CFP® to talk about how to align your money with your values by investing intentionally.

Lindsey is a financial advisor at Abacus Wealth Partners, which provides fee-only, comprehensive financial advice to help individuals, families and foundations. Lindsey is dedicated to helping the people she works with align their money with their goals and values. She serves on the Abacus Wealth Partners Investment Committee and is a co-leader of the Los Angeles chapter of WISE (Women Investing for a Sustainable Economy).

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What is meant by "values informed" investing
• Where to get started with investing intentionally
• How Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) play a role in investing
• The reason a portfolio is screened
• Comparing and contrasting divestment, investment and engagement
• How to engage with companies you own shares in
• Tools for you when investing intentionally
• Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) portfolios explained and where they derive from
• Similarities and differences of ESG and SRI portfolios
• Different platforms and portfolios you can invest intentionally
• Action items to increase ESG options within your 401k
• What to consider when using your brokerage accounts with ESG portfolios
• The different types of holdings you should have in your portfolio
• The biggest benefit of investment diversification
• How to align your money with your values if you don't have money to invest right now
• How you can bank responsibly through a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)
• How microloans play in an overall financial strategy
• A myth attached to ESG funds

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• As You Sow
• Opportunity Finance Network CDFI Locator Map
• Kiva

GET SOCIAL WITH LINDSEY AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• Abacus Website
• Lindsey's e-mail

This week I sat down with Laura Morganelli, CFP® to talk about how to handle employee stock options and some of the things to be aware of if and when you decide to exercise those options.

Laura joined Abacus Wealth Partners in 2015. With over 7 years of experience in personal finance, her main goal is to bring a sense of peace in people's financial lives. She recognizes that financial planning and investment management topics can sometimes feel complex and scary and is passionate about providing guidance and education in simple, human, and enjoyable ways. Laura lives in Philadelphia. When she is not nerding out over Excel spreadsheets or burying her nose in a book, she can be found at the dog park with her pup, Bella, working out, enjoying happy hour and trying new restaurants with friends, or traveling to new cities.

Family is also important to her, considering their influence is a big part of who she is today. As a child her parents often told her "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life." Those words have stuck with her over the years. Her eagerness to build knowledge, coupled with her love of meeting new people, has made financial planning the perfect fit.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What stock options are and what you can or can't do with them
• Exercise price, stock price, vesting dates, grant dates, and more explained
• What exercising your stock options looks like
• Different avenues for exercising your shares
• The role taxes play upon exercising your options
• What a spread is and how it can impact your taxes and compensation
• The difference between non-qualified and incentive stock options
• Capital gains tax considerations
• Considerations for holding versus selling options
• A common misconception to be aware of
• The benefits of being awarded stock options and how they can enhance your life
• Vesting schedules
• What to be cautious of regarding expiration dates

GET SOCIAL WITH LAURA AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• LinkedIn
• Laura's e-mail
• Facebook

This week I sat down again with Ariel Ward, CFP® to talk about how to become a millionaire and some of the small steps you can be taking now to help you down the road.

Ariel Ward, CFP® joined Workable Wealth in 2018 as a Financial Planner and in March of this year, made the move to Abacus Wealth Partners with me as a Financial Planner. She and I work closely together on our clients. She has 11 years of experience in the field of personal financial services and in helping clients develop financial clarity. She is passionate about helping professionals understand their financial lives and make better decisions with their money. Ariel is married to a pilot and spends as much time as possible exploring the US with her husband and 2 children. She enjoys working with clients in the aviation industry to make the most of their employee benefits and map out a plan for personal financial strength. She is a member of NAPFA, the XY Planning Network and the Financial Planners Association.

Ariel works virtually out of Charlotte, NC. She enjoys North Carolina's mountains, beaches and everything in between. In her free time you can catch her walking to one of Charlotte's excellent breweries, playing Scrabble or building Lego houses with her kids.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The first thing to do to start growing your net worth
• The question I like to ask all of my clients to help judge progress
• How being debt conscious can be an important step toward millionaire status
• How student loans play into your plan of millionaire status
• How critical employer-sponsored retirement savings accounts can be
• Leveraging a Roth IRA or a backdoor Roth IRA
• If you're paired up, is maxing out two 401(k)s enough for retirement
• A few items millionaires have leveraged to get to that status
• Other areas to focus on beyond investments when working to become a millionaire
• One of your most valuable assets to help you increase your net worth
• How lifestyle inflation can delay your ability to become a millionaire
• What a $5,000 raise could do to your net worth over 20 years
• A fear small business owners have that could be hurting their millionaire status
• Where a budget plays into your millionaire goal
• The difference between saving a percentage of income vs. a specific dollar amount

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

• The Millionaire Next Door

GET SOCIAL WITH ARIEL AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• Workable Wealth Website
• Ariel's e-mail
• Instagram

One of the fun parts of being a financial planner is getting to discuss some of the money moves we've made in our household knowing clients and readers are going through similar things. In these Work Your Wealth episodes I'll be taking time to address how we approached the different money situations and the results of our decisions. Today I'm talking about the what we are doing as we stay home due to COVID-19 and how we are still managing self-care and family time.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What the headlines around COVID-19 are doing to your fears and anxiety
• Great resources on COVID-19, benefits to be aware of, etc.
• How we are handling the next several weeks in our household
• If you have little ones at home, the importance of sticking to a schedule
• Ideas for the little ones to keep them occupied while they are at home
• Why you should have on hand some creature comforts
• The important financial things you should be doing as COVID-19 spreads and the market reacts
• At a time like this, why you should be reviewing your current expenses
• Adjustments you could make to your personal and retirement accounts
• The importance of staying physically active during a "stay-at-home" mandate
• How to continue to show gratitude in this challenging time
• A few books you could pick up while staying at home
• How to teach your little ones about purchasing power and make it fun
• Things you should focus on during over the next several weeks and months
• Some of the ways the employees at Abacus are practicing self-care
• Ideas on how to serve others, even from home

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

• Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization
• New York Times resource
• Peloton
• Master Class
• COVID-19 resource page presented by Abacus
• Abacus Wealth Partners
• Mary Beth

LET'S CONNECT!

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

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This week I sat down with fellow CFP® Roger Whitney to discuss planning for retirement, some dos and don'ts and baby steps along the way to set you up for success.

Roger Whitney, CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, AIF® is a cofounder of WWK Wealth Advisors and host of the award-winning podcast The Retirement Answer Man. He has been a financial planner for over 27 years. Each day he "walks life" with individuals and families, helping them plan for, transition into, and live out their life after a working career.

He is a former instructor of retirement planning and employee benefits for the Certified Financial Planner certificate program at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has also taught wealth management at Texas Christian University Extended Education.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• What does retirement mean for you
• 4 choices that are usually presented to fill the retirement gap
• Why people avoid planning to be a retiree
• What a traditional retirement consist of
• The inspiration people need to take action on long-term planning
• The question people generally have about retiring
• Understanding the W.A.M. process of retirement planning
• How you should view retirement while you're in the accumulation phase of life
• The approach you don't want to take when planning to retire
• The group that struggles most with figuring out what a life after work looks like
• The best way to make the transition from full-time worker to retiree
• Why you need clarity and intension around your money decisions
• How to utilize 6 month sprints to achieve your money goals
• Finding the balance of enjoying life now and preparing for life after work
• Why you should focus on the journey and not just the end game

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

• The Retirement Answer Man Podcast

GET SOCIAL WITH GREG AND LET HIM KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HIM HERE

• Roger's e-mail
• Roger's Website
• Instagram
• Twitter

This week I sat down with bookkeeper, Greg Higdon to discuss the importance of having a bookkeeper and what working with one can do for your business.

Greg Higdon is the Founder of Grow the Books, a bookkeeping company for small businesses. With over 13 years of experience in education, he teaches his clients so they are empowered and armed with a clearer understanding of what their numbers mean for their business decisions. When he isn't balancing books and helping clients you can find him roasting coffee, drinking coffee, and reading about coffee.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The importance of understanding your profit and loss statement
• What a bookkeeper can do for you
• The difference between gross and net income
• How bookkeeping plays a part in your taxes
• The tax challenges you'll face if you don't keep up with your books
• Bookkeeping issues Greg tends to see when they come to him for help
• Some of the terms on your income statement and what they mean for your business
• The benefits of giving your business income and expenses subcategories
• How to know how much your business should be spending in marketing, personnel, sales, etc.
• How often you should be reviewing your profit and loss reports
• Comparing hiring out versus doing your own books
• What to look for when hiring a bookkeeper
• If you want to do your books on your own, do this to make things easier on you

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

• Grow the Books
• QuickBooks
• Xero
• Mint

GET SOCIAL WITH GREG AND LET HIM KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HIM HERE

• Greg's e-mail
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest

This week I sat down again with Ariel Ward, CFP® to talk about how to know if you can afford for one parent to stay home.

Ariel Ward, CFP® joined Workable Wealth in 2018 as a Financial Planner and in March of this year, made the move to Abacus Wealth Partners with me as a Financial Planner. She and I work closely together on our clients. She has 11 years of experience in the field of personal financial services and in helping clients develop financial clarity. She is passionate about helping professionals understand their financial lives and make better decisions with their money. Ariel is married to a pilot and spends as much time as possible exploring the US with her husband and 2 children. She enjoys working with clients in the aviation industry to make the most of their employee benefits and map out a plan for personal financial strength. She is a member of NAPFA, the XY Planning Network and the Financial Planners Association.

Ariel works virtually out of Charlotte, NC. She enjoys North Carolina's mountains, beaches and everything in between. In her free time you can catch her walking to one of Charlotte's excellent breweries, playing Scrabble or building Lego houses with her kids.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• How to financially navigate having one parent stay at home with the kids
• The significance of knowing what your family expenses are
• A few things people tend to forget when looking at monthly expenses
• Expenses that might go away with one spouse at home
• The budgets we establish for our clients when one person stays home
• Why you should discuss how long the spouse will stay at home before returning to the workforce, if ever
• Ideas for the working parent to increase income or flexibility
• Options for the stay-at-home parent to still bring in an income
• What to consider when it comes to employee benefits for the parent staying at home
• How staying at home might change what you need for disability or life insurance
• Changes that could take place with your investments by having one parent stay home
• The conversations we have with clients when considering one parent staying at home
• The most important question to consider when making the change
• A couple of red flags we've seen when looking at cash flow
• The unique story Brian and I have about having one parent stay home
• The agreement Ariel worked out with her employer to allow her to stay at home
• What happens when the at-home parent is trying to do too much

GET SOCIAL WITH ARIEL AND LET HER KNOW YOU HEARD ABOUT HER HERE

• Workable Wealth Website
• Ariel's e-mail
• Instagram

What Should Your Net Worth Be?

One of the fun parts of being a financial planner is getting to discuss some of the money moves we've made in our household knowing clients and readers are going through similar things. In these Work Your Wealth episodes I'll be taking time to address how we approached the different money situations and the results of our decisions. Today I'm talking about how to track your net worth and some tools and tips to move the needle for your net worth in the right direction.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

• One of the most common questions I get about finances
• The best way to do a health check of your finances
• How often you should be checking on your net worth
• The thing your net worth can tell you over the years
• The place to start when calculating your net worth
• Assets and liabilities that you should factor in to your net worth
• Why you shouldn't compare your net worth with other friends, family, etc.
• The average net worth for Americans in their mid 30s
• A big reason the average net worth for a 35 year old is where it is
• Another way to evaluate your financial health (especially if you are in your 30s)
• The amount of savings you should have when you reach age 30
• What your net worth should look like at age 40
• A quick equation to analyze your ideal net worth
• Understanding how much you need set aside for retirement
• Things that negatively impact your net worth and how to improve on it
• If you haven't started investing, here's where to start
• A few resources to help you get started towards savings
• A few budget savings allocations that can help improve your net worth
• Two methods to paying off your debt
• How we keep track of savings goals in our household
• If you want to go big on growing your net worth, here are a few tips

LINKS WE MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

• Listen Money Matters
• Financial Samurai
• You Need A Budget Website
• Mint
• Abacus Wealth Partners
• Mary Beth

LET'S CONNECT!

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram