Susan's Scoop My $400,000 Mistake Something that we all have in common is that our financial lives consist of a combination of good decisions, bad decisions, and luck. And fundamentally our ideal outcome is to have the âgood decisionsâ and âgood luckâ outweigh the âbad decisionsâ and âbad luckâ. In my workshops I often talk about how we need to set up our entire financial portfolio from the position of the House at a casino â there will be individual winners and losers in our investments, but...
12 days ago â˘Â 3 min read
Caitlin's Corner Our Lack of Mobility is Stagnating Our Economy, and Our Personal Growth Iâve made some big moves in my life, and not just geographically. Each time, Iâve had to make the hard choice of leaving behind a âperfectly fineâ housing situation, with a mortgage payment that made financial sense on paper, in order to step into something bigger. In 2013, my husband and I left behind a 2.6% mortgage rate for a new home with a 4.1% rate. In 2024, we left a nearly paid-off home and...
19 days ago â˘Â 3 min read
Susan's Scoop Healthcare, UGH. I feel like that title generally sums up the healthcare system here in the United States, which is painfully broken. Somehow the US spends almost twice as much per person on healthcare annually compared to other wealthy nations, yet we have very little to show for it. I took both of my kids to the dentist this week for their regular cleanings (no fillings, no x-rays) and it was almost $400. We donât have dental insurance, so as a âself-payâ client we have to...
26 days ago â˘Â 3 min read
Caitlin's Corner Why the âTrump Accountâ Isnât the Gift It Looks Like I may be ineligible for one of the new parent 'perks' of the OBBBA bill, but I'm not exactly kicking myself for missing out. As part of the new OBBBA bill, the âTrump Accountâ promises a free $1,000 investment account for every baby born between 2025 and 2028. Win-win, right? ...But here's why I think this small gesture completely misses the mark, especially as new parents are navigating the daunting challenge of raising...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 3 min read
Susan's Scoop The âWorth Lessâ Strategy That Leaves You Worth More Today Iâm going to let you in on a financial secret of the Ultra Wealthy: Discounting. A few weeks back I wrote about the 3 different types of Roth IRA conversions, but there actually is a 4th much less common type â the Discounted Roth IRA Conversion. But before we get into the details of it, I thought it would be fun to dive into the concept of discounting in general, because according to recent surveys, almost all of us...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 3 min read
Caitlin's Corner This Missing Piece of Your Wealth Plan: Gratitude What does gratitude mean to you? The English definition misses the mark. It doesn't quite capture that gratitude is a personal experience. Have you ever thought about what this experience looks like for you? I was asked this question recently when I went on The Gratitude Podcast. It might not seem intuitive, but we talked about gratitude in the context of building wealth. When most people think about building wealth, they...
about 2 months ago â˘Â 5 min read
Caitlin's Corner Let's Call it What it Is: Shopping It might be sunburn, but Iâm still glowing from a girlsâ backpacking trip I got to take last week. Complete with giggles, real-talk, leveled-up charcuterie, and alpine lake skinny-dipping, it was the trip every womanâs soul needs from time to time. To top it off, I took a self-indulgent shopping stop on my way home. My driving route to the backpacking trip had led me through a mountain town I hadnât visited in over a decade. The town is home...
2 months ago â˘Â 6 min read
Susan's Scoop The Case for the Taxable Brokerage Account I feel like the taxable brokerage account doesnât get much love - it doesnât have the advantage of being made up of pre-tax dollars like a 401k or Traditional IRA, nor does it automatically have the advantage of being able to be withdrawn tax-free like a Roth. But I still think itâs an important part of a portfolio! Hereâs why: 1) Liquidity: This money is always available! Yes, there are âbetter timesâ (when the market is up) and âworse...
2 months ago â˘Â 3 min read
Caitlin's Corner Finance is Different for Women. I still remember the moment I realized something was off. A male coworker (letâs call him "Ted") had just been promoted. Again. Ted and I were friends, which is why I knew some details about his background: lower GPA, less relevant experience, and average performance on our shared project. Meanwhile, I and two other qualified women on the team, who had worked longer, harder, and better, were overlooked. When I asked my manager what Ted was...
2 months ago â˘Â 4 min read