Author: Meg

Stock market. Coronavirus. Do you feel a wee bit anxious? Find comfort in numbers (and double entendres!).

Presumably you have been consuming a lot of media about the coronavirus and the recent stock-market drop. Over the last two weeks, the financial media has been bleeding and leading, so I thought a less hysterical commentary on at least the stock-market part might be helpful.
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Tricks (Witting or Not) that Investment Advisors Play

Flow FP's Block Woman Contemplates the Shell Game

I am an investment advisor. I believe that I, and many other investment advisors, bring real value to our clients’ lives. But man, this profession is rife with, mmmm, unseemly behavior.Continue reading

financial planner investing investment advice investment portfolio

You have lots of private-company stock. Should you sell it on a private secondary market?

Flow FP's block woman balances precariously on a large pile of stock.

You’ve got gobs of stock or options in Airbnb. Or Palantir. Or some other valuable but private company. The money is So Close. You can almost feel it. And yet, you can’t. ‘Cause your company is private. Oh, the torture.

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Confessions of a Comprehensive Financial Planner

I am not the expert.

EVOKE life planning Life values

Just pick an easy way to give to charity and go. Think about taxes later.

The vast majority of my clients say they want to give more to charities and causes they care about, and, importantly, be more structured and formal in their giving.

charitable donations charitable giving philanthropy tax deduction

Maybe you’re better off giving your money to causes you care about, and not focusing on tax-deductibility.

FlowFP's Block Wo,man contemplates various options for charitable giving.

When I started my firm in 2016, our household income went to $0.

Being the financial planner I am, my mind went immediately from “we have no income” to “oooh, what kind of tax strategies can I take advantage of this year?” One of the decisions we made was around charitable contributions.

charitable donations charitable giving philanthropy tax deduction

Meg’s Musings (Inaugural!)

Block Women is to the left of the image with a black background cutout overlayed a brown wood wall.

One of the most wonderful parts of being a personal financial planner is that I get to see inside the lives and heads (and neuroses…of which I have my fair share, too) of lots of people. My clients share a touching amount of their lives with me. I try quite hard, indeed, to cultivate a relationship and environment in which people feel comfortable doing that. I believe the fleece jacket goes a long way.Continue reading

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Should You Exercise Your Options (in a private company)…to Give Your Career More Flexibility?

Flow FP's block woman exercises her stock options -- at the gym!

Should I exercise my options? When should I exercise my options?

If you work in a private company, I’m betting these questions go through your head with annoying frequency. And they’re hard questions to answer! Will the company succeed? Will the stock be worth anything? A lot? It’s all crystal-ball territory and therefore there are very few obvious or knowable answers.

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Buying a Home. If It Isn’t a “Hell Yes,” Maybe It’s a No?

Flow FP's block woman could get trapped under a house

So, you want to buy a home, do you?

I work with plenty of people in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s who are saving their hinies off for a downpayment. And doing so impressively well, I might add.

buying a home home maintenance costs home ownership rent versus buy

It’s the 90th anniversary of the Crash of 1929. Are you ready for the next market crash?

Flow FP's Block woman is safe in her bucket, in a dangerous world.

As is part of my weekend tradition, this past weekend I read Jason Zweig’s column (paywall) in the Wall Street Journal. (And yes, to answer your unasked question: I do revel in embodying some stereotypes of financial professionals.)

recession stock market stock market crash

It’s 20 (40) years until I retire! How do I save and invest for the between-now-and-then? (Video)

We’re pretty good at saving for the long term (retirement). We have our 401(k)s and IRAs. We’re pretty good at saving for now. We have cash in our bank accounts. But what do we do for the *decades* between now and retirement? How do we save and invest for that?

goals investing saving

Report from the Women-in-Tech Front (a.k.a. GHC19)

Things I learned at Grace Hopper this year:

I cannot do basic arithmetic while standing in front of an audience of 200 people. 100 x 1000 really should be doable.
Yes there is a wrong way to hold the slide clicker, Mr. “You can’t mess it up” A/V guy. Just Watch Me.

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