%20No%20Box%20.png)
Why do I do this?
So why am I a financial planner? That’s complicated, and layered.
The best career advice I ever received was this: You can’t go wrong when you work at the intersection of your natural talents and helping other people.
I am lucky to have grown up with opportunities to learn about finances. As a young child, an obsolete 3-to-a-page business checkbook was entertainment for me. I wrote pretend checks, adhered cute Care Bears stickers, and practiced my wannabe-grown-up cursive in the signature area.
As an adolescent, I lost my father suddenly and witnessed how a household had to pivot, and how complicated things can be when people die without a will. As a teenager, I had bookkeeper responsibilities for a small family business and was exposed to the challenges of staying “in the black” during retail ups and downs. As a high schooler, I watched Maria Bartiromo in her power suits peering up at the camera from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange explaining the green and red numbers scrolling across the bottom of the TV set.
As a young “puppy” navigating my way through my undergrad and grad degrees while working in Corporate America, I prudently paced myself to optimize the tuition assistance benefit offered by my employer. Often while eating store-brand green beans multiple times a week just to make ends meet. Oh my, none of this is normal!
Before I was old enough to buy a four-pack of Bartles & Jaymes, I stumbled into a career specializing in Executive Compensation, an area where I evolved and excelled, particularly because of my curiosity for the fun and the interesting financial elements, and tax and legal complexities in what some may think is an “HR job”.
Twenty-some years later, I could talk about compensation and benefits until the cows come home. I can tell you about how stock awards are designed, granted, expensed in a company’s financials (that’s right, they are not “free” to the company!), reported in a proxy statement, taxed, and ultimately turned into wealth for the recipient. I deeply appreciate how compensation packages are put together and understand the company’s perspective of how and when to use certain components in offers, retention, and departure situations.
Do Executive Comp topics make me tick? Absolutely! Do I understand the company’s perspective of how and when to use certain components of a pay package? Of course! Am I good at it? YES!
But here’s the deal - my exposure gave me a lot of inside scoop on how very well-compensated people don’t have a handle on what’s right in front of them, and don’t always make the best financial choices. On top of that, I often witnessed that their advisors were not adequately equipped to advise on the nuances of their company-provided gold mines.
Years of experience and reflection have taught me that the foundational knowledge and passion I possess for personal finances, planning, and discipline, doesn’t necessarily come naturally to most people. I find joy in sharing insights about deploying money with intention, creating all the right buckets, and proactively positioning for success. This happens in a supportive, not daunting, collaborative environment. Helping people feel less overwhelmed about money stuff makes me so happy!
Welcome to my intersection
Whether you work with me for my technical expertise and corporate-world know-how, or my passion for developing money systems and attainable paths to financial success, I want to help you to learn, grow, and love your financial situation.