Finances

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Do You Fall Into the Wealth Gap?

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Do You Fall Into the Wealth Gap?

I’ll admit that I’ve learned a lot this year. And I’ve only scratched the surface of what I don’t know. I’ve spent a quarter of my life formally studying finance, which says a lot considering that most people receive no formal education in this area. Through college, where I majored in Finance at UW Madison, the years spent taking personal finance classes to earn my CFP®, and most recently my CIMA® certification coursework at The University of Chicago Booth, one topic was never addressed: wealth gaps.

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Are You Overdue for a Self Check-In?

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Are You Overdue for a Self Check-In?

Happy February! I’m not gonna lie, these days, we’re really busy at Merino Wealth. And when we’re busy things can get kind of stressful around the office. We have a great team, wonderful clients, and we’re doing great work. But if we’re sleep-deprived, logging in on the weekends, and overwhelmed with our workloads, things can feel a bit tense. In some cases, it’s just the simple feeling that we might not have done "XYZ" perfectly, which of course, is an unrealistic bar to set for ourselves.

The Sooner You Talk To Your Children About Money, The Better

The Sooner You Talk To Your Children About Money, The Better

Opposites. That’s what my two sons are. Well, not it all respects (they both love to play video games, ride bikes, get dirty, and generally annoy each other) but when it comes to money, they couldn’t be more different. My oldest is 11, going on 40. His view of money is quite simple. He doesn’t like to spend it. We live several states away from grandparents, aunts, and uncles, so holiday gifts generally involve money or gift cards, and he simply saves it all. As an Accredited Financial Counselor® this makes my heart smile, but I know saving every last penny isn’t always a good thing.

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Merging Finances As a Same Sex Couple

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Merging Finances As a Same Sex Couple

My husband and I were married on April 16, 2014, in Los Angeles, California, where same-sex marriage was legal. A little over one year later, on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses.

Mansplaining and Your Money

Mansplaining and Your Money

Mansplaining /ˈmanˌsplāniNG/ (noun) the explanation of something by a man, typically to a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.

“She met with several Financial Advisors and they all treated her like a stupid girl. So eventually she got to the point where she figured she’d just have to choose one of these guys that would treat her like a stupid girl.” This isn’t the first time I’ve heard something like this and it won’t be the last. This is a quote from a woman who referred her sister to me. She’s definitely not “a stupid girl” and shouldn’t have been made to feel that way.

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Working Toward Equal Pay One Client at a Time

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Working Toward Equal Pay One Client at a Time

I recently came across a study by Benjamin Artz, Amanda Goodall, and Andrew J. Oswald that concluded that women actually are asking for raises as often as men, but their requests are treated differently. This led me to another interesting study by Andreas Leibbrandt and John A. List that found that men and women had similar negotiation behaviors when job descriptions specifically noted that the wages were negotiable. If it was not mentioned, then the men in the study were more likely to negotiate than the women.

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#MeToo, Mansplaining, and Merino Wealth's 3rd Anniversary

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#MeToo, Mansplaining, and Merino Wealth's 3rd Anniversary

April has become my favorite month. April 1st is not only April Fool’s Day, but it’s also Merino Wealth’s Anniversary. This year we turned 3! In my line of work, I often see that businesses typically hit their stride in the 3-5 years range so it feels great to be on this side of things.

A lot has happened in these past three years. “MeToo” and “Timesup” have taken on new meanings while terms like Mansplaining and The Mental Load have helped to articulate things some of us have been feeling for years. We have a record number of women serving in Congress. And let’s not forget “The Year of the Woman!”

You Still Have Time to Reach Those End-of-Year Goals

You Still Have Time to Reach Those End-of-Year Goals

Going into 2018 I set a goal for myself to establish a retirement plan for Merino Wealth. I looked into options, received feedback from my employees, and figured out the logistics. I then decided on the type of plan, the company match, and even planned to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors into the investments. While presenting at financial workshops to audiences all over Chicago, I announced this as my top 2018 goal. Wanna guess what happened next?

Celebrating Your Personal Financial Milestones

Celebrating Your Personal Financial Milestones

One of the tricky things about money is the awkwardness that comes with discussing your financial situation when things are going well. I rarely see Facebook status messages regarding every day financial achievements like “Who’s got two thumbs and is maxing out their 401(k)!? This guy.” But you know what? Maxing out your 401(k) feels GREAT.

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Celebrate November is Referral Month & Jessica’s Birthday with Merino Management

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Celebrate November is Referral Month & Jessica’s Birthday with Merino Management

It’s a real joy when we hear people say that hiring a Financial Advisor was one of the best decisions they’ve made.  It would be easy to put some money in an index fund somewhere, but there’s so much more we can accomplish with our clients when we work on your future together.  

What I Learned During the Last Recession

What I Learned During the Last Recession

Happy October!  If it weren’t for the pumpkin spice lattes I wouldn’t believe it myself.  As we find ourselves treading in waters of historical market highs and approaching the end of the year, now is the perfect time to take inventory of your investment strategies.  

Since I’m in my 30s, people don’t always realize that I’ve actually had first-hand experience with our last two market crashes.  First, as a young investor during the dot.com bubble. Second, as an advisor during the 2008 financial crisis. I remember September 15th of 2008 when Bank of America bought out Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.  It felt like the world around me had changed in a day. I learned a lot from our last recession including a few things that may help when taking inventory of your portfolio.  

Things to Consider When Going Back to School

Things to Consider When Going Back to School

Now that Labor Day’s passed, summer is officially over and it’s time to head back to school. But it’s not all for the kids sometimes. We’re big on education funding around Merino Wealth so this time of year can be really exciting as we see clients move forward with the goals we’ve been planning for.  One thing I’ve noticed is that many of our clients hitting 10-15 years in the workforce are making moves. It’s like we hit this point where we look back at our hard work and decide we want more.  In some cases, that means going back to school to earn an advanced degree. It could mean changing industries or positions. At times, it includes taking a break from work to travel or spend time with family. In extreme cases, it may involve starting your own financial planning firm in a large metropolitan area.  

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