What I believe
Dollars are a poor way to measure a life
eudaimonia
Greek: εὐδαιμονία · you-day-MOH-nia
Human flourishing. What you reach by living a life of meaning and purpose rather than one of accumulation.
It is an odd name for a wealth management firm. That is roughly the point. The families I work with are not trying to die with the largest possible balance. They are trying to spend the years they have well, and money is the tool that makes that possible or gets in the way.
Money is a tool, and a poor scoreboard
Two households can hold the same balance and lead lives that look nothing alike. One has a calendar full of grandchildren and a trip booked for October. The other has a longer list of things he keeps meaning to get to. The statement says nothing useful about which is which.
The hardest habit to break is saving
The habits that helped you build wealth do not automatically prepare you to enjoy it. You cannot flip a switch and suddenly become confident spending money once the paychecks stop. In practice it shows up in two big ways. People work longer than they need to, what I call one-more-yearism, because sticking with the familiar feels safer than facing a new phase of life. And even after they retire, many chronically underspend: they skip experiences they can easily afford, delay helping their kids or grandkids, and hold back out of fear of getting it wrong. My job is to help you build a plan that gives you the confidence to spend, give, and live in retirement, knowing you are going to be okay.
Most of the value is in decisions you cannot undo
When to claim Social Security. Which pension election to take. How much to convert, and when. You make each of these once, and getting them right is worth more than any investment call I could make on your behalf.
I would rather filter than pile on
You are not short on financial information. You are buried in it. What helps is someone who narrows the options down to the two that matter and tells you which one he would pick, and why.
A life well lived, as far as I can tell, is made of
- Relationships that go deep rather than wide
- Experiences shared with people you love
- A sense of purpose and somewhere to belong
- Getting to find out what you are capable of
None of those appear on an account statement. Handle the money well and each one gets easier to reach, which is the only reason I find this work interesting.
I keep pushing people to spend
Most days the useful thing I do is show someone the arithmetic that lets them believe the money will hold, so they book the trip they have been deferring for four years. The tax strategy is the reason they called.
Saving for three decades builds a reflex, and the reflex does not switch off on the day you retire. Plenty of people arrive with more than enough and a deep reluctance to touch any of it. A good plan gives you permission, backed by numbers, to enjoy what you built while you are healthy enough to enjoy it.
Let's find out if I can help.
The first conversation is 30 minutes on the phone, and you bring nothing to it. You describe what you are trying to sort out, and I tell you straight whether this is the kind of work I do well.