Your 40s
Financial planning in your 40s: build and balance
What women in their 40s ask me
- Is this the right career move, and what does it mean for my finances?
- How much should I save versus spend? I'd like to enjoy my life now, too.
- How do I weigh what Today Me wants against what Future Me needs?
- What do I do with RSUs, an ESPP, or stock options?
- How do my partner and I get on the same page about money?
- Can I help with college without wrecking my own retirement?
How planning helps in your 40s
- Weighing job and career options, including what an offer is really worth.
- Making a plan for stock options, bonuses, and other income.
- Maximizing retirement contributions and diversifying for the long term.
- Sorting out the trade-offs of family choices and caregiving.
- Making tax choices that fit your whole financial picture.
- Picking health insurance and benefits at open enrollment with real math.
A note on feeling behind
If you've made it to your late 40s, you've probably been underpaid at some point, carried more than your share at home, or both. Those are real money problems, and plenty of them are built into the system. They don't mean you're bad with money. We start from where you are.
Your 40s are a good time to start. You have decades for your choices to add up, and you're making big decisions (career, kids, housing, stock compensation) that are easier to get right before they happen than to fix after.
I don't have an asset minimum. I do have a minimum fee of $5,000 a year, which can come from planning fees, investment management fees, or both. A planning project, starting at $1,000, is another way in.
We look at when your shares vest, the tax on each kind of grant, how much of your net worth sits in one company, and a plan for selling that fits your goals.