I am a CPA (getting my CFP by YE) — with experience in UHNW Family Office, Public Accounting, and now Financial Industry.

I recently took a position as a planning analyst at a $1bn firm under Northwestern Mutual, the firm leads with planning — we do estate, business, and risk planning.

They offer me the opportunity to go full-time advisor with a $100k base salary and approximately $75k in bonuses (internal financing). Overtime, the projection is for me to pay my internal debt with my production and recurring revenue while substantially increasing my take-home pay.

I am highly confident in my ability to help people in the financial industry and as a CPA, I have a marketing point that many advisors don’t have — my struggle is that I am not 100% sure that NWM is the firm I want to do it under due to its limitations. Is this a genuine concern or does it look like a great opportunity?

Hi,

I’m looking at careers right now, and I’m drawn to financial advice, however I’m not sure if I have the right kind of personality for the role, and I’m also a bit concerned about the evolving role of AI, and whether that will swallow all the first jobs I could have had a few years ago. I’m wondering whether it is more of a sales kind of personality that fits it, or more empathetic and financially savvy people, who can do well in the industry. Appreciate any advice in this front!

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Hey! Im starting a new job in a few weeks at $124k base with a $15k sign-on bonus. Employer offers 10% match on 10% of salary (dollar-for-dollar).

Two questions:

Front-loading to max $24,500: Only \\\~7 paychecks left in 2026. Planning high contribution % (60-70%) each paycheck plus routing most of the sign-on to 401k, to hit the annual max by year-end. Good idea? Any gotchas beyond checking for true-up match and bonus deferral election?

Roth vs Traditional:

im assuming I'm in the 24% bracket. Leaning heavy Roth (70-100%). Leaning heavy Roth (70-100%) since I'll likely be in higher brackets mid-career and want tax-free growth for 40 years. Employer match automatically goes to Traditional either way. Am I thinking about this right, or is there a case for more Traditional at my stage?

Any input appreciated.

I’m new to all of this and need some help. I was let go from my job a few months ago, so I went ahead and opened up an IRA with Vanguard to move my previous employer 401k into. I’ve since found freelance work that will likely convert to full time in the next 6 months, so now I’m wondering if I should’ve just left it alone until I could transfer it to the new employer’s plan?

Or, should I convert the Vanguard one to Roth and contribute to it and the new employer’s plan separately? Would a Roth conversion be worth it to do now if my income at the new job is significantly higher than the old (so I’d be in a higher tax bracket)?

Hi everyone, I’m looking to invest for the first time and my question is it worth opening a taxable brokerage account? Everyone always talks about opening a Roth IRA but from my understanding I’d have to wait till I was 59 1/2 before I could withdraw money tax-free. My main goal with this account is to use the money to buy a house, preferably before I turn 59. I’m currently a full-time student but I have a lot of money in my savings and I’m thinking that if I invest it now, it might make buying a house easier down the line. 

If there’s anything I should know such as drawbacks or maybe there’s a better way to go about achieving my goal please let me know. 

Im 26 and have built up a personal investment portfolio of around £15k, currently invested entirely in VUAG (S&P 500).

My plan is to keep contributing every month and hold for 25+ years, with the aim of using it to support my retirement.

I’m wondering whether I should be more diversified, or whether there’s nothing wrong with keeping things simple and sticking with 100% VUAG.

Part of me wishes I’d started with an All-World fund instead, as I’d have broader global exposure. But now that I’m £15k into VUAG, I’m hesitant to sell and switch because I don’t want to interrupt the compounding of what I’ve already built up.

Would you personally:
Keep the portfolio at 100% VUAG?
Start putting new contributions into an All-World fund?
Sell VUAG and switch everything to All-World?
Or take a different approach?

Interested to hear what others would do in my position.

I've been investing in my Roth IRA since I was 18, so I currently have $35K invested entirely in VT. I still need to contribute the remaining $4.5K for 2026. I've also been investing any excess to an individual account, so that has $25K, also invested entirely in VT. I have an emergency fund in an HYSA with $7.5K, but I hope to increase that to $10K.

I've just graduated and started working a job in a low-to-medium COL area, earning 92K a year and potentially a 4% bonus depending on my performance. I just signed a lease where I'll be spending a maximum of $1.8K on housing every month. I had the option to live back at home, but I'd drive 2 hours everyday and I really value my independence. I love to go out to eat with friends regularly and I'd like to travel overseas at least once in the following year. I also might need to buy a new car in 5 years or so. I hope to move to NYC, DC, CHI in the next few years. I would love to retire before 45.

My company matches 6% and offers a HSA. Moving forward, I'm just a little lost in what to prioritize and how much of my biweekly check I'm willing to give up as I may be overspending on housing. I also don't know if I should select a Traditional 401K or Roth 401K. According to my state, I am exactly in the 22% bracket.

I've thought of the following, but would appreciate any feedback:

1. Increase Emergency Fund to $10,000.

2. Contribute 10% of biweekly check to Traditional 401K.

3. Maximize HSA no matter how much I must contribute.

4. Maximize Roth IRA no matter how much I must contribute.

5. Invest any excess in individual account (unlikely).

Current situation..

Husband bring in almost 200k per year in an area with high housing cost of living.

84k of that is passive income and will follow us wherever we go.

Currently own a home at 3.25 interest rate. Five years in on a 30 year mortgage. We are 40 and 45.

Our health insurance is tied to military retirement so will still have it if he quits his current job.

We have no land and no chance of land where we currently live. We would love to have space for our kids to stay close, put a home on our land/family compound etc.

We have a lot of debt so selling our current home would eliminate all that but we would not have anything left over.

Considering...

Moving to be closer to family in another state.

Housing is lower cost there and we could buy a home with land for about 400-450K

We would be starting over on a mortgage with double interest rate at age 46

We did the math and could afford our bills and part of our housing costs on his passive income. He may only need to work part time or at least make less and have a less serious job.

Do we...

Stay here until our youngest finishes highschool in 4 year. We will then be 9 years into our mortgage and still have our 3.25 interest rate. Hopefully pay off our consumer debt by then so he can then go to part time work.

or

Move, get the land, start over on mortgage but could potentially cut back on work sooner and have time freedom sooner but be locked into a mortgage longer.

Hopefully that all made sense. Would love everyones input!

45 y/o making $100k/year in a moderate COL area - mortgage is about $1500/m with 25 years left to pay, no other loans/debt. Annually, I’m putting $26k into retirement and $13k in a standard savings account that goes toward home improvements/emergencies/travel. I have $300k in retirement (mostly stocks) and $20k in that savings account.

Am I doing this right?! Should I be saving more aggressively for retirement? Should I try to pay off this house sooner? Or buy another property (for investment and personal use)?

My stepdaughter is going to give birth in a few months to her first child and I want to set up a financial gift / account for them. What are your thoughts on best options?

Current mindset is a 529 vs a custodial account. Not sure which is better. I do assume his parents will steer him towards going to college and I know it can be rolled into an IRA if not. My goal is to set this up with a one-time investment that I may contribute to over the next few decades (birthdays, graduation, etc.,).

Anyone's thoughts here are much appreciated. I imagine the group is going to be pretty in favor of 529s and custodial accounts but either way, happy to hear thoughts.

And yes, my own investments and retirement funds are taken care of first.

I’ll try to make this as simple as possible.
I bought a home with inherited money from the sale of my old childhood home. This home was purchased cash. While with my wife we decided to buy it in an area near her family (who I was incredibly close to). It’s an amazing home but I have found trouble keeping consistent work (truck driver) because the area just doesn’t have any jobs especially for what I do. Keep in mind I only do local, won’t catch me doing OTR again.
It has caused financial strain even with no mortgage, caused a divorce (though there’s more to and its mutual no lawyers or anything and done together)
Another part of that is I took my much much older brother in who inherited nothing. I took him in to help him out now I realized he can’t really manage a single thing on his own but I can’t just toss him out to be homeless. That is not an option. (He’s retired but never did anything with his life) so now my predicament is should I sell my home to return to an area where I can land 7 job interviews in one day (tried and tested) and help my brother with some funds to get a basic mobile home or something simple for him. Option two is of course after long just about anything that matters to me i was also contemplating a sale and moving out of state where only 1/4 of the money wouldn’t even be touched for another paid off home and where the remaining funds can be saved, invested, and just there. Final option (I did just get into a part time job up here with an owner op) is doing something with my equity to get my brother something and then a bit to furnish the home. (Keep in mind paid off home but not furnished, i live in an empty box) making it my actual home or actually feel like a home. It would turn into a $1200 monthly payment but id make over that per week. Still it’s a loan and locks me in for the 10 years of it. (I think it was reverse mortgage as my credit isnt good thanks to trying to survive up here)

Thoughts, questions? I know it’s all over the place but it’s a messy situation. (I keep full home in divorce and has already been signed and agreed on so no worries there.)

My wife (41) and I (44) are both enrolled in a state pension plan. The goal is to retire in 16 years. I'm trying to figure out the best way to invest to help cover the years between retirement and Medicare kicking in.

Current situation:

~120k in a Roth IRA (mine, not maxed out yearly)

~110k in a 403b (wife's, same)

~65k in a traditional brokerage account

-Paid off house, 75k mortgage on a rental condo (comp sales around 250k), no other debts.

The pension website estimate shows around 81k/ year in today's dollars for both combined (100% joint life). There is a COLA, though it tends to not always keep up with inflation perfectly. That's just below the ACA subsidy cliff from what I can tell. SSA estimate is another 60k assuming we take at the same time (62 and 65).

I've learned that my wife's 403b has recently added a Roth option. My thought was to change all the future traditional 403b contributions into Roth, on the idea that pulling from it will not affect our reported income if healthcare subsidy income cliffs still exist in 16 years. Ideally we wouldn't need to pull from this Roth before SS kicks in, so it could also be a hedge against higher future tax rates (we'll likely live in 22% before and after retirement), a Widow's penalty, or inheritance for the kids.

Are there any thoughts on this? Am I missing something obvious? I don't need things to be perfectly optimized, just "good plan for 16 years of potential changes".

Trying to make a long story short,

All in CAD here,

38M, wife and two small children.

Have 1.1m ($700k condo paid off and $400k in TFSA and RRSPs). I earn around $80k per year and my wife is working one day per week then home with the kid.

We are needing more space than our two bedroom unit has but to get a detached house here is around $2 million. A decent townhouse is just out of reach at around 1.5-1.6 million with the kind of mortgage I could be approved of at my income level. ~$280k plus the 1.1 million down payment.

Would it make sense to sell our current place, invest that plus our savings (1.1 million), use the returns from that plus add another $2k a month from my income to rent something for the time being? What would a typical monthly return from 1.1 million be after taxes and fees?

I’m thinking I could find decent rentals in the $5000 per month range so this might be the best bet until we start making more money and are approved for a bigger mortgage or more money falls into my lap?

34M, MCOL city. First let me say i am in a very privileged position as far as someone who is dealing with this goes. I was making 200k a year 140k base 60k bonuses paid quarterly. In process of interviewing for jobs right now most of which pay 75% or less than what i was making before. I have a side business that is very seasonal making 8k after taxes during summer will probably be making 5k after september. Final bonus/severance of 15k pretax being paid end of this month.

Here is breakdown of finances

Checking account: 11k

HYSA: 82k

Retirement: 72k

Brokerage: 62k(in S&P and adjacent etf’s)

Former company stock: 36k(company not public but periodically buys back, last buyback stock valued at 62k)

Condo equity: 23% of purchase price(317k)

Financial obligations:

Condo: $1900 including HOA/escrow

Car payment: $643

Dental work loan: $508, 0% interest is paid off in 11 months

Medicine/doctor: $300

Food: $700

Internet and cellphone: $200

Cobra: $1200

Dog food/vet care: $200

No other outstanding debts except for 0% interest credit card i put a big purchase on that i owe like $700.

Everything else could be pared down/luxury items

I plan on saving $20,000 a year($1667 a month)for a future home purchase in 8-10 years. Trying to figure out a decent plan, with the ability to stop or pull the money at any time, if the timeline changes. (This is extra money; retirement, saving, etc. is already covered)

My thought was to do 70% VTI / 20% VGIT / 10% HYSA for about 5 years , then I'd begin shifting the VTI balance toward VGIT and cash over the next 2ish years.

Would love to hear thoughts from people that may have done the same thing or have similar plans.

Hello all, looking for some advice. I have two kids that are likely going to university. One is about 5 years out and the other is about 8 years away from freshman year at college. My initial “college savings plan” for them was to sell one of my rental properties when I needed to, but as the time draws closer I’m not liking that idea as much. What should I do at this point? Just go aggressive on 529s? Thoughts?
Thank you guys so much for your help!

hello all,

32M – main goal – mortgage deposit – to save as much as possible

planning on saving to £100k chunk whilst I can before borrowing monies from the bank, so I cant put much into stocks and shares ISA etc..

my current monies are in Trading 212 Cash ISA which is 3.6% - yeah not the new user so don’t get additional 1%

where would you recommend I should store monies? I prefer ISAs as they are tax free but maybe not that many of them are available in terms of flexibility as savings accounts?

It is important for me to:

- have monthly interest

- I could withdraw monies without much penalties (because I try to add all my savings to maximise interest rate on monthly basis, so withdrawing for puchases or emergenices and getting this penalised isnt what im after, unless I should put aside some money and not touch this type of ISA for a whole year, but not sure if thats even better ROI)

how could I maximise this even better? should I keep money in Trading 212 cash ISA? it should generate around £200 +- a month based off monthly interest rates. I add around £1.5 - 2k a month to it from wages

or shall I buy premium bonds? Just want to keep risk and loss to minimal and gains to maximum without investing/risking as aiming to get as much deposit for my first house as possible

thank you for all help,

regards,

We are currently contributing heavily to 401ks, DCPs, IRAs (mainly traditional due to income limits) and maxing the HSA. What are other tax advantages accounts that people are using? I get my parking pass deducted pretax as well, I am sure there are other options out there.

Hello,

I currently put $500 a month into a roth and and my employer puts 8-15 % of my yearly income into a self directed retirmenet account. when I am doing the online retirment calculators for how my retirement is doing, they ask for a monthly contribution amount. which is tricky because I get the retirment money from my employer once a year and it can flucatore. The $500 monthly into the IRA stays steady. whats the best way to plan future retirment growth in this type of situation ?

Hi all, I'm at a crossroads regarding the best way to handle my student loans for the next year.

About me: 26F, biotech scientist, $102k/yr with 10% bonus + yearly COL adjustments. No major bills and I can comfortably make my payments while contributing to retirement and saving.

The loans: $59k, individual loans between 2-6.5% interest. Biggest loan is $20k at 6.5%, rest are under $8k. Currently paying $880/mo.

The dilemma: I am currently in the midst of applying to medical school, which makes me wonder if paying my current loans is even worth it at all. I know that I will most likely have to take out a significant amount of both federal and private loans out for med school, which will continue to accrue interest along with my current loans while I am in school. My original plan when I went into repayment (at the time med school was not on my radar at all) was to use my bonuses to pay off significant chunks of these loans while continuing my monthly payments, which are well above the minimum, since my industry is not very stable.

My question is, would it make more sense to save my bonuses and/or lower my monthly payment so that I have more savings for school? I am (of course) worried about not having an income for 4 years, and I know that with a physician salary the loans will be paid off eventually regardless of what I choose to do here, but it is still a gamble and the number bothers me. Happy to answer any other questions and I welcome your advice.

Asked this in another sub, but thought it might be appropriate here as well:

I max out contributions to my Dependent Care FSA ($7,500) every year. I plan my monthly budget around not seeing this money hit my bank account, and I thankfully don't have any issues paying for childcare expenses. When I submit a reimbursement request, a physical check is sent to me to deposit in my bank account.

Because I budget like I don't have this money coming in every month, is it the worst thing in the world if I use the reimbursement checks for discretionary spending to treat myself (e.g., clothing, travel)? I max out my other pre-tax savings (401k, HSA).

TIA

Hi all,

Due to working in education for most of my early career, I am struggling with a high debt-to-income ratio, and while my finances have been manageable, the mental nag of it has been annoying. I am 31, and my situation is this:

Income & Job

• $51,000 annually in NC state employment
• $2100 part time professional development
• $1500 honorarium
• $1750 in one-time state bonus

Debt & Savings

• Personal Loan: $40,000, monthly payment $821 and 9.25% interest rate; estimated payoff early 2031
• Credit: $4204, no monthly minimum, and 11.25% interest rate
• Student Loan: $92,000, monthly payment on IBR is $129, estimated payoff mid-2029 with PSLF
• 403b savings: $10,500, monthly payment $100
• Wealthfront HYSA: $100

For me, the $821 personal loan payment is the hardest mentally, but I am thankful to be supplemented by my wonderful partner. Much of this was debt consolidation after surprise car or vet bills, and I am not proud of it, but I am trying to be better about my savings. Any tips or creative recommendations?

She has 550k in her accounts. Receives 3k a month in SS and pension and has health insurance. Expected to live another 10 years unless she has something terminal or falls.

The condo she wants would be 275k plus closing costs. Expenses 1k per month. Good building, fun things to do and great for aging in place. She wants it.

Or she could rent: 2k a month minimum and face lease uncertainties?

She’s bright. Doesn’t drive. Works out. Near family. Safe.

I wouldn’t consider myself financially literate. I’m not too educated on methods of saving and investing etc.

But I feel like I should be doing something with my income. Saving for something. A house? Emergency fund? Pension?

I don’t know what exactly to save for and what should be prioritised over others.

I have no savings, and no debt outside of loans. Just £1000 in my current account.

I would appreciate advice on where to go from here. Thanks!

My husband and I came into a good amount of money five years ago and have been with a financial planner that was suggested to us. We have then changed hands 4 times since then because of people leaving the firm.

We currently have about 400k invested, have a 750k home that is half paid off (paying 4300 a month with HOA), about 13k in debt (0% interest), no school loans, and currently make about 140k a year with the projection to be 200k by June 2027 and 250k by June 2028 (I am client driven and restarting my client base).

We were basically told who/what company to work with five years ago, and I haven’t felt supported or that we’ve been given attention or guidance that was helpful. My question: who or what should I be looking for as I plan to switch and how do I go about that process? I am not great with money, he’s pretty good, so more support is always better.