TFP #054: When Should You Hire A Financial Planner?

Read Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the 54th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

When should you hire a financial planner?

This was the title of a recent Ben Carlson blog.

It’s a question I get asked a fair amount, especially since we work with a predominantly younger group of clients (at least compared to the wealth management industry at large). 

Ben lists 7 of the biggest (but certainly not only) reasons you should hire a financial advisor.

I really liked his list so I decided to put a spin on it with 5 reasons people have hired us (and again, certainly not the only reasons).

Here they are.

TFP #053: Don't Tip The IRS

Read Time: 3 minutes

Welcome to the 53rd edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

If you have company stock, please, please, pretty please, make sure you report the correct cost basis.

It can be the difference between owing $7,000 and owing $10 (aka tipping the IRS).

I was chatting with someone earlier this week on LinkedIn and they were doing their taxes in TurboTax and they were surprised with how much taxes they still owed.

TFP #052: The 1% Difference: Small Changes = Big Impacts

Read Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the 52nd edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

In late 2023, a new client, let’s call her Sally, started working with us.

Sally was already doing quite well with her investments and career, but she felt something was missing with her financial strategy.

Despite already having an advisor, Sally wasn’t getting the proactive planning she needed.

Her investments were doing reasonably well enough, but when she asked questions about her comp plan, diversification, future planning, and budgeting, she didn’t get the answers she was looking for.

Her old advisor's advice was simple: “Just keep doing what you’re doing; you’re doing great.”

Indeed, Sally was, and is, doing great.

She’s propelled her career, increased her income, and grown her investments significantly over the past few years.

But “just keep doing what you’re doing” is a huge miss.

We believe that even when you’re doing 90%, 95%, or even 99% of things right, that remaining 1% can have a massive impact.

It’s that last piece that provides more flexibility and freedom in the years to come.

In our partnership with Sally, we went beyond the standard advice of “keep doing what you’re doing.” 

We dove into her compensation, put a plan in place for her company equity (both what she  has and what she will be getting), diversified her investments, and crafted a proactive plan for the years ahead

The result?

Sally not only continued her success but is now even better positioned for the future.

Why share Sally’s story?

Because it highlights a fundamental truth: even when you’re doing well, there’s almost always room for improvement.

It’s about making the most out of your income, your career, and your equity, and ensuring that every piece aligns for your future.

TFP #051: Should You Participate In Your Company’s Tender Offer?

Read Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 51st edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

When you work at a private company, the big dream for most is that your company goes IPO one day.

And while IPOs often grab headlines, it’s not the only way that you can turn your private company stock into cash.

The past few months we’ve helped several clients at two different private companies evaluate tender offers.

Tender offers are “a structured liquidity event that typically allows multiple sellers (including employees and early investors) to sell their shares either to another investor, a group of investors, or back to the company at a predetermined price. 

In other words, it’s a potential way for employees to sell their shares for cash while the company is still private

TFP #050: 2 Big Changes To The Procore 401k

Read Time: 7 minutes

Welcome to the 50th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

There are 2 big changes to the Procore 401k plan in 2024.

  1. A $5,000 cap on the Procore match

  2. Adding an after-tax contribution option to the 401k plan, with In-Plan conversion (if this sounds like gibberish, that’s to be expected)

Let’s dive into each and what this might mean for you.

TFP #049: How We Work With Clients

Read Time: 2 Minutes

Welcome to the 49th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

My typical client looks like this:

  • Tech employee with equity comp

  • Household income of $350k+ (potentially more once you factor in equity comp)

  • Good chance current / former Procore

  • Usually 1-2 kids (or planning on it) and probably a dog

  • High cost of living

  • Looking for someone to help them navigate all the complex planning that comes up.

Here are the 6 areas we cover for clients.

TFP #047: It's Ok To Pay Taxes

Read Time: 4.5 Minutes

Welcome to the 47th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter

Everyone feels like they are paying too much in taxes.

A common pain point

“We are getting killed in taxes. 

We make $300k-$500k+ as a W2 household and we routinely pay 5 to 6 figures in taxes every year. 

What can we do?

Unfortunately, there’s no magic wand that you can waive to make your taxes go away.

Spoiler alert: sometimes it’s ok to bite the bullet and pay the taxes.

Because saving (or deferring) taxes almost always comes at some sort of cost.

It’s usually costs you one of two things

  1. Access

  2. Less money in your pocket today

TFP #046: Thinking In Bets

Read Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the 46th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

I recently started the book Thinking In Bets by former pro poker player Annie Duke.

It’s not a book about poker, but about “how to get comfortable with uncertainty and make better decisions as a result.”

I love the sub title too - “Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All The Facts.”

Doesn’t that get down to the heart of financial planning?

We are trying to make good financial decisions today based on an unknown, uncertain future.

TFP #045: 4 Good Things I’ve Read Lately

Read Time: 7 minutes

Welcome to the 45th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) Newsletter.

I’m not sure if it’s coincidence or timing but lately I’ve come across some great financial wisdom that I wanted to share with you.

Advice on saving, managing uncertainty, wealth, and investing in down markets

In this newsletter I’ll share 4 excerpts from blogs / books I’ve read lately with some thoughts & observations.

TFP #044: A Doctor Who Cares

Read Time: 5 minutes

Carly and I are expecting our first kid early next year (and no, we aren’t finding out if it’s a boy or girl).

With that comes a lot of doctor appointments (and doctor bills, but that’s a different story). While we are still a few months away, we recently started researching potential pediatricians. Many things “kid-related” in Santa Barbara are in short supply - OB/GYNs, pediatricians, daycare, and so forth. Credit to Carly, she’s been very on top of getting us appointments and on waitlists.

On Wednesday we met with a potential pediatrician, and it was such a pleasant surprise. 

TFP #043: How Is Financial Planning Different For Tech Employees?

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Welcome to the 43rd edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) Newsletter.

What on earth is financial planning, and how is it unique for people in tech?

Or put more simply, what is it that we actually do with clients?

In this newsletter we’ll break down what financial planning is, both broadly and for our clients, and some ways we’ve helped clients this year.

TFP #040: 5 Ideas to Save Taxes With Your RSUs

Read Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the 40th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

If you work at a public tech company, RSUs can represent a significant portion of your total compensation

While you can’t control the timing of when your RSUs are taxed, there are ways to use your RSUs to lower your total tax bill.

Either now or in the future.

In this newsletter we’ll break down 5 possible ways to use your RSUs to reduce taxes, run through an example, and importantly, consider when you don’t want to use these strategies.

TFP #039: 5 Money Myths

Read Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 39th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

Over the past few years of working with tech professionals, I’ve discovered a number of myths and half-truths that people believe.

And more importantly, they are driving people’s behavior around money.

In this newsletter, we’ll break down 5 common myths I have heard and why they aren’t true.

TFP #037: Covered Calls - A Case Study

Read Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the 37th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter

If you have a big bunch of company stock, figuring out what to do with it can be paralyzing

While the textbook answer is to sell most (all) and diversify, that is easier said than done.

In this newsletter, we’ll break down a case study of how we are using covered calls to diversify a client’s holdings while generating thousands of dollars in income

TFP #036: 2 Questions To Ask Yourself When Your RSUs Vest

Read Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 36th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

If you receive RSUs, you’ll need to decide what you will do when your shares vest.

Otherwise you may be sitting on a ticking (tax and financial) time bomb.

In this newsletter we’ll break down the 2 questions you should be asking yourself when your RSUs vest, plus 2 planning examples based on client scenarios we’ve worked through.

TFP #035: 7 Common Mistakes People Make With Their Stock Options

Read Time: 5 minutes

Welcome to the 35th edition of the Tech Financial Planning (TFP) newsletter.

Uncle Ben (of Spiderman) famously said “with great power comes great responsibility.”

And if Uncle Ben were a financial advisor talking about stock options, I think he’d expand on this quote and say with “with great stock options comes great responsibility, and if you’re not careful, great mistakes.”

(Insert groaning at this awful attempt at humor)

In this newsletter we’ll break down 7 common mistakes people make with their stock options.