Jackson Hole Dec 2024 The most valuable model I ever built had nothing to do with Excel. On Wall Street, I loved modeling. Not walking the runway—financial modeling  (plus I'm way too short to model) Projecting cash flows. Stress-testing assumptions. Seeing a company's potential future. Now as a CFP, I do the same thing for people. Can they retire? Will they be okay? The model tells the story. But this spring break, I discovered a deeper kind of modeling. Henry went skiing in

I just finished reading 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 by Belle Burden. It's one of the best books I've read on what NOT to do with your money in a marriage. Belle was married to a successful hedge fund manager. Big house. Nice life. She thought she was set. But she made 3 mistakes that cost her millions: 𝟭. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. All the investments. All the bills. She had no idea how much money they were spending. Clueless. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼

NYC last summer I remember when I first got engaged. I loved looking at my diamond ring Two carats. Clear. Beautiful. I felt lucky. I had just started my career on Wall Street, riding the subway every morning as my boss did.  After getting married, having babies, a nanny, and a wonderful husband, my career took off.  But something funny happened one morning on the subway. I looked down at my ring and thought: Maybe I deserve a bigger one. Around me was the wealth of New York—

As we head into spring break, I had a small breakthrough. Yesterday I presented to the Harvard Business School Women’s Association. They reached out after I posted an article about my career pivot and the lessons I learned along the way. The title of the talk: From Net-Worth to Self-Worth: What Markets Taught Me About Identity, Loss, and Personal Alpha. I told the truth about the dips and valleys in my life and career. I talked about not avoiding pain — because if you lean in

New Canaan, CT Men's Club What I Told Men in New Canaan About Their Wives and Money While everyone knows there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. There's a third topic most couples hate discussing even more. Money. Tuesday, I spoke to my dad's men's club  (after my snowy run in Old Greenwich) —a room full of retired guys who've spent decades building portfolios. The topic?  How to talk to your partner about the stock market and money. I started with a question: Wha

early mornin' bacon experience A $2 savings on bacon taught me more about wealth than most finance books. Tuesday morning, I was unpacking my Walmart grocery delivery. Bacon. The microwave-ready kind. $7.98 delivered to my door. At Publix? Same bacon is $10. They pay premium rent.  Premium operating costs.  Premium prices. But here's what stopped me mid-unpack: The driver who brought my groceries earns maybe $10-15/hr with tips. No leverage. Paid by the hour. Trading time for

My husband told me to go f .. figure it out. I was in Houston. Three young kids. Money in the bank. And I was paralyzed with anxiety about whether I would have enough. On paper, I had nothing to worry about. But in my head, I was back in my childhood crappy Beverly Hills apartment, watching my mom do nothing about her financial future. Next week I'm speaking to my dad's men's club in New Canaan. (Just got postponed due to weather to Feb 10th! ) Topic: How to talk to your wif

What I’d Tell My 23-Year-Old Self About Money — and Climbing Mountains Greetings from Zermatt. The last time I stood here, I was in college. Same mountains. Same views. Completely different lens. Back then, I thought success was about earning altitude fast. Wall Street. Long hours. Steep climbs. No looking down. What I didn’t understand yet: Work isn’t just about earning — it’s about training for the next ascent. Here’s what the mountain (and money) taught me over 30 years: ⸻

(Photo: Henry noticed where my attention was and took one of my 6 CFP books I was reading to pass my Certified Financial Planning exam. ;-)  Greenwich → Houston → Atlanta. Each move for Rich's career meant starting over.  New city, new schools, zero network. But the real kicker came when Morgan Stanley held Rich's stock plan. As a "courtesy," they assigned us a financial advisor. When Rich kept dodging the guy's calls, he finally said, "Just talk to my wife." I was between ca

Caroline at 6 years old On Sat., Feb. 8th, 2014, I gave up my weekend morning to attend a parent education seminar at my daughter’s school — which, honestly, was the last thing I wanted to do with my time.  But I went because I was desperately searching for what was missing in my life. The topic was “organizational health” — not for companies, but for families. Married with three kids, living in Houston, my husband’s career was taking off, but I felt stuck. I didn’t believe i

boat to Martha's Vineyard (2019) Six years ago — summer of 2019 — we were having dinner with close friends from Houston on Martha’s...

photo is me trying to look tough with my mouse like Trinity from The Matrix Working at my desk, building a financial model, I slipped...

Fearless Girl When I worked at a hedge fund, pitching investment ideas to my boss was an adrenaline rush. I’d research a company, prepare...

Lately, it feels like chaos is everywhere. Trade cases. Court appeals. Volatile markets. Wacky job reports. High inflation. High interest...

Standing next to the Bull on Wall Street, I couldn’t help but think:  Every bubble looks different in the moment—but the story is always...

Block Island Five years ago, I started my own firm—and recently reached a big milestone: becoming SEC-registered.  That moment made me...

Forgot to take a photo at MJ, so took one after my daily run  Should every day be just a game? Over the last few years, I became an early...

(Like parallel park between two Porsches—one worth $700,000) I used to think my childhood struggles were unique.  But as I’ve gotten...

The original bulldog, ( Handsome Dan XIX) Not having gone to Yale you might have assumed I wouldn’t have had a great time at my husband’s...

When I was young and single at Harvard, I had a simple rule: if I didn’t sense he was into me, I’d move on. He’s just not that into you....