Most of my clients are in their 30s and 40s, and many of them are either starting families or adding to them. Many of these soon-to-be parents ask me, “how much do we need to save before having a baby? What should we have in the bank before we start thinking about having kids?” It’s…
A Trust Fund for Kids: Does Your Family Need One?
For most people, the phrase “trust fund baby” does not come with positive associations. It’s a description that conjures images of spoiled children that may grow up to be dilettantes as adults; of people that seem divorced from the reality of working for a living or being financially responsible for their own futures. But setting…
3 Advanced Techniques to Elevate Your Financial Strategy
A lot of general money advice focuses on the fundamentals; there’s no shortage of tips out there that promise to teach you how to save, budget, spend less, and maybe even make more. This advice is important, and shouldn’t be dismissed. You can’t reach major success without mastering the basics (and in fact, more than…
How to Better Manage Money with Just Two Simple Rules of Thumb
Personal finance doesn’t need to be overly complicated. Yes, the complexity in your financial life will increase as you build assets and grow wealth—but don’t confuse complex for overly elaborate and impossible to understand. At the end of the day, most of what it takes to reach (and maintain) financial success comes down to some…
How to Build a Bulletproof Balance Sheet
Too often, we equate being conservative or risk-averse with missing opportunities, or missing chances to grow wealth. While there is such a thing as being too hesitant or too cautious, there’s a good reason to lean toward less risk when doing long-term planning. Even if you feel highly comfortable with risk or actively seek it…
Looking for Your 2021 Financial Goal? Try This One
This essay was written by BYH’s creative director, Kali Roberge. It was published on Business Insider, and we’ve republished a version of it here. If you’re looking for insight into the kinds of goals we set each year, or need inspiration for your own 2021 focus, read on to learn about our number-one annual priority…
Is Your Financial Plan Missing This X Factor?
We originally wrote this this piece for Kiplinger, where it was first published. We’ve provided an updated version for the BYH blog here. There is no shortage of great content available for those who want to build a sound financial plan that considers how you may want to retire someday (especially if you want to…
Managing Money as a Couple: Tips and Tricks to Get It Right
If you ask 10 different couples how they manage their money, you’ll probably get 10 different answers… including something along the lines of “We don’t. Budget? What budget?” Let me go ahead and say that might be the only wrong answer here. Some couples keep separate finances, both before and after marriage. Others combine everything…
The Surprising Skill You Need If You Want to Maximize Your Money
The other day, my wife, Kali, mentioned she wanted to thank me for something. We recently bought a home we both love in upstate New York. It sits on a little mountain and has an incredible, western-facing view. We were sitting on the deck watching a gorgeous sunset (an activity we don’t imagine tiring of…
The Unusual Financial Planning Process to Buy a Vacation Home
My wife and I rarely do anything in what could be described as “the usual way.” We think outside the box and generally choose to forge our own path instead of following the well-known and mainstream; from the fact that we’re both extremely independent and prefer to work for ourselves to choosing to rent in…