🎓 What CFP® Training Is Teaching Me About 529 Plans
As I progress through CFP® certification, one principle becomes increasingly clear: college funding outcomes are driven less by savings vehicles themselves and more by how assets are classified within the financial aid formula.
This is especially true with 529 plans.
A 529 remains a highly effect...
Feb 10, 2026
📉 “Social Security Is Running Out”
How CFPs Actually Plan for This Risk
The idea that Social Security is “running out” creates real anxiety.For many people, it leads to one of two extremes: ignoring Social Security entirely or assuming it will not exist at all.
From a CFP perspective, neither approach is accurate or helpful.
Socia...
Feb 08, 2026
📉 The Step Up in Basis
One of the least understood tax benefits of home ownership is something called the step up in basis.
It rarely shows up in social media conversations about wealth.But from a CFP perspective, it plays a meaningful role in long term planning, estate strategy, and intergenerational wealth.
This is n...
Feb 08, 2026
🎓 Using a Roth IRA as a Flexible Education Funding Tool for Older Parents
As I move deeper into my CFP® studies, one theme keeps resurfacing:the importance of flexibility when planning later in life.
This is especially relevant for older parents, caregivers, and family members who want to support a child’s education while still protecting their own retirement security....
Feb 05, 2026
🧾 What I’m Learning About Whole Life, IUL, and “Tax Benefits”
As I go deeper into my CFP® studies, one thing keeps coming up again and again: life insurance is one of the most misunderstood tools in personal finance.
Especially when it’s marketed to nurses.
Whole Life and Indexed Universal Life (IUL) do have tax advantages.But they are often presented witho...
Feb 05, 2026
A Tax Move I See Nurses Miss (Especially in Uncertain Years)
I want to talk about a tax topic I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, both as a finance coach and as someone deep in my CFP studies.
It’s not flashy.It’s not complicated.But it can quietly make a big difference, especially in years where income feels uncertain.
Tax withholding.
I know not the m...
Feb 05, 2026
🧮 Vesting Schedules & Employer Match (The Part That Actually Changes the Math)
One thing I’m noticing more and more as I study for the CFP® exam is how often vesting schedules and employer matching formulas materially change outcomes and how rarely they’re fully understood.
This isn’t just HR fine print.It’s compensation.And it’s math.
🧮 Employer Match ≠ Free Money (Until ...
Jan 25, 2026
🔁 Backdoor Roth IRA: Don’t Pay Tax on the Same Money Twice
What That Confusing 1099-R Is Actually Telling You
One of the things I’m learning deeper in my CFP® journey is this:tax forms don’t explain themselves and they often look scarier than they are. A perfect example? The Form 1099-R you receive after doing a backdoor Roth conversion.I recently saw a...
Jan 22, 2026
💸 From My CFP Journey: When “Tax-Free” Still Costs You Real Money
Another moment from my CFP® journey where I had to pause and say:oh… this is not intuitive, and people need to understand this.
One of the topics my CFP mentors have been drilling into lately is how health insurance subsidies interact with investment decisions, especially for early retirees.
Beca...
Jan 21, 2026
🌱 From My CFP Journey: What I’m Learning About Roth IRAs
One thing I’ve loved about being deep in my CFP® studies is how often my thinking gets challenged.
Not in a “you were wrong” way, but in a “you’ve been taught a simplified version of this” way.
Recently, one of my CFP mentors brought up something that stopped me in my tracks:
Roth IRAs were neve...
Jan 20, 2026
⚖️ Why We Use Both Roth and Pre-Tax Accounts
And why Roth often shines in lower-income years
A recent client win sparked a great planning conversation.
Even while working PRN, they chose to contribute a modest percentage to a Roth 403(b). This wasn’t about doing the most. It was about choosing the right tool for this season.
From a CFP® per...
Jan 20, 2026
📋 What You Should Know About Pensions (Especially as a Nurse)
As I move deeper into CFP® coursework, one thing keeps coming up:
Pensions aren’t rare. They’re just misunderstood.And for nurses, that misunderstanding can quietly cost flexibility, options, or clarity.
Here’s how CFP planning frames pensions — and what that means for you in real life.
🧠 First:...
Jan 20, 2026