Beyond Finances
Business & Economics Podcasts
Beyond Finances provides motivated professionals with young families with new ideas and perspectives on how to use money and strategic financial planning to get more of what you want from life. Each episode features real, direct, and nuanced conversations about the challenge of planning for the long-term - while we live in the here and now. The podcast seeks to go beyond basic financial advice, rules of thumb, and spreadsheet math to help listeners think more deeply and clearly about how to optimize personal finances while also fully experiencing what matters most along the way. Hosted by Eric Roberge, CFP, a fee-only financial advisor who helps his clients take advantage of opportunities while minimizing risk, Beyond Finances aims to translate the theory of advice into the actual practice of using money as a tool to build wealth while enjoying life now. Eric founded Beyond Your Hammock, a wealth management firm based in Boston MA but serving clients virtually with the goal of giving motivated professionals a strategic approach to building wealth that considers all aspects of life, not just finances - one that allows clients to live well today while still planning responsibly for the future. The show is co-hosted by Kali Roberge, who runs operations and marketing for Beyond Your Hammock - and is also Eric's business partner and spouse. Their open, authentic, and vulnerable conversations help listeners see both what's possible when you know how to leverage your resources of time, energy, and money to build wealth - but also what tough decisions, tradeoffs, and challenges working couples with young families might face along the way. There are a lot of options for growing and securing wealth - but the only possibility that matters is the one that actually works for you. If you're tired of black and white advice, join us for conversations about financial planning and wealth building that actually dig into the nuance of creating your own unique path to financial success. Ready to go beyond the podcast? You can reach out to Beyond Your Hammock at team@beyondyourhammock.com or go to BeyondYourHammock.com/Schedule to request a complimentary consultation complete with personalized one-page financial plan.
Location:
United States
Description:
Beyond Finances provides motivated professionals with young families with new ideas and perspectives on how to use money and strategic financial planning to get more of what you want from life. Each episode features real, direct, and nuanced conversations about the challenge of planning for the long-term - while we live in the here and now. The podcast seeks to go beyond basic financial advice, rules of thumb, and spreadsheet math to help listeners think more deeply and clearly about how to optimize personal finances while also fully experiencing what matters most along the way. Hosted by Eric Roberge, CFP, a fee-only financial advisor who helps his clients take advantage of opportunities while minimizing risk, Beyond Finances aims to translate the theory of advice into the actual practice of using money as a tool to build wealth while enjoying life now. Eric founded Beyond Your Hammock, a wealth management firm based in Boston MA but serving clients virtually with the goal of giving motivated professionals a strategic approach to building wealth that considers all aspects of life, not just finances - one that allows clients to live well today while still planning responsibly for the future. The show is co-hosted by Kali Roberge, who runs operations and marketing for Beyond Your Hammock - and is also Eric's business partner and spouse. Their open, authentic, and vulnerable conversations help listeners see both what's possible when you know how to leverage your resources of time, energy, and money to build wealth - but also what tough decisions, tradeoffs, and challenges working couples with young families might face along the way. There are a lot of options for growing and securing wealth - but the only possibility that matters is the one that actually works for you. If you're tired of black and white advice, join us for conversations about financial planning and wealth building that actually dig into the nuance of creating your own unique path to financial success. Ready to go beyond the podcast? You can reach out to Beyond Your Hammock at team@beyondyourhammock.com or go to BeyondYourHammock.com/Schedule to request a complimentary consultation complete with personalized one-page financial plan.
Twitter:
@beyondfinances
Language:
English
Episodes
How Kids Change You - and Your Financial Plan
8/25/2023
How kids change you can be delightfully surprising. But they'll change your financial plan, too, in ways that might be challenging if you don't know how to adjust.
In what is probably news to no one, things change when you have kids.
You know your responsibilities will shift. Your schedule will probably get upended. The smaller your children are, the less personal freedom you may have.
How you experience all this, however, is unknowable.
The process itself alters who you are now, and how you perceive and react to your life with kids in ways that you could not have even imagined when you were childfree.
If you yourself are changed, you can expect your financial plan will need some adjustments too!
You’re going to have new goals. Your regular, ongoing expenses increase. You’re financially responsible for more; more can go wrong simply because there are more variables in the form of another human being in your life that you must care for and protect.
We dig into all this and more in this episode, where we share:
Duration:00:29:01
Money Tips from a Boston Financial Planner: Your Questions, Answered
8/4/2023
You asked - now we answer your specific financial questions and try to provide clarity on some money situations that lots of folks tend to find themselves in.
We share our insights on:
Have a question you want featured on a future episode? Email team@beyondyourhammock.com
Duration:00:29:24
Protecting Family Wealth: How to Safeguard Your Assets and Your Stuff
7/14/2023
In the last episode of our 3-part series on strategic planning for your finances is all about protecting family wealth. If you're working hard to build assets, you need to protect that growing net worth - and part of that is making sure you and your family will be financially stable no matter what curveballs you may face along the way.
Instead of just running through "insurance 101" or defining parts of an estate plan, we're pulling back the curtain and showing you what a financial planner has for his personal finances and why he has it.
We'll discuss the types of insurance policies we personally have, and walk through the documents that make up our estate plan. Expect to hear:
-- Why we have to have this conversation in the first place - because it's not enough to build wealth. You have to protect it (and yourself, and your family) too!
-- What we looked for in a health insurance plan
-- The property & casualty insurance you have to have, and a separate, additional policy you might want to consider as well
-- What kind of life insurance we each have and what purpose it serves
-- The importance of disability insurance for professional couples
-- How we've protected ourselves, our family, and our stuff with a comprehensive estate plan, what an estate plan actually does (it's WAY more than just wills!), and why almost everyone needs some type of estate plan for themselves, regardless of how much money you have
If you've made it this far, you know the importance of putting financial goals and decisions in the context of your values so you can sort through competing priorities. You know you need to build a financial plan that uses specific strategies to address your particular challenges and opportunities. And you understand that planning is key - but investing is critical, if you want to build real wealth.
Once that wealth-building machine is in motion, don't leave it vulnerable. Start here to understand the steps you can take to start protecting family wealth - which includes you and your loved ones, too.
Duration:00:27:10
Strategic Planning, Part II: Investment Management
6/23/2023
Welcome back to our series on strategic planning for your personal finances. Today's episode is part II, and we're covering all things investment management.
We'll talk through what you need to do to put together a sound investment strategy for yourself, and the to-dos any investment manager should take (whether that's you as a DIYer, or an advisor who you hire to manage your assets for you).
This episode covers:
Ultimately, you should understand your investment stategy and why you set it, so you can stick to it when things get wonky in the markets (which is inevitable over time).
Finally, we'll give you the most important strategic planning advice for going through the process of setting up an investment management system that works for you: a good strategy, stuck with over time, is better than the "best" strategy you found only after trying multiple different things and interrupting your progress with each change.
Let's dive in and get into some investment management!
Duration:00:34:31
Using a Strategic Planning Process for Your Finances (Pt I)
6/9/2023
You've heard the term "financial plan" or "financial planning" a million times. But what does it actually look like to go through that process?
Today we're sharing how we construct strategic plans for personal finances. We'll take you to the inner workings of the framework and systems we use at Beyond Your Hammock to help people use their money as a tool to get more of what they want in life - now and into the future.
This is part one of our series that will explain the 5 stages of the financial planning process:
Our first episode will cover stages 1 & 2. Let's get planning!
Duration:00:30:56
How to Better Manage Bonus Money and Other Lump Sum Payments
3/24/2023
Do you earn bonuses, commissions, grants of equity comp, or other types of variable income? Then you better know not just how to manage it, but also how to optimize these lump sum cash inflows to help you achieve your goals and grow your wealth.
In this episode, we'll explain how to do it. Join us as we discuss:
For our financial planning clients, managing lump sum cash inflows is a constant conversation. Getting this right becomes especially important when we're talking about total incomes of $500,000 or more, when half or more of that sum will hit quarterly, semi-annually, or even once a year.
Managing big lump sums like that is a skill; cash flow management can get complex not just due to the size of these cash infusions, but due to timing. This episode will help you strategize and plan around your variable income so you can achieve your most important financial goals.
Duration:00:25:02
Should the SECURE 2.0 Act Change Your Financial Plan?
2/17/2023
New rules and regulations pushed forward by the SECURE 2.0 Act might impact how your manage your money right now, and into the future. Here's what you need to know.
The SECURE 2.0 Act is a 1.7 trillion dollar spending bill passed by Congress in 2022. This legislation's scope went far beyond "let's adjust how retirement plans work," but the details within the bill did change many rules relating to retirement plans
Therefore, it changed the strategies you need to consider for managing yours as part of your overall financial plan.
This conversation proves the point we make all the time: you have to build a plan that can flex and bend with changing realities. In this case, those changes include:
If you're ready to check and see if your financial plan needs an update, join us in this conversation about what the SECURE 2.0 Act changed and how it affects your personal finances.
Duration:00:23:48
Managing Money Together: How to Handle Finances in Your Relationship
1/20/2023
Money and marriage is a serious topic, if only because getting it wrong can lead to devastating results: 48% of people report fighting about money; 60% of those fights tend to be about spending. 41% of Gen Xers and 29% of baby boomers surveyed by TD Ameritrade report that money was a direct cause of a divorce, and some research shows that disagremeents about money are a leading predictor of future divorce.
So today, we're not just talking about money. We might be saving your marriage, too!
We'll share the best strategies for managing money as a couple. We'll not just provide some big-picture tactics you can use - but also share the details on what we do and how we divide the responsibilities of financial planning and management in our own household.
Money touches every aspect of your life. And everyone has different money mindsets, perspectives, experiences. It's almost like a setup for an argument. It's inescapable, and it's also very likely that you are going to disagree on the right course of action more than just occasionally.
So how do you work it out? How can you effectively manage money together? Tune in for our tips - and our specific recommendation on whether you should combine or separate your finances within your married life.
Duration:00:32:49
How Much You Need to Save in 2023
1/6/2023
In this episode, we're sharing our 4-step framework to help you hone in on a savings rate that's right for you.
If you ask 10 different people how much you need to save per year to set yourself up for a secure financial future, you will probably get at least 15 different answers. It's confusing! And even if you go with the most common answer to "how much do I need to save," which may be 10 to 15 percent of your gross income each year, that might still not get you to the right answer FOR YOU.
(Spoiler alert: 10 to 15 percent probably isn't going to be enough.)
So how DO you figure out this complicated, confusing question that EVERYONE, regardless of income or financial status or goals that they have, needs to ask and answer?
Tune in to get the framework, and join in on the conversation as we walk through some specific savings rates to discuss why they do or don't work.
Duration:00:29:14
The Best Short-Term Investments: What to Know (and What to Avoid)
12/23/2022
It's your money, and you need it now! In this episode, we discuss the best short-term investments when you want to earn a return from your cash - without exposing it to a risk of loss. We cover:
We wrap up the conversation with a lightning round of dos-and-don'ts, questions-and-answers on the best short-term investments you might want to consider for your own cash - and a warning on why it's almost never "different this time."
Duration:00:25:10
The Only Constant Variable in Finance (and Life)
12/9/2022
The only constant variable that you can truly rely on is change.
This is what makes financial planning so hard. An actual plan that you put down on paper is outdated before the ink is even dry, because every single piece of new information will throw your charts and your projections and your linear action steps out of whack.
Plus, there's no one variable that you can plug in to account for "change." You cannot pin it down or make it more concrete. It's inherently unknowable, usually unpredictable, and rarely attributable to any one thing.
And yet you have to deal with it anyway. In this episode, we discuss a few strategies for working with change (rather than having it work against your plans), including:
Duration:00:27:34
Lessons from Tech Industry Failures: How to Avoid Implosions in Your Own Personal Finances
11/25/2022
Massive layoffs at Facebook and Amazon. Stumbles at Google and Lyft. A shaky year in the stock market for the tech giants - all capped off by a tremendously spectacular blowup at crypto platform FTX.
The idea that "current success is the biggest indicator of an upcoming failure" seems especially resonate these days amid headline after headline about highly-regarded companies that missed the mark on sustainable growth. So what can these tech industry giants teach us about our personal finances? Join us in this episode as we walk through the takeaways we can apply to our own lives and personal financial situations.
We explain the importance of setting reasonable expectations for yourself and your money, the dangers of believing in silver-bullet solutions, how to layer in stabilizing features into your financial plan when you construct it, why you need to properly assess risks (and how those risks aren't limited to what you personally choose to be involved in, but how you can be impacted by factors you didn't see coming), how to properly make a speculative bet in any financial market to protect yourself from too much downside, and much more.
Duration:00:27:37
How to Pay Less Taxes: 5 Strategies to Reduce Your Tax Burden
11/11/2022
Want to pay less in taxes? Who doesn't! In this episode of the show, we're talking through 5 ways that you can significantly reduce your tax exposure, and therefore save money by not sending so much of it off to the IRS.
Today, we're discussing strategies to:
1. Create liquidity from investments without triggering taxable events
2. Grow tax-free wealth
3. Pay less on investment gains
4. Get more money into tax-advantaged retirement accounts (even when you make too much to contirbute to those accounts directly)
5. Avoid paying income tax entirely
If you're ready to learn (legally!) how to pay less taxes, this tactical episode is for you.
Duration:00:30:06
Math: It's Irresponsible!
10/28/2022
It might sound a bit odd coming from the finance pros, but it's true: it's irresponsible to use math alone to build a financial plan.
That's because money isn't a math problem. Too often we think we can just plug numbers into a formula and rely on the answer that it generates, but that leaves out a lot of variables that often matter more than the baseline numbers.
So what DO we look at instead? We share three major considerations:
-- Understanding your financial reality and respecting what the numbers say about TODAY
-- Adding color and context that reflects the fact that your financial decisions are made with the long-term in mind... but that you actually have to live your life in the day-to-day moments
-- Managing the emotional challenges that come with trying to align your money, your time, and your energy in a way that allows you to get more of what you want
We'll cover the 3-step framework we use to navigate the complex thought process that's required when making money decisions that actually work in real life... and along the way, we'll explain why spreadsheets and calculations only play a supportive role rather than a starring one.
Duration:00:22:55
7 Steps to a Foolproof Financial Plan
10/14/2022
As financial planners, we spend every day working to build foolproof financial plans. A foolproof financial plan is one that you can stick to, that you can execute, consistently over time - even through challenging times or unexpected setbacks.
In this episode of the podcast, we're discussing 7 key aspects that we look at when trying to create plans that can withstand the wear and tear (and unpredictability) of everyday life:
Following these 7 steps can help you construct a foolproof financial plan that provides freedom and flexibility both right now and into the future. And freedom with our finances means access to the ultimate marker of success: having the choice and flexibility in how we spend our time.
Ready to get your foolproof financial plan in place so you can enjoy these benefits? Jump into this episode now!
Duration:00:28:15
How to Use Your 401(k) to Retire Early
9/30/2022
If you don't know how much you can really put into a 401(k), you may be missing out. We shine a light on the 401(k)s facts most people don't know, and uncover opportunities to save more so you can accelerate your progress toward your financial goals.
Today on the show, we explain:
- The real maximum you can contribute to a 401(k) each year - and it's not just $20,500!
- The critical elements you need to look for within a 401(k) plan document, including what contributions are allowed, if employers make discretionary contributions, special withdrawal rules and conversions, and details on vesting schedules.
- The overfunding mistakes we see clients make, and the manual math it takes to correct those.
- The two main strategies to consider if you want to use your 401(k) to retire early - and access your money without penalties.
- The role tax planning plays in getting the most from your 401(k)... whether you want to retire early or not.
...and more. Most people take their 401(k)s for granted, and don't ask enough questions about how to optimize those plans. If you're ready to correct that mistake and start maximizing what you can do with your 401(k) - or even use it to help you retire early - this episode is for you.
Duration:00:28:58
Financial Planning To-Dos for Expecting Parents
9/16/2022
Having a baby or adding more children to the family is a big decision - and there are some major financial implications to this life milestone. On today's episode, we're sharing our own experience of the financial planning considerations we took into account when deciding if we wanted children - and how we financially prepared once we knew we wanted to have a baby.
We discuss the practical considerations, from health insurance to cash flow and emergency funds, as well as how kids might impact your long-term financial plan (and whether or not those are tradeoffs you want to accept).
We also look at - regardless of where you fall on the having-kids or child-free debate - you need to create wiggle room and the ability to make an unexpected left turn int oyour financial plan (as well as how to do just that).
Duration:00:24:32
Managing Equity Comp: How to Balance the Risks and Rewards
3/19/2021
49: Leveraging equity compensation is one of the potential avenues we previously highlighted for use on the road to building wealth. But to enjoy the rewards, you have to know how to manage the risks along the way.
Many industries offer a piece of ownership to company employees through equity compensation packages. If you receive equity, you might get incentive stock options (ISOs), non-qualified stock options (NQSOs), restricted stock, restricted stock units (RSUs), or have the ability to participate in an employer stock purchase plan (ESPP).
Any type of equity compensation can supercharge your ability to grow your assets in a short period of time. But with high potential for reward comes the real threat of risk and loss. Successfully leveraging your equity compensation will require you to strike the right balance between reaping the benefits and protecting against the downsides.
Today on the show, we provide a general overview of equity compensation and how to manage it to your advantage. We cover:
Duration:00:29:57
What It Takes to Manage Investments Well
2/19/2021
48: Lots of people think they're good DIY investors. But they miss a lot of nuance, and make a lot of mistakes. Here's what it really takes to manage investments well.
If you invested in the market over the last 10 years… it was easy to win. The markets climbed up and up, with the longest bull market in history running from 2009 to 2020.
Even a global pandemic wasn’t enough to keep the markets down in the spring of 2020. Stocks cratered and lost 30% of value in March — but had you not paid attention in the spring and only looked at market performance around August of that year, you might not know anything happened at all as the big indices hit record highs once more by late summer.
The real question, especially for DIY investors who have had success and see themselves as good at portfolio management, is this:
Will you keep seeing these same results going forward?
Knowing the mistakes DIY investors make, there’s no guarantee you’ll keep winning unless you know what pitfalls to look out for and avoid.
In this episode, we’re looking at the common areas in which average investors consistently misstep. We’re also sharing our perspective as professional investment managers on what makes or breaks a DIY investor.
The bottom line? Hiring a professional to manage your assets for you or going the DIY route are both good options. The right choice for you depends on precisely who you are and whether or not you have the skills, time, and expertise to avoid the mistakes we cover today.
Today, we’re looking at:
not And more. This is a big one, and a must-listen for anyone considering how they can better manage their own portfolio… or for anyone who doesn’t understand why you’d ever hire an investment manager.
If you think investment management is just asset allocation and picking an index fund or two, there’s a lot you might be missing. Get in the loop by queuing up this episode of the show.
Duration:00:23:36
Make Your Money Goals Easier to Achieve
1/22/2021
47: Today on the show, we discuss a key strategy in making your money goals easier to achieve, faster. It's all about the FPA framework: focus, prioritize, and act.
In this episode, we cover:
avoid,easier
We also share our number-one personal financial goal and priority that we set each year, and how you can accomplish it yourself if you want to work toward it with us.
Duration:00:23:23