Eleanor Hall

I have always wanted to run a marathon. Doing so had been on my “to-do” list for a while, but I kept waiting for the perfect time to sign up (whatever that meant anyway). Last August, I decided 2023 would be the year to finally do it! And let me tell you, that perfect time or set of circumstances I kept waiting for, never came. But I am getting there – with a training plan. Most times you just need to start today, where you are, and that’s okay. Following a training plan has not been easy. You have to wake up every day and make certain choices that align with your end goal and the journey to get there. It takes discipline.

As we continue Women’s History Month and, after reading my colleagues’ thoughtful and empowering articles, I began to think about its origin and the meaning it holds to me. A quick google search and I learned that women’s history was first nationally recognized as a week-long celebration in 1980. Another year that comes to mind is 1920, the year that the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote.

As a parent to a toddler, my world is filled with chaos. As most parents would probably agree, the toddler stage is an interesting one. One minute could be great and the next, you’re on the verge of a mental breakdown over something as small as a tortilla. Yes, my son had an epic meltdown because his tortilla folded in half and tore. With the uncertainty of the day to day that comes with parenting a toddler, one thing that is certain is my goal to start saving for his education.

Welcome to Women’s History Month — the women of One Wealth Advisors are taking over! As I dive deeper into the financial industry, having had no prior financial background or education in the field, I find myself reflecting on the elements that contribute to why there are not more women in finance. We know girls and boys like math at similar rates in elementary school, and that for girls their interest wanes by middle school. By college, my sociology classes were mostly made up of my female classmates, and my economics classes leaned more heavily male. I pursued a sociology degree for multiple reasons, but I also can’t help but notice how comfortable I was speaking in those classes compared to my economics classes. I wonder what my experience would have been like had the gender make-up of those classes been reversed, or if I had been taught from a young age by society to believe I could excel in math.

I’m wondering how I got here. Why I, the newest and youngest member of the One Wealth team, am writing to you about February’s theme of Retirement Planning. But when David Steele, founder and managing partner at One Wealth, asked me if I thought about retirement, I said, “Yes. Of course.”

To Roth or not to Roth – this is a question that we often hear from clients who participate in their employer sponsored 401K or 403B plans (or if not covered by an employer sponsored plan, which is rare, then a traditional or Roth IRA). Often these plans offer a Roth option in addition to the traditional tax-deductible salary deferral. For the most part, the answer to this question hinges on one variable – do you believe your tax bracket will be higher now or in retirement? Roth contributions have no immediate tax benefit whereas traditional contributions are income tax deductible.

Financial Planning is a process, and at it’s core, one that is ongoing. At One Wealth Advisors, our aim is to develop financial plans for clients with the notion that the plan becomes the baseline for decision making moving forward. However, financial plans, more often than not, evolve into something that look vastly different – 5, 10 even 20 years down the road. Circumstances change – careers change, income rises, we get older, children are born, grow up, go to college etc., etc. Hence, that baseline financial plan should reflect those dynamics, embodying what we like to call a “living – breathing” document. And much like our “living-breathing” bodies, the plan should be given a regular “check-up”.

A survey conducted last year found that money remains the top source of stress for Americans, regardless of income. Understandably, a combination of recent events such as high inflation, supply chain issues, and geo-political uncertainty have aggravated this feeling. One effective way to react to stressors, is to focus on the elements that are in our control and create a plan of action for them. While we cannot control inflation and global uncertainty, we can manage the ways in which we spend and save.

A healthy relationship requires accountability, so why would we treat our relationship with money any differently, and why does the topic of money create anxiety in relationships?

The answer to these questions likely come from issues stemming from our childhood, or other life events. Financial advice can help remedy these issues, but we first need to learn about the history of our relationship with money.

We dedicate the month of January to the broad topic of financial planning and I have the pleasure of writing the 2023 inaugural Thought of the Week. Last week, as I was mulling over what to write about, I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal that reminded me of the now 85-year running Harvard Study of Adult Development.