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Financial Planning

How to Beat (Life) Stage Fright

By Sallie Krawcheck

It really is that season, isn’t it? If you’re at a certain stage of life.

At dinner this past weekend, my daughter was listing off the number of weddings she'll be going to this year … including a few in the not-typically-very-bridal month of November. She said that her Instagram feed is all new engagements. 

Proving her point, she picked up her phone as we were paying the check and discovered that one of her college friends just got engaged — and that one of her K-through-high-school friends also just got engaged. All during one dinner.

I guess May is in fact peak engagement season. 

Which will quickly move into wedding season. Then, after a pause, it will be homebuying season; and then, for some, baby season; and then, for some, divorce season.

Each of these life stages may not seem to be about money. But they’re not not about money: working through how to manage the money, how to spend the money, how much money to save, what your money values are. At one level, this is simply a form of housekeeping; at another level, money can represent the balance of power in any relationship — chiefly the one with yourself. And, if it’s not openly talked about with just about everyone in your life, especially before you tie the knot, it can cause real issues later. And real issues now.

At Ellevest, we know that new life stages can come with stage fright. To beat it? Plan for them. Ellevest is here to help get the conversation started. After all, helping you navigate your money — and build your wealth — is our whole thing, through all of the ages and stages. 

Coupled up? We’ve got a financial planning session for the pair of you to get on the same page, including one session with tax strategy included for anyone filing jointly for the first time. 

Can’t stop “spaving”? We’ve got a budgeting session to help you find an approach that really works for you — even if you also have significant debt to pay off.

Doomscrolling real estate listings? We’ve got a session to help you strategize to buy a home.

Questions about financially preparing to build a family? We’re talking about how in a free new webinar — and what to do about it — with Maven, a women’s health platform providing care and lowering costs across the family-building journey.

Retirement on your mind? We’ve got a retirement planning session for anyone five years out or longer (it really is never too early to plan for it).

Navigating life post-divorce? We’ve got a planning package to help you rebuild. Because the best worst days happen.

Receiving an inheritance? We’ve got a planning package to help you feel confident about what to do with that large sum of money. 

Single and ready to take control of your money? Of course we’ve got a package for that.

It’s not just planning: All our investing is goal-based, too. That means we don’t invest according to some industry pundit’s call on where he thinks the market is going. Instead, we use our proprietary investing algorithm — the one that takes women’s financial differences into account — to help you invest toward the specific life you want: to buy a home, start a business, retire well, have a big splurge. And, of course, to build wealth.

Back to the topic that got me on this roll: engagement season. What not to do during this time if you’re the one with the ring? What I did. Which was to leave the prenup discussion until the week before the wedding. 

But if you did, give us a call. We’ve got you, too.


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Disclosures

© 2024 Ellevest, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

All opinions and views expressed by Ellevest are current as of the date of this writing, are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute or imply an endorsement of any third party’s products or services.

Information was obtained from third-party sources, which we believe to be reliable but are not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness.

The information provided should not be relied upon as investment advice or recommendations, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, and should not be considered specific legal, investment, or tax advice. Nothing contained herein may be relied upon as a guarantee, promise, assurance or a representation as to the future.

The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any specific person.

Investing entails risk, including the possible loss of principal, and past performance is not predictive of future results.

Ellevest, Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Ellevest fees and additional information can be found at www.ellevest.com.

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Sallie Krawcheck

Sallie Krawcheck is the founder of Ellevest. In a sea of financial services sameness, Ellevest manages more than $2 billion in assets, and stands apart with its mission to get more money in the hands of women. Prior to Ellevest, Krawcheck was one of the only financial executives of her generation to have held C-suite roles at the largest global banks — as CEO of Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, US Trust, and Sanford Bernstein and as CFO of Citi. Today, as a venture-funded entrepreneur, she’s beat impossibly long odds to raise $144 million in venture capital funding. Fortune Magazine has called Krawcheck “The Last Honest Analyst,” Barron’s considers her one of the “Most Influential Women in US Finance,” and Vanity Fair has named her to their “New Establishment List.”