Wealth with Intention

Updated September 2026

One of the most common things I hear from business owners sounds a lot like this. "I already have an accountant. Why would I need a financial planner?"

It is a fair question, and the short answer is that they do different jobs. An accountant focuses on your business's numbers, your tax filings, and tax-aware business decisions. A financial planner focuses on what your business is creating for you personally, including your retirement, investments, insurance, estate plan, and exit strategy. Most business owners benefit from both, working together.

Here is how the two roles differ, how they compare to a bookkeeper, controller, and CFO, where owners often end up with gaps, and how to tell whether you have one.

Accountant vs. financial planner at a glance

The short version: your employer match is the highest-return money in your financial life, and three fairly ordinary mistakes cause people to miss part of it. You can check all three yourself in about fifteen minutes using your Summary Plan Description and your most recent pay stub.

Most people assume that if they are contributing to their 401(k), the match takes care of itself. Usually it does. But "usually" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and the exceptions are expensive.

What is a 401(k) employer match?

An employer match is money your company adds to your 401(k) based on what you contribute. It is compensation you have already earned. You just have to meet the plan's conditions to receive it.

Two formulas cover most plans:

• 100% of the first 3%, then 50% of the next 2%. You contribute 5% of pay, your employer adds 4%.
• 50% of the first 6%. You contribute 6% of pay, your employer adds 3%.

Your exact formula lives in your Summary Plan Description, the document your p...

Financial news makes markets sound arbitrary. Over any given week, that is close to true. Over a lifetime of investing, a small number of principles do most of the work, and they are far less exciting than the commentary suggests.

There are three we come back to constantly: consistency, courage, and balance. Each has its own post below. This page is about how they fit together, because in practice they are not three separate ideas. They are one idea approached from three directions, and the order in which you apply them matters more than most people expect.

The short answer

Consistency is staying invested. Courage is what staying invested requires when markets fall. Balance is what makes both of those possible without relying on willpower.

• Consistency addresses the largest measurable cost in investing, which is the gap between what markets return and what investors actually earn.
• Courage addresses the moment that gap opens, which is almost always during a decline.
• Balance addresse
...

What should you do with a divorce settlement?

Park the money somewhere safe, wait 60 to 90 days before making any permanent decisions, and then invest it according to when you will actually need it. A settlement is not one pot of money. It is several different kinds of money with different tax rules, and treating it as a single number is the most expensive mistake women make in the first year after a divorce.

This article is about what happens after the decree is signed. If you are still negotiating, still waiting on a QDRO, or still deciding which assets to ask for, that is a different set of questions. Intentional Divorce Solutions covers that ground in detail, starting with how to divide assets in a divorce.

The first 90 days: do less than you think you should

There is enormous pressure to act quickly. Your attorney is done. The accounts have transferred. Everyone around you has an opinion about what you should do with the money.

Do less.

The only urgent items in the first 90 days a...

What is the 10-year rule for inherited IRAs?

The 10-year rule requires most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit an IRA to withdraw the entire account balance by December 31 of the 10th year following the original owner's death. Whether annual withdrawals are also required during that window depends on whether the original account owner had already started taking Required Minimum Distributions before they passed. Getting this wrong can mean a penalty of up to 25% of the amount you were supposed to withdraw.

Why This Changed and Why It Matters Now

There used to be a strategy called the stretch IRA. It allowed beneficiaries to take withdrawals from an inherited IRA over their own lifetime, spreading out the tax impact over decades and letting the account continue growing tax-deferred.

Congress eliminated that option for most non-spouse beneficiaries in the SECURE Act of 2019. The 10-year rule replaced it, requiring most non-spouse beneficiaries to fully distribute inherited IRA asset...

The most common types of inherited assets are cash and bank accounts, taxable brokerage accounts, retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s, real estate, life insurance proceeds, business interests, and personal property. Each one comes with different tax treatment, different rules, and different decisions for you to make. Understanding what you have is the first step toward handling it well.

Why This Matters More Than Most People Realize

When people think about inheritance, they often picture a check. The reality is usually more complicated.

Most estates are a mix of assets, and each type works differently. The mistake that costs people the most is treating everything the same, making decisions quickly without understanding that an inherited IRA and an inherited brokerage account, for example, have almost nothing in common from a tax perspective.

This post walks through the most common types of inherited assets, what each one means for you, and what to watch out for. If you are ju...

In the first 30 days after inheriting money, the most important thing you can do is slow down. Gather a complete inventory of what you inherited, park any liquid cash somewhere safe like a high-yield savings account, get a basic understanding of the tax picture, and start assembling a team of professionals. Most financial decisions can wait 30 to 90 days. Almost none of them require immediate action.

Why the First 30 Days Matter More Than You Think

Inheriting money is rarely just a financial event.

It usually arrives in the middle of grief, family dynamics, and decisions you were not expecting to make. And somewhere in all of that, someone is telling you that you need to act fast.

You don't. Not on most of it.

What you do in the first 30 days is not about making moves. It is about getting grounded, getting clear, and protecting yourself from the mistakes that are easiest to make when emotions are running high.

Here is what actually matters right now.

Step 1. Give Yourself Permission to...

If you've just left a job, or you're about to, there's a good chance an email from HR is sitting in your inbox with a subject line like "Important information about your retirement account." It probably came with a stack of forms and very little explanation.

I get it. This is one of those money decisions that feels small and administrative until you realize a wrong move can trigger taxes, penalties, or years of quietly higher fees. The good news is that a rollover is very doable once you know how the pieces work. I've spent more than a decade as a financial advisor helping women through exactly this, and I want to walk you through it the way I would if you were sitting across the table from me.

The Short Version

When you leave an employer, you can generally roll your old 401(k) into an IRA, move it into your new employer's plan, leave it where it is, or cash it out. Cashing out is almost always the most expensive choice. For the other three, ask for a direct rollover, which means th...

Every year, the same question lands in my inbox from smart, accomplished women who are trying to do right by their financial futures: "Leah, should I just max out my 401(k)?"

It sounds like such a simple yes-or-no question. And the internet will happily give you a confident, one-size-fits-all answer. But here is the truth: it depends, and the details of that dependency matter enormously.

In 2026, the IRS lets you contribute up to $24,500 to a 401(k) if you are under 50. If you are 50 or older, you can add an $8,000 catch-up contribution, for a total of $32,500. Some plans also allow a higher catch-up of $11,250 for ages 60 through 63. Maxing that out sounds virtuous. Responsible. Like the financial equivalent of eating your vegetables. But blindly maxing your 401(k) without considering your full financial picture can actually work against you.

First: What Is the Case FOR Maxing It Out?

Let us give credit where it is due. There are genuinely compelling reasons to contribute as much as p...

Inheriting wealth is rarely simple. Along with the financial windfall often comes grief, confusion, and the weight of responsibility. Maybe you've recently lost a parent or loved one, and now you're faced with managing money you never expected to have. It's a lot to process, and it's okay to feel overwhelmed.

While I can't take away the emotional complexity of this moment, I can help you avoid some of the most common financial mistakes I see clients make during this transition. Here are six pitfalls to watch out for—and how to navigate them with intention.

1. Making Big Decisions Too Quickly

When money suddenly appears in your account, it's tempting to act fast. Maybe you've been dreaming of a new car, or you want to help family members, or you think you should invest it immediately before you "waste" it.

I get it. But here's what I've seen happen: clients who rush into major purchases or investments often regret those decisions within a year or two.

What to do instead: Give yours...