Author

Nathan Gilbert

Nathan Gilbert is a Partner at Meridian Financial Partners. He writes about markets, retirement planning, and financial strategies for the blog.
Molly Birthday Party
Investment Management

Happy T + 2 Day! (and Happy Birthday Molly!)

We celebrated our youngest daughter’s 3rd birthday over the weekend. It was a very nice gathering with friends and family. And the kids even went swimming which must have been pretty darn cold. Peppa Pig was the dominant theme, and Molly cutely identified each of the British-base

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertSep 5, 2017
Three kids playing sand by the beach
Financial Planning

Cone of Uncertainty

This week, we are enjoying the last of summer in Sandbridge, Virginia: For the last several years, we meet my family at the beach the last week of August, before Labor Day. During this “shoulder” week, rental prices drop substantially and the beach is much less crowded now that m

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertAug 29, 2017
Investment Management

Keep on Eating?

Our youngest, Molly, has been on an eating binge unlike anything we have seen with our other two kids. We are all in amazement every time she sits down to eat a meal or even a snack. She is usually eating long after our other two are “too full” or “don’t want anymore!” Our Saturd

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertAug 22, 2017
Computing investments
Financial Planning

The Problem of 5 + 2

I love a good accent. I love hearing clipped British notes, the slow Southern drawl, or my favorite—the lilting Irish brogue. Hence, the reason why my favorite economist is Dr. David Kelly from J.P. Morgan—he discusses the world economies with sly humor and a lovely Irish lilt. H

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertAug 15, 2017
Two-boys-with-crutches-and-casts
Financial Planning

No Fear

If you were born in the late 70’s or early 80’s, you might remember the No Fear “lifestyle” clothing brand that was very popular in the mid 90’s and early 00’s. Personally, I found the brand and the attitude that its wearers often embodied a bit off-putting. If you still wear any

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertAug 8, 2017
Financial Planning

Milestones

Yesterday, my son Ethan celebrated his 9th birthday. He was super excited for his cake and his gifts—most of all his new skateboard. To Ethan, 9 is a pretty important year—it is the last year in the single digits. He says he feels like he is really growing up… There are some mile

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertAug 1, 2017
Financial Planning

School of Rock & Earnings Season

For most of us with kids, summer presents the challenge of keeping our children occupied (hopefully constructively!) until school starts again. Camps are certainly a popular option as they take up big chunks of the summer and allow kids to explore activities outside of a typical

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertJul 25, 2017
Financial Planning

ROI to ROL

The financial services industry loves acronyms—as an example, I am a CFP1 that works at an RIA2 which makes me an IAR3—yeesh! At Meridian we try to strip all of the jargon and opaque phrases from our conversations, as we want to help people truly understand their money and what i

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertJul 18, 2017
Financial Planning

House Odds

I write this blog post from Las Vegas—we are here for a few days to celebrate my husband’s birthday. As a financial planner, I am not a huge gambler. My normal life is filled with assessing odds, the lurking risks and potential rewards, so it is hard to ignore the fact that Vegas

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertJul 3, 2017
Financial Planning

March for Babies

This past Sunday, I was fortunate enough to chair and participate in the Prince William March for Babies. Obviously, supporting at-risk moms, premature births, and prenatal and postpartum care are incredible and worthy causes. March of Dimes helps to fund research on all of these

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertMay 2, 2017
Financial Planning

Giving Giving a Second Thought

Our community’s biggest day of giving is rapidly approaching—Give Local Piedmont is one week from today on May 2, 2017. Last year, this 24 hour giving contest raised over $879,000 for over 60 local charities. At Meridian, we love this day as the generous spirit of our community i

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertApr 25, 2017
Meridian Financial Partners

Project Lifesaver

As a proud member of the 2017 Class of Leadership Fauquier, I have been afforded the opportunity to learn about many aspects of our wonderful community. One day each month for about one year, we spend a day out in the community hearing from different members/experts in various ar

Nathan GilbertNathan GilbertApr 18, 2017