Sarah Yakel
What’s Going On With the Bond Market?
If you have read the financial news lately, you may have seen some alarming headlines about a “bond market selloff”…which certainly sounds scary! But, with all gripping headlines, there is a lot going on under the surface which creates more a more nuanced situation! Quick refresh
Sarah YakelSep 11, 2026
The Beautiful Game Plan (or From Pitch to Portfolio?)
Last month, my husband and our boys made a quick trip to Dallas to watch Argentina take on Austria. They happened to be sitting in the Argentinian supporters’ section—which they described as absolutely electric. Even better, they were there to watch Lionel Messi score the goals t
Sarah YakelJul 13, 2026
Designing Your Next Chapter: The Next 8,000 Days
This weekend, my middle son Ethan graduates from high school. Like most parents, I’m not entirely sure how we got here so quickly. It feels like just yesterday he was jumping in piles of leaves, playing around with his brother, or fishing, boating, catching insects…generally doin
Sarah YakelJun 3, 2026
AI Hype, Long-Term Opportunity, and a Lesson from the Blackjack Table
As a quick note, the recent escalation of conflict involving Iran is a sobering reminder that markets do not exist in a vacuum. More importantly, events like these carry real human consequences, and we hope that tensions can de-escalate quickly. From a market perspective, Sarah I
Sarah YakelMar 17, 2026
New Year Financial Resolutions
A fresh start. My family knows this about me: every single New Year’s Day, I wake up and immediately start taking Christmas down. All of it…the tree, the decorations, the extra pillows, the sparkle—gone. Packed up. Put away. House cleaned from top to bottom. Period. They roll the
Sarah YakelJan 20, 2026
Tis the (Pricey) Season
Each holiday season, PNC does something entirely practical — by pricing out the ridiculous. The PNC Christmas Price Index tallies up what it would cost today to buy the gifts from “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” In 2025, that cost has climbed to $51,476.12 — up 4.5% from last yea
Sarah YakelDec 16, 2025
Mind The Gap
We have friends who have lived in London for the past few years, and we have enjoyed visiting them over the last few years. While there, we took the London Underground frequently, and our kids found the announcements to “mind the gap” entertaining. A very little Ethan and Ben at
Sarah YakelNov 4, 2025
Reflections on 10 Years of Meridian Financial Partners
Next week, Meridian celebrates our tenth anniversary—and how things have changed… 😊 From 2015: To 2017: To 2021: To 2025: We’ve seen our children get taller, our team expand with talent, and Meridian flourish, now managing over a half-billion dollars for 575 families and organiz
Sarah YakelSep 16, 2025
Planning for a Happy Retirement: Thinking Beyond Finances
The past two weeks have been very emotional as an advisor—I’m not sure if it is because I’m in a reflective mood as Meridian nears our 10th anniversary in September. Or perhaps it is because of two solid weeks of meetings with clients about their financial plans, and everyone is
Sarah YakelJul 30, 2025
Financial Roller Coasters
Over Memorial Day weekend, the Yakel family took a quick trip up to Cedar Point as we have two teenage boys who are roller coaster fanatics. I walked Ben and Ethan to the park for early entry at 8:30AM…and then came back to collect them at park close after 10PM (I had given up tr
Sarah YakelJun 3, 2025
Does International Investing Make Sense?
While 2025 has been full of surprises, the double-digit outperformance of international stocks over United States stocks was on very few economists’ bingo cards for this year! Following another strong year of outperformance in the US economic growth and market returns, non-U.S. e
Sarah YakelMar 25, 2025
Keeping the Long View Amid Change and Chaos
The last few weeks have felt like total chaos—at home, our routine schedule has been upended with weather-related school cancellations, kids with the flu, and late nights of basketball games. At Meridian, we’ve been working hard on the usual year end reporting and tax preparation
Sarah YakelFeb 11, 2025