Sarah Yakel
Gratitude
With Thanksgiving upon us, we are struck by how much we have to be thankful for at Meridian. From the wonderful team that supports us, to our families’ gracious encouragement, we have many blessings to count. But without our wonderful clients, Meridian would not exist, and so we
Sarah YakelNov 22, 2021
Time Keeps on Ticking, Ticking …
As a reminder every morning, my daughter announces the days until Christmas and New Years Eve…in case you’re wondering, there are 46 days left until Christmas and 53 days left in 2021). The television is playing Christmas commercials constantly, and all the stores are decked out
Sarah YakelNov 9, 2021End of Year Planning Checklist
Happy November! We are officially in the home stretch of the year. Including today there are only 60 more days left in 2021 of which there are approximately 40 work days! Here at Meridian, we are taking advantage of every one of those days and are continuing to work through end o
Sarah YakelNov 2, 2021
WILMA!!
My two boys have been fascinated with TV shows, music, and movies from decades past—or as they like to call it: “stuff from the 1900s.” ☹ To my heart’s delight, we’ve been binge watching the A-Team at night–with occasional diversions to Knight Rider and MacGyver. My husband educa
Sarah YakelOct 12, 2021
Happy Fall Y’all
Break out the calendars and flip the page to October – we’re officially ¾ of the way through 2021! Can you believe it?! Time to dig up those new years resolutions you made for the year and revisit your goals. Did you resolve to save money this year? Commit more to savings? Make s
Sarah YakelOct 6, 2021
It’s Just Math
Schools are back in session, and for parents, the tradeoff of having kids at school all day is the added chore of helping kids do their homework at night. When the Yakel kids were in elementary school, it was sort of fun to feel smart helping with 3rd grade spelling or 2nd grade
Sarah YakelSep 14, 2021
5 Reasons You Need a Health Savings Account
Imagine for a second that you had a little financial fairy godmother sitting on your shoulder, promising to save you money on your healthcare expenses and help lower your taxes all while helping you invest for retirement. It would seem too good to be true, right? Well, here is th
Sarah YakelSep 7, 2021
Money and Happiness
The old adage of “Money Can’t Buy Happiness” has been tested in several high profile academic studies—the first major study was in 2010, when a paper was published that showed a correlation between higher household income and increased levels of satisfaction (happiness). That ori
Sarah YakelAug 17, 2021
Why Is Taking Financial Risk Important?
No matter where you are on your financial journey, controlling your finances is one of the most important things you can do for your future. While it’s challenging to break the cycle of living paycheck-to-paycheck or find money to invest when you’re supporting kids or helping agi
Sarah YakelAug 10, 2021
Musings
What a difference a few months can make…with time, perspectives can change! From last quarter to this quarter, this happened: Bailey doubled in size. Here are a few other charts or images that caught our attention this past month and shifted or confirmed our perspectives: Large c
Sarah YakelJul 20, 2021
Asset Classes
What is an asset class? An asset class is a group of similar kinds of investments. It’s a generalization, not a detailed description, and can help you understand and manage your investments at a high level. The four main asset classes are: Stocks – when you buy a stock, you becom
Sarah YakelJul 13, 2021
FLORIDA! (And Master Planning)
As I write this blog, the Yakel family is working our way down the Florida coast. We started in Hollywood, and now we are working our way towards Key West. From there, we plan to head up to Marco Island and then end our trip in Orlando. Sort of a little sampling of Florida’s attr
Sarah YakelJun 25, 2021