Insights, Advice & a Whole Lot More
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
IPO FOMO
Our dog Dude is a reeling ball of energy, not surprising given his breed as a Blue Heeler and their intuitive need to be constantly occupied with a job or a purpose. As of right now we don’t have any field animals for him herd, so by default he has latched onto our two kids […]
Sarah IrvingAug 3, 2021
Contribute to Your Company Plan or IRA?
Short answer: Likely your company plan. Feel free to stop reading now! 😊 If you are employed and covered by a 401k, 403b, 457b, TSP, or some other unnecessarily complicated number/letter combination (qualified plans), then you should maximize contributions to that plan prior to
Nathan GilbertJul 27, 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
The Halfway Point
We’ve officially hit the half way mark in the year and as another parent pointed out, the half way mark of the summer as well. Last summer looked a lot different for everyone, so we are trying to make up for “lost time” and are squeezing in as many quintessential summer activitie
Sarah IrvingJul 6, 2021
Happy Belated Father’s Day (A Custodial ROTH IRA?)
My family and I were on vacation last week at Bethany Beach, and as usual, it was a great and relaxing time. It was especially nice to see my kids and their cousins playing together after last year’s hiatus. I didn’t totally escape work and did have my laptop in tow (I avoided it
Nathan GilbertJun 29, 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
Emergency Fund 101
Life happens Unfortunately, things can (and will) happen that seem to derail your plans or force you to hit the “reset button” when you least expect. While we certainly wouldn’t wish some of life’s unpredictable events on anyone, we know that at times, some (or maybe all) of us w
Sarah YakelJun 15, 2021
Connecting the Disconnect
Based off the recent headlines, it can sometimes feel like the economy is disconnected from the market. Take this headline for example: Inherently it’s strange to see that news of a disappointing jobs report would cause the markets to rise. However, investors are keeping a close
Sarah IrvingJun 8, 2021
Memorial Day Minute Read
We hope everyone had a relaxing, enjoyable, and safe Memorial Day weekend surrounded by friends and family. Meridian had the pleasure of enjoying the 96th annual Virginia Gold Cup and was proud to present the award for Race Three, the Allowance Hurtle to the jockey and trainer of
Sarah YakelJun 1, 2021