Insights & Resources

Financial Planning Insights

Practical guidance for aligning your wealth with what matters most. Updated regularly with fresh perspectives on retirement, tax strategy, and intentional living.

Roth Conversions Under OBBBA

Advanced Tax Planning

Roth Conversion Strategies Under OBBBA: A 2026 Tax Planning Guide

OBBBA permanently extended the TCJA tax brackets but added new phaseouts and deduction limitations that change the Roth conversion math for 2026. Here's what to watch for and where the opportunities are.

Jim Crider, CFP®
22 min readMay 5, 2026

Bitcoin Inheritance Planning

Bitcoin & Alternative Assets

Bitcoin Inheritance Planning: What Your Family Needs to Know Before It's Too Late

Bitcoin doesn't transfer like a brokerage account. Self-custody, private keys, cost basis documentation, and the step-up in basis all create planning challenges most estate plans don't address. Here's what families need to know.

Jim Crider, CFP®
18 min readMay 1, 2026

Social Security for Couples

Retirement Income & Strategy

Social Security Claiming Strategies for Married Couples: Why the “Always Wait Until 70” Advice Falls Short

The conventional wisdom says delay Social Security until 70. But for married couples, the real answer depends on risks most analyses ignore — sequence of returns, health span, spending behavior, and policy uncertainty. Here's what the research actually says.

Jim Crider, CFP®
24 min readApr 29, 2026

Business Exit Planning

Financial Planning

Business Exit Planning: A 5-Year Timeline for Owners Who Want to Sell

Selling a business is a multi-year process, not a single transaction. Here's a year-by-year timeline of the financial, tax, and personal planning that should happen in the five years before you sell.

Jim Crider, CFP®
13 min readApr 22, 2026

Choosing a Financial Advisor

Financial Planning

How to Choose a Financial Advisor in New Braunfels

Choosing a financial advisor is one of the most important financial decisions you'll make. Here's what to look for — and what to avoid — when evaluating financial advisors in New Braunfels and the Texas Hill Country.

Jim Crider, CFP®
13 min readApr 22, 2026

QBI Deduction Under OBBBA

Financial Planning

QBI Deduction for Texas Business Owners: What OBBBA Changed

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the QBI deduction permanent and expanded who qualifies starting in 2026. Here's what Texas business owners need to understand about the new phase-in ranges, the $400 minimum deduction, and how the changes affect pass-through entity planning.

Jim Crider, CFP®
12 min readApr 17, 2026

Statement of Financial Purpose

Financial Planning

What Is a Statement of Financial Purpose (And Why Every Family Needs One)

A Statement of Financial Purpose is the foundation of intentional financial planning — the single sentence that captures what your money is for. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how to write your own.

Jim Crider, CFP®
9 min readApr 16, 2026

How Much to Retire?

Financial Planning

How Much Do I Need to Retire? The Wrong Question Everyone Asks

Why “how much do I need to retire” is the wrong starting question — and what to ask instead under 2026 rules.

Jim Crider, CFP®
12 min readApr 13, 2026

What Fee-Only Planners Do

Financial Planning

What a Fee-Only Financial Planner Actually Does (And Why It Matters)

How fee-only fiduciary planners differ from commission-based advisors and why the model matters for complex financial decisions.

Jim Crider, CFP®
11 min readApr 13, 2026

Estate Planning Basics

Financial Planning

Estate Planning Basics: Why Your Will Alone Isn’t Enough

Why a will alone isn’t sufficient. Trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, and 2026 OBBBA estate tax rules.

Jim Crider, CFP®
12 min readApr 13, 2026

Bitcoin in a Financial Plan

Financial Planning

Bitcoin in a Financial Plan: What to Understand

Tax treatment, allocation thinking, custody options, and how Bitcoin interacts with the rest of a comprehensive financial plan.

Jim Crider, CFP®
11 min readApr 13, 2026

Lifestyle Creep

Financial Planning

The Real Cost of Lifestyle Creep (And How to Recognize It)

What lifestyle creep is, how it erodes wealth over time, and why high-income earners are the most susceptible.

Jim Crider, CFP®
10 min readApr 13, 2026

Stock Compensation 101

Financial Planning

Stock Compensation 101: RSUs, ISOs, ESPP, and What You Need to Know

A plain-English guide to the most common types of stock compensation. How each one works and how each one is taxed under 2026 rules.

Jim Crider, CFP®
14 min readApr 13, 2026

When Should Physicians Start?

Financial Planning

When Should a Physician Start Financial Planning?

A guide for physicians on when to start working with a financial planner — from residency through attending years under 2026 rules.

Jim Crider, CFP®
12 min readApr 13, 2026

S-Corp vs LLC

Financial Planning

S-Corp vs LLC: How to Choose the Right Entity for Your Business

A practical guide to the differences between an LLC and an S-Corp under 2026 rules and OBBBA. Self-employment tax, QBI deduction, and QSBS changes.

Jim Crider, CFP®
12 min readApr 13, 2026

Open Enrollment Mistakes

Financial Planning

Open Enrollment: What Most People Get Wrong About Their Benefits

The most common open enrollment mistakes — from choosing the wrong health plan to underutilizing HSAs, DCFSAs, and retirement accounts under 2026 limits.

Jim Crider, CFP®
12 min readApr 13, 2026

TRS vs ORP

Financial Planning

TRS vs ORP: A Guide for Texas University Professors

Choosing between the Teacher Retirement System pension and the Optional Retirement Program. How each works under current rules and key trade-offs.

Jim Crider, CFP®
11 min readApr 13, 2026

TSP Rollover Strategies

Financial Planning

TSP Rollover Strategies for Military Families in San Antonio

A guide to TSP rollover options for military families in San Antonio. When to roll over, when to stay, and how to coordinate your TSP with your broader financial plan.

Jim Crider, CFP®
8 min readApr 13, 2026

Roth Conversions for Tech

Financial Planning

Roth Conversion Planning for Austin Tech Professionals

How Austin tech professionals with equity compensation can use Roth conversions strategically to reduce their lifetime tax burden.

Jim Crider, CFP®
9 min readApr 13, 2026

1031 Exchange Strategies

Financial Planning

1031 Exchange Strategies for Hill Country Land Owners

How Hill Country land owners can use 1031 exchanges to defer capital gains, upgrade properties, and build long-term wealth through real estate.

Jim Crider, CFP®
8 min readApr 13, 2026

Moving to Texas Checklist

Financial Planning

Moving to Texas from California: A Financial Planning Checklist

A financial planning checklist for families relocating to Texas from California or other high-tax states. Tax changes, real estate decisions, and what to do first.

Jim Crider, CFP®
10 min readApr 13, 2026

Retirement in the Hill Country

Financial Planning

Retirement Planning in the Texas Hill Country: What Makes It Different

What makes retirement planning in the Hill Country unique — from land ownership and property taxes to estate planning for multigenerational families.

Jim Crider, CFP®
8 min readApr 13, 2026

The Hidden Cost of Money

Financial Planning

The Hidden Cost of Money: Why Modern Life Feels Harder Than It Should

Why does money feel harder to manage today? Explore how inflation, declining purchasing power, and broken incentives quietly shape your financial life.

Jim Crider, CFP®
9 min readDec 2, 2025

Taking Action

Financial Planning

Taking Action: Turning Intentions Into Impact

Why do so many people plan but never follow through? Learn how small, consistent actions compound into radical results.

Jim Crider, CFP®
9 min readNov 11, 2025

Money & Your Children

Financial Planning

Money and Your Children: How to Raise Kids Who Think Before They Spend

How do you talk to your kids about money without making it awkward, stressful, or accidentally teaching them the wrong lessons?

Jim Crider, CFP®
8 min readNov 11, 2025

Making Decisions

Financial Planning

Making Decisions: How to Think Clearly, Act Intentionally, and Live by Your Values

What if the hardest part of making a good decision isn’t the decision itself — but realizing there’s a decision to be made?

Jim Crider, CFP®
9 min readNov 6, 2025

Money in Marriage

Financial Planning

Money in Marriage: How to Talk About What Really Matters

Money is one of the leading causes of divorce. But it’s not the money itself that destroys marriages. It’s the conversations couples never have about it.

Jim Crider, CFP®
8 min readOct 24, 2025

Money Before Marriage

Financial Planning

Money Before Marriage: How to Talk About Finances Before You Say “I Do”

Nobody wants to turn a date into a financial audit. But roughly 60% of married people say they wish they’d talked about money before tying the knot.

Jim Crider, CFP®
8 min readOct 22, 2025

What Is Money?

Financial Planning

What Is Money? A Deeper Look at Meaning, Values, and Financial Freedom

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what money actually is? If you’re going to make good decisions with your money, it helps to start with a clear understanding of what it is and what role it should play in your life.

Jim Crider, CFP®
7 min readOct 21, 2025