Insights & Resources
Practical guidance for aligning your wealth with what matters most. Updated regularly with fresh perspectives on retirement, tax strategy, and intentional living.
When to Claim Social Security
The break-even chart answers one narrow question. Here are five it doesn't ask — and why those questions matter more for your retirement.
Reasonable Compensation for S-Corp Owners
How S-corp owners can set a defensible reasonable salary under 2026 rules — the payroll tax math, IRS factors, the QBI and retirement plan interactions, court cases, and what to do if you’ve under-paid.
OBBBA Bonus Depreciation Reset
How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s permanent 100% bonus depreciation reset changes the after-tax math for Texas rental real estate investors — cost segregation, recapture, REPS coordination, and 2026 planning watch-outs.
Buy-Sell Agreements After Connelly
The 2024 Connelly Supreme Court decision quietly changed how closely held businesses must structure buy-sell agreements. A deep dive into what changed, the structures still worth considering, and the broader failure modes business owners need to know.
Roth Conversions Under OBBBA
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.
Bitcoin Inheritance Planning
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.
Social Security for Couples
Social Security claiming for married couples isn't one decision — it's two decisions plus a third about survivor protection. Here are five questions that determine the right strategy for your household.
Business Exit Planning
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.
Choosing a Financial Advisor
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.
QBI Deduction Under OBBBA
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.
Statement of Financial Purpose
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.
How Much to Retire?
Why “how much do I need to retire” is the wrong starting question — and what to ask instead under 2026 rules.
What Fee-Only Planners Do
How fee-only fiduciary planners differ from commission-based advisors and why the model matters for complex financial decisions.
Estate Planning Basics
Why a will alone isn’t sufficient. Trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, and 2026 OBBBA estate tax rules.
Bitcoin in a Financial Plan
Tax treatment, allocation thinking, custody options, and how Bitcoin interacts with the rest of a comprehensive financial plan.
Lifestyle Creep
What lifestyle creep is, how it erodes wealth over time, and why high-income earners are the most susceptible.
Stock Compensation 101
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.
When Should Physicians Start?
A guide for physicians on when to start working with a financial planner — from residency through attending years under 2026 rules.
S-Corp vs LLC
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.
Open Enrollment Mistakes
The most common open enrollment mistakes — from choosing the wrong health plan to underutilizing HSAs, DCFSAs, and retirement accounts under 2026 limits.
TRS vs ORP
Choosing between the Teacher Retirement System pension and the Optional Retirement Program. How each works under current rules and key trade-offs.
TSP Rollover Strategies
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.
Roth Conversions for Tech
How Austin tech professionals with equity compensation can use Roth conversions strategically to reduce their lifetime tax burden.
1031 Exchange Strategies
How Hill Country land owners can use 1031 exchanges to defer capital gains, upgrade properties, and build long-term wealth through real estate.
Moving to Texas 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.
Retirement in the Hill Country
What makes retirement planning in the Hill Country unique — from land ownership and property taxes to estate planning for multigenerational families.
The Hidden Cost of Money
Why does money feel harder to manage today? Explore how inflation, declining purchasing power, and broken incentives quietly shape your financial life.
Taking Action
Why do so many people plan but never follow through? Learn how small, consistent actions compound into radical results.
Money & Your Children
How do you talk to your kids about money without making it awkward, stressful, or accidentally teaching them the wrong lessons?
Making Decisions
What if the hardest part of making a good decision isn’t the decision itself — but realizing there’s a decision to be made?
Money in Marriage
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.
Money Before Marriage
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.
What Is Money?
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.