Dan Hill | Merriman

The Scary Thing About Getting Married…

by Dan Hill | Oct 31, 2022 | Advisors, Caring for Dependents, Dan Hill, Family Talk, Goal Planning, Tech Focus, Wealth Enhancement

In the spirit of Halloween, I want to share something I did earlier this year that scared the candy corn out of me, something that chilled my bones and chattered my teeth, something that made my stomach flip like stepping off a cliff ledge…

…I got married.

Jokes aside, after the streamers come down and the wedding party goes home, you and your partner are officially married. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “Ok, now what?” It turns out I wasn’t alone in asking this question. A number of us at Merriman got married in 2022. During one of our regular meetings, we talked about the adjustment period that occurs as couples move from dating to marriage. And while I recommend couples discuss finances prior to getting married, it doesn’t always sink in or hit home until you and your spouse are trying to plan a clearer picture for your future as a married couple.

Life is short and moves at a brisk pace. The average age for couples to get married in the US has jumped up from early to mid-20s to late 20s and early 30s. Many of the young couples I meet come to me in a panic because they feel they are behind on retirement savings, late in buying a house, or overdue in thinking about their children’s education expenses. Sitting across the table, they unfurl a scroll’s worth of goals they want to tackle simultaneously. Here’s what I tell them:

You are not “behind.” There is still plenty of time to achieve your financial goals. I’m also guilty of entertaining the fallacy that one night I’ll go to sleep at 35 years old and wake up at 65. Your income will increase. You will experience promotions and fits and starts in your career. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your current financial situation will last from now until retirement.

It’s okay to divide and conquer. My partner and I would like to buy a house in the next few years. One of the biggest obstacles we face — aside from astronomical housing prices in Western Washington — is that my MBA program created substantial student loan debt. Compared to my partner, my ability to save for a house is hampered by monthly student loan payments. After we got married, we had a conversation about the nature of our finances. It’s no longer “my money” and “his money” but “our money” and how we plan to allocate where it goes. When we had the chat about how to buy a house, we decided each spouse had a job that would bring us closer to our goal. His job became focused on putting cash away for a down payment. My job became focused on paying down as much student debt as I can. These conversations are critical because they reduce the risk of emotional tensions getting in the way of clearly seeing the end goal. There is no longer the pressure of feeling as if one spouse is doing more than the other to get us closer to buying a house.

Set a target date. Setting a mutually agreed upon date for meeting your financial goals is important because it provides a light at the end of the tunnel. Say that you have a goal for a home down payment that’s three years in the future. If the goal requires a lifestyle adjustment where you eat out less or skip a vacation, you at least know it’s temporary. There’s an end date in sight. If you’re diligent, the lifestyle adjustments will stick even after you meet your goal, leaving more cash in your wallet.

Track your progress. When I worked for Disney, I was responsible for the Shanghai Disney Resort’s onboarding orientation program, an operational beast that moved thousands of employees through the onboarding process. I had a manager who constantly reminded me, “What isn’t measured isn’t managed.” Put another way, if you’re not tracking your progress, then you have no way of knowing whether you are on track to meet your goals. I love using an app called You Need a Budget that shows our progress. Furthermore, you lose any bragging rights to your successes if you don’t know what successes you have achieved. Imagine a friend asking how saving for a house is going. Excitedly, you tell them, “Great! We saved up some amount of cash and will start maybe sometime, I don’t know, looking. We’ll see.” Way to go…?

Life will get in the way. You both are a unit now. When life hits one spouse, it hits you both. Dishwashers break. People are laid off. Babies are born. When this happens, lean into it. If your progress becomes derailed, talk about solving the issue — whether it’s allocating money to the extenuating circumstance or adjusting your goal’s timeline — and recommit to the new game plan. It’s extremely easy to become demoralized or despondent, but if you go into this knowing life will get in the way, it allows you to focus your mind and energy on getting back on track.

At the risk of sounding like a marriage counselor, the advice provided here is to help the shift from thinking as two separate individuals to thinking as two halves of a whole unit. The reality of getting married is that, while you may not feel any different, your commitments to each other ultimately demand a higher level of communication to identify how — together — you will meet your goals. You undoubtedly will have disagreements and competing priorities, but your financial plan necessitates coming to an agreement on how and where to focus your financial resources. Start having that conversation right now.

The advisors at Merriman can help you identify, plan, and keep you on track for your financial goals. Feel free to reach out to us to schedule an initial consultation.

Disclosure: All opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes and constitute the judgment of the author(s) as of the date of the report. These opinions are subject to change without notice and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security. The material has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Merriman does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as such.

Let’s Talk About Living with Student Loans

by Dan Hill | May 10, 2022 | 401k, Advisors, Dan Hill, Goal Planning, Tech Focus, Wealth Enhancement

Let’s Talk About Living with Student Loans

I have more student loan debt than I care to admit. But it was my decision, and I own it.

There’s been a lot of chatter in the news lately about student loan debt. With the total U.S. student loan debt reaching $1.75 million (mine included), the calls to forgive student loan debt have reached a crescendo—as if, if we scream it loud enough, the debt will just disappear into the ether. Removing the prospect of a presidential magic wand making it go away, the real question now is this: how do you save for the future, pay down your debt, and live fully?

I often read news articles detailing the hardship new graduates face when they struggle to pay down their loans and subsidize their lifestyles. I see a lot of finger-pointing toward a rigged system, corporations underpaying, or the predatory nature of lending. This isn’t to dismiss legitimate concerns of these institutions, but too often, I see a lack of personal agency. Behind some news articles, you find the subject of the article owns a Mercedes or rents an apartment that their social status dictates they should have but not the one their wallet demands. Take a step back.

Can you answer “yes” to these questions?

I know exactly how much money I’ll have at the end of the month.
I do not live paycheck to paycheck.
I can pay my bills and still save for wish list items.

If you answered “no” to any of those questions, it’s time to look at your current lifestyle. There’s an emotional component to finance that we often overlook. For many of us, our relationship with money becomes a reflection of who we are as a person. No one proudly admits they spend $150 on brunch a month. And no one boasts about their tendency to avoid their bank accounts out of fear of what the balance will be. After college, I had a coming-to-Jesus moment when I decided that to live my life fully, I needed to be the one who dictated where each and every dollar went. Enter zero-based budgeting.

If you’re not familiar with it, zero-based budgeting requires you to assign each and every dollar of your paycheck to a job. By assigning each dollar, it exposes your spending habits and tallies all the dollars and cents that have a sneaking tendency to add up well beyond your expectation. You must decide, “Do I need to budget $100 on Uber rides? I’d rather apply it to something else more important.” There is a mental calculation and trade off that must occur for you to affirm how your money is spent. There are several apps you can find to assist with this, such as You Need a Budget (YNAB) and EveryDollar. Having done this myself for a while now, I have found significant savings that I use to apply toward next month’s bills, thus providing me a safe buffer should I run into emergency expenses. I cook meals at home, and now suddenly I have $150 to allocate how I want (hello, Hawaii fund!).

Here’s the point: budgeting every dollar sets you free. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s not. I’ve been able to tell every dollar what to do. I can set goals for myself, make trade-offs, and avoid incurring more debt. That constant fear of not knowing if I’ll make it to the next paycheck has vanished. It’s also worth noting that while it may feel difficult at first to adjust, your income is likely to increase as you pay down your loans. Luckily, your spending habits will stick even as you increase your wealth.

How do you save for the future, pay your debt, and live fully? You take control of your financial situation—warts and all.

Disclosure: All opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes and constitute the judgment of the author(s) as of the date of the report. These opinions are subject to change without notice and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security. The material has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Merriman does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as such.

How-To Guide for Applying for a WA Cares Exemption

by Dan Hill | Oct 13, 2021 | Advisors, Dan Hill, Life & Disability Insurance, Tech Focus

To learn more about the New Payroll Tax in Washington State check out our previous post.

To start the process of applying for an exemption from the Washington Long-Term Care payroll tax (WA Cares), you will need an account with SecureAccess Washington (SAW). If you do not currently have an account, you will be asked to create a username and password for the site. You can get started here: https://secureaccess.wa.gov/

Note: Before creating an account, be sure to double check if you already have one as many Washingtonians use this site to also apply for fishing licenses, paid family and medical leave, professional licenses, and more.

A PDF of the instructions below can be downloaded here.

1. After creating an account, you will be directed to this page. Select “Add a New Service.”

2. From here, you will select the option for “I would like to browse a list of services by agency.”

3. Scroll down and select “Employment Security Department.”

4. Select Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) by clicking “Apply.”

4.5 If you are already registered for PFML, please skip to step 7.5.

5. By selecting the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) option, this service is added to your SecureAccess account. From here, you can begin the process of applying for the Long-Term Care exemption. Click “Access Now.”

6. Click “Continue.”

7. From here, scroll down until you see “WA Cares Exemption” and click “Create an Account.”

7.5 If you have already registered for PFML in the past (see Step 4.5 above), you’ll need to complete a workaround to find the WA Cares Exemption application.

First, access the PFML service where you applied for benefits in the past. Look to the top right corner of the page and click “Add/Switch Account.”

Then click “Create a New Account” under your name. Now proceed to step 7.

8. If you have not previously applied for PFML, you will be prompted to enter your personal information: Name, Social Security number, address, and phone number. Once this is done, you will select the link: “Apply for an Exemption.”

If you have applied for PFML before, you will need to review your personal information and make any necessary changes.

9. Complete the Attestation form. Input your age and check all of the boxes if you have signed up for an eligible private Long-Term Care Insurance policy or qualifying alternative.

10. You will be required to upload proof of identify, such as a photo of your driver’s license or passport.

11. You will see a screen that confirms your exemption application.

All opinions expressed in this article are for general informational purposes and constitute the judgment of the author(s) as of the date of the report. These opinions are subject to change without notice and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security. The material has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. Merriman does not provide tax or legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be taken as such.