financial planning Archives | Owning the Stars

September 30, 2021September 28, 2021

Leveling Up with the CFP®

leveling up with CFP® text with plant growing in jar of coins

Three years ago, I never would have imagined I’d be where I am. Working independently, living in a house I OWN, and helping people improve their finances every day. It took a lot of risks and leaps of faith to get here, but I don’t regret any of them.

As I started working with more clients last year, I realized that I needed to level up. I needed a deeper understanding of some of the nuances in financial planning, and I needed to signal to future clients that even though I don’t have decades in this industry, I’m so committed to this work. So, last November, I started the coursework to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. (Apparently, you get in trouble if you don’t write it that way, so please don’t think I’m extra for the all-caps). Some of the CFP® material was a refresh – at that point, I’d already been working with clients for almost two years. But some of it, the parts that I didn’t get as much exposure to with my clients, was brand new. Estate planning minutia, tax strategies, and so many different retirement plan rabbit holes.

January 24, 2019January 23, 2019

Making Time for Self-Improvement

In my first post of the year, I mentioned that I was pursuing a pretty big career shift and working to become a financial planner. Part of that process is passing the Series 65 Licensing Exam, so I’m spending my January studying.

January 3, 2019January 2, 2019

New Year and New Goals

Ok, I know that the New Year is actually not really the optimal time to set new goals. But there’s something so enticing about a new year and new possibilities. And this “new goal” has been in the works for awhile and is finally turning into reality. In the past year, I’ve made a lot of progress toward ongoing goals. I’ve paid off my credit card debt and traveled. I’ve focused more on self-improvement and read plenty of non-fiction books. But I also had some set-backs; I didn’t get a job I thought I wanted, and then spent seven months trying to figure out my life. That included clarifying my professional goals, turning down a few seemingly perfect opportunities that weren’t right for me, and thinking about relocating to a lower cost of living location. I wrote all about 2018 in my last post.