The Situation

Edward and Emily have been successful in pursuing careers they are passionate about. They are both 10+ years into their careers and have saved money well. 

They have been married for a while and spent most of that time working and traveling together, but now they want to start a family.

The challenge is that as they prepare for the next phase of life, they want to make sure they use their money efficiently to plan for their future. The last ten years have been fun, but they haven't focused on optimizing their finances.

As they consider starting a family, they have thought about one of them reducing their professional workload or even taking a few years off while their kids are young. They know they can live off either of their incomes. However, they want to know if they could provide for the kids, help with the kids' college, and still retire when they want to, without sacrificing their current lifestyle. 

They've done an excellent job of utilizing their company retirement programs, they own their forever home, but other than that, the rest of their money is sitting in various accounts at several institutions. They have yet to create an investment plan because they have been unsure where and what to invest in. 

Edward and Emily only know what they know. As they approach the next phase of life, they seek expert help to make the best decisions for their family so they don't have to worry about it. They will be busy enough building a family and managing their jobs. 

The Approach

Edward and Emily needed help figuring out where to start, so they wanted to hire a financial planner who had done this many times before for people just like them. 

They want to be involved in the process and empowered to choose what is best for their family. They wanted to be educated along the way to become more intelligent investors. They want peace of mind knowing that they are working alongside a trusted professional and not trying to figure it out on their own.

 The Results

Edward and Emily were excited to work with the Pleasant Street Wealth team, who can offer guidance on more than just investments. They appreciated the technology-enabled collaboration and received a comprehensive financial plan that incorporates the following: 

• A customized, low-cost tax-efficient investment strategy.
• Annual cash flow planning to clarify where to save their excess cash flow for college, retirement, and everything in between. 
• A personalized risk management philosophy to make sure their family is protected against catastrophic events that could jeopardize the family's financial future.

Proactive tax planning to ensure the family's financial plan keeps up with the ever-changing tax codes and they are not overpaying their taxes.
A software-based financial plan that can illustrate all of the "what-ifs" in life, like how life would look if one of them stopped working, so they can decide which strategy is best for them.
A trusted partner who understands their mission and can help answer questions and educate them about their options using virtual tools to deliver a flexible yet personal experience. 

Now Edward and Emily have a plan in place, providing confidence and clarity that they are on track to achieve their goals and are empowered in their financial decisions. 

The best part about it is that they have peace of mind about their finances and family’s future, knowing that if one of them stops working, they won’t have to sacrifice their lifestyle.

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Pleasant Street Wealth client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or a certain level of results or satisfaction if Pleasant Street Wealth Advisors is engaged in providing investment advisory services.

The Situation

Peter landed an internship at a Biotech company in college. He loved being a part of a company that was helping to fight and cure the world's ailments. He also saw an opportunity to build wealth quickly through equity compensation at growing companies.

For the last 15 years, he advanced professionally, changing companies a few times along the way. His salary allowed him to travel, have a nice apartment, and live a relatively worry-free daily life. He is now maxing out his retirement plan at work and has always made sure to get the match at his old companies. This has put him in an excellent position for retirement but left him without enough liquidity to buy a house. He wants to retire at 50 but is concerned that he cannot access funds from his retirement accounts until he is 59.5 years old despite his significant retirement savings.

He received equity compensation at one of his past jobs. However, he didn't have any guidance. He sold a significant amount to cover the transaction costs of exercising the options. He was later hit with a big unexpected tax bill. He had to sell the rest to pay his taxes. His compensation package at his new company has a significant equity component. He hopes to leverage that more efficiently to accomplish his financial goals. He is looking for a partner to coordinate his equity strategy, tax planning, and retirement planning into one comprehensive financial plan.

The Approach

Peter has been doing everything his friends told him. He has maximized his retirement accounts, has no debt, and has an emergency fund. Still, he is not sure if he is on track to accomplish his goals. He is worried about making another bad decision with his equity package.

The Results

Peter was thrilled with the plan Pleasant Street helped him build. It provided clarity in several ways: 

• It included a strategy to maximize the value of the equity and minimize the taxes, helping him get in a position to purchase a house in a few years. 
• With annual cash flow planning, he knows how much to save and how much he can spend without feeling guilty. 
• He now understands which account structures are best suited for various financial priorities, so only some dollars are going into accounts that could only be used after age 59.5, while others are growing in accounts he can use earlier. 
• He appreciates how organized his financial life has become and how easy it is to access the information he wants when he wants to make sure he is on track.
  

Peter now understands how each part of his financial life coordinates with the other pieces in a way he never did. He understands that his life could change at any moment. But he has an adaptable plan and a trusted advisor who he can count on to answer his questions and act as a quarterback, working with his other advisors like his CPA. He has a new level of confidence in his financial life, allowing him to pursue the things that mean the most to him, making him feel way better about his life than he ever has. 

He always felt like he couldn't deviate from his plans, but now he knows he has the freedom to if he wants to.

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Pleasant Street Wealth client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or a certain level of results or satisfaction if Pleasant Street Wealth Advisors is engaged in providing investment advisory services.

The Situation

Collen has been crushing it in her sales role since she graduated from college. She enjoys the work and is very good at it. She has no plans to leave anytime soon. 

She has been making good money as long as she has worked full-time and has never really planned for the future. She enjoys going out with friends, traveling, and loves online shopping.  

She knows she should start being more intentional with her money if she wants to accomplish her financial goals, but she doesn't know where to start. 

The Approach

Colleen knows she needs an advisor who can act as a teacher and a coach, holding her accountable and helping her better understand her finances and the opportunities she has to plan for the future.  

She feels a lot of anxiety about how she spends her money and is worried that she is far behind other people her age in her income bracket. She needs someone who can help her automate things to pay off debt, invest for the future and help her become more intentional with her spending.

The Results

Working with the Pleasant Street team gave Colleen precisely what she was looking for: 

• We created a cash flow plan that automates her savings and investments first so she can spend the remainder without any anxiety. 
• We helped her refinance her private student loans and created a payment plan to help her pay less interest over the life of the loans.
• We helped her understand the different account structures and investment vehicles so she knows exactly what she is investing in and why.
• We educated her about purchasing real estate and establishing price targets and downpayment savings goals.
  

The plan helps Colleen keep track of her key financial data like net worth, tax rate, and progress toward her financial goals.  

Colleen has always felt anxious about money and guilty when she spends it. But her plan helps her feel good about her financial situation. She learned a lot through the process and realized that she was doing many things right. She just needed some help to do the things she never knew about.  

Now within the next four years, she will have paid off all of her loans and be ready to put a downpayment on the apartment. Unless life changes, in which case her advisor will adapt the plan to her new goals.

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Pleasant Street Wealth client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or a certain level of results or satisfaction if Pleasant Street Wealth Advisors is engaged in providing investment advisory services.