Do you have a Health Savings Plan (HSA) through work? These are available to people whose health insurance is a high deductible plan – and can be a great short or long-term part of your plan. What’s so great about them?

Choosing your own clients. Setting your own hours. Insurance or private pay. Private practice enables therapists to meet the unprecedented need for mental health services while ensuring that your work is compensated on your own terms. But how do you figure out what a fair compensation structure looks like when you’re your own boss?

These days setting-up a retirement plan can be done quickly, easily and with little to no money from your pocket as the business owner. So there! There’s no excuse for why your business shouldn’t offer one. After all, it’s the right thing to do for your employees (and yourself), and some states (including Maryland) have even instituted requirements for some small businesses to offer employees a retirement plan.

Being your own boss is a dream for many people. The flexibility to set your schedule, no supervisor to answer to, and freedom to do things the way you want to are compelling reasons to pursue self-employment. But one of the trade-offs that people make when leaving a job with a benefits package is that they must create—and pay for—those benefits on their own.

So you’ve hung out your shingle, gotten some clients, and gotten paid—now what? One of the most popular questions in our webinar series for self-employed professionals is about what to do with the dollars you earn. This article will walk you through how to correctly manage business cash flow. 

Recessions and market downturns are unsettling – the news is scary, and uncertainty is everywhere. This is when having experienced and knowledgeable people you can turn to for advice really pays off. Your financial advisor can be a valuable guide through the challenges of a recession because they are experts on your situation, and understand how to manage difficult economic cycles.

If you are like me, when you need to go somewhere farther than one mile, you drive. We have a certain level of control over how fast we drive. This control is particularly salient in country roads and highways. The faster we choose to drive, the sooner we get to our destination. This upside comes with a downside, however. The quicker we go, we start to run into several risk factors. We risk missing a turn or exit, we risk violating traffic laws and regulations, and we risk getting into an accident. When we drive really fast, these risks are further magnified.

The same argument can be made about investments.

Are you losing sleep over your investments? Do you keep checking your accounts with mobile apps? Do you follow the financial news daily? If you answered “yes” to the questions above, you could significantly improve your wellbeing by merely checking your investments less often. 

Self-care is essential. Self-care is also radical act, particularly for marginalized people. One form of self-care doesn’t get as much attention as the others–financial self-care.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented strain on families and relationships. While the emotional toll of dissolving a marriage may be top of mind, there are important financial considerations as well. 

Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) is a lifestyle movement that inspires people to seek more financial and lifestyle freedom – creating more of what you truly value. No matter where you are on your FIRE journey (skeptical about it, beginner, or retired), learning about the principles of FIRE has something to offer you. 

So many things change during a divorce that it can be difficult to keep track of it all. One important thing you can’t afford to let fall through the cracks is your health insurance coverage. If you are listed as a dependent on your spouse’s policy, then you will lose your coverage when the divorce is finalized.

Don’t let this happen! Without health insurance, you’ll be on the hook for all your medical costs, including your current prescriptions, medical appointments, and any emergencies that arise. Even a minor medical emergency, like a broken arm that requires surgery, will cost an average of $16,000. If you are losing coverage, here’s what you need to know about how to find and get new health insurance coverage.