VIRTUAL FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR
TECH PROFESSIONALS
A path tofinancial independence.
Get our 6-part Podcast
for tech professionals delivered to your inbox
Let's think about money differently.
As a successful professional in tech, it’s natural for you to push the boundaries of conventional thinking. This is true at work and at play—and should be the same when it comes to financial planning
Who says you have to retire at 65? Or pay off your house before you invest? The truth is, some of your parents’ and grandparents’ financial practices are wildly dated. And others? They still hold up after all this time. So, you may wonder… where should you break new ground, and where should you follow suit?
You’ve done the hard work of making money.
You deserve a financial guideto help you take it from here.
It's an honor to help
We are a team of helpers, meaning we won’t preach or push you into a life we think you ought to have.
Instead, we spark thoughtful questions, listen intently to your responses, and arm you with information. That way, you can decide what life looks like now while filling in those daydreams about a future within your reach.
Here's how we guide:
We get specific.
We dream about the future, but also about right now. What do you wish you had more of? Less of?
We figure, what does it hurt to put everything on the table? (And if you don’t know yet, that’s fine, too!)
We get creative.
We don’t do things just because “that’s the way they’ve always been done.” And, we don’t get distracted by “shiny objects.”
Instead, we mine for opportunities that make the best sense for you.
We get real.
Life happens; babies are born, jobs change, couples divorce, and through all of it, money fluctuates.
A rigid plan is destined to fail, so we help you keep yours as flexible as it is intentional.
Serving Brent
is a joy.
Spend three minutes hearing his story.
Get our 6-part Podcast
for tech professionals delivered to your inbox
Here's exactly what you can expect.
Our process is set up intentionally to help you plan well, but also evolve as life unfolds.
Schedule a virtual consultation.
While we wait to meet, we’ll send over some videos that explain our services. That way, we can spend most of our time together talking about you! There is no charge for this meeting.
Become our client.
If, at the end of the first meeting, we mutually agree to continue the conversation, we will share customized pricing for your circumstances. Should you choose to move forward, we will assign a bit of homework to complete before our next meeting.
See what's possible.
In our second meeting, the modeling session, we will determine the direction of your financial plan. Our time together will start by verifying your financial data and discussing the timeline of your goals. Then, together, we will play with scenarios to hone the direction of your plan. Throughout the meeting, we’ll offer education about what we see and your possibilities.
Solidify the plan.
Once your financial plan is complete, we will meet again to discuss the path forward and prioritize the steps necessary to help you achieve your goals. These steps include your wealth management needs, changes to your saving and spending strategies, as well as focus areas, such as insurance, estate planning, and how you might cover long-term medical costs. We may also discuss investments that fit within your risk comfort level and align with your financial plan.
Adjust as life unfolds.
We tend to meet with our clients two times annually after we’ve completed the initial plan. However, how many times we meet depends on both your preference and what may be happening in your life. We are also available in between meetings via email and over the phone to answer questions and provide direction (we love hearing from our clients about new car purchases, splurgy vacations, you name it!)
Ready to start the conversation?
We’d love to get to know you.
What might our help look like in real life?Meet Jack and Lynne.
Jack is a manager with a local hi-tech company. He changed firms about three years before we began working together. Lynne is a stay-at-home mom who volunteers and teaches yoga part-time. Jack and Lynne want to be able to send their son, Miles, age 10, to college. They also want to be able to help their daughter, Carrie, age 24, who has some special needs, as needed throughout her life. Jack is 60 years old and hopes to retire at age 68 when Miles goes to college.
KEEP READING
Jack’s former employer’s retirement plan was 100% invested in his former company’s stock, which was fairly volatile. Jack’s basis in the stock was low compared to the value of the stock. The majority of Jack’s investments were in this former employer’s retirement plan and some smaller IRAs. Jack also had an Employee Stock Purchase Plan and Restricted Stock Awards available to him through his current employer.
We often see clients in situations such as Jack and Lynne’s, and work together to evaluate options such as:
- reducing the projected overall tax bill throughout life by taking advantage of Net Unrealized Appreciation rules that allow a former employer’s stock to be moved out of the retirement plan
- installing an annual strategy to diversify the stock
- creating flexibility to pay for college and help with other financial responsibilities as needed
- utilizing both the Employee Stock Purchase Plan and Restricted Stock Units while decreasing risk to the family and their portfolio
- taking advantage of IRA to Roth IRA conversion rules to be able to have tax-free investments in retirement
This case study is hypothetical. It does not reflect a specific client or situation. An individual client’s circumstances and results will vary. This case study is presented only as an example and is not intended as investment advice.
Allow us to introduce ourselves.
At Thimbleberry Financial, we work in pods. That means you have a few dedicated professionals who you’ll always interact with and who specialize in serving our tech clients.
Amy Groshong Walls
CFP®, RICP®, CRPC®
President and Financial Advisor
Christy Rowe
Operations
Paraplanner
We’ve answered the questions we hear most often in case they’re on your mind, too.
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes. At Thimbleberry Financial, we act as fiduciaries, which means we are legally bound to act in the best interest of our clients. Additionally, Amy is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, leading our team with knowledge and expertise to help our clients map out their financial future.
What services do you offer?
We provide financial planning and wealth management services. That means we’ll help you get a big-picture view of your current life and financial goals, then bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.
We care about your holistic financial health, so our guidance goes beyond investing. We happily help you think through decisions many advisors consider “outside the box,” like company benefits, college funds, vacation homes, business mergers and acquisitions, and beyond.
What are your expectations around managing money (i.e. transferring accounts to you)?
Some financial advisors require that clients transfer investment accounts to the advisor’s care upon an initial agreement. We don’t. We expect to manage your investments for you, but only after we’ve reviewed your entire situation and made a financial plan. We may decide together that a different type of investment suits you better. If it does, waiting to transfer accounts eliminates the need to make changes twice in a short amount of time.
How much experience do you have serving tech professionals?
We have been serving tech professionals for two decades and work with many of the larger employers in the Pacific Northwest, as well as start-ups. We help our clients manage restricted stock units (RSUs), incentive stock options (ISOs), non-qualified stock options (NSOs), and employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs). We also have experience working with clients whose employers are going public, and we can assist with mergers and acquisitions.
How much does it cost to work with you?
Our fees are structured based on the complexity of the financial planning required. Financial planning and wealth management services are billed separately. Financial planning fees are paid out-of-pocket annually, while wealth management fees are deducted directly from investment accounts.
How often do we meet?
After the initial onboarding meetings, many clients meet with us twice annually. However, how often we meet depends on your preference and what’s happening in your life. We are also available by phone or email to answer questions and provide direction between meetings.
What if I just want you to manage my money? Or just do my planning? Not both.
We are not the best fit for someone looking for singular financial services. Our clients see the best results when we provide both financial planning and wealth management services, so we do not offer one without the other.
What happens if I don’t want to work with you anymore?
Your financial planning agreement can be canceled at any time, at which point we will help you transfer your accounts elsewhere.
Check out my background on FINRA’s BrokerCheck at brokercheck.finra.org.
To review the Customer Relationship Summary, click on this link.
