Still River Financial Planning

05/05/2026

So much of what we do is helping clients find the right financial mindset. And a big part of that is striking the right balance between short term savings and long term investments.

04/27/2026

Life insurance is a safety net for others who depend on your income. If the reliance on you and your income decreases or goes away over time, term life insurance is probably your best bet.

04/22/2026

Do you want to make sure your family is on the right track financially? Download our guide to the 5 most common financial mistakes made by young families and how to avoid them.

Download this free guide to make sure your family is on the right track financially.

04/16/2026

It's inevitable that emotions will play a part in your financial decisions.

But it's important to know when to let them dictate what you do, and when to fall back on trusting the plan you have in place to ensure you stay on the path to meeting your long term goals.

04/08/2026

If you don’t have taxes withheld by an employer, or if you don’t have enough withheld, you may need to make estimated tax payments throughout the year to avoid underpayment penalties when you file your tax return.

The most common scenarios that warrant making estimated payments are being self-employed or receiving significant bonuses or equity compensation.

If you’re self-employed, you’re responsible for paying taxes on your income throughout the year - simply paying your full tax bill when you file your tax return will likely result in underpayment penalties. You need to pay tax on your income as it is earned.

If you have a large amount of bonus or equity compensation, you should consider whether you are going to have enough tax withheld. Taxes on these types of income are typically withheld at 22% - this may be more or less than needed for your specific situation, and if it’s less than needed, you should either make estimated payments or have more withheld from your paycheck to avoid underpayment penalties.

03/31/2026

Starting a new job? Here are a few financial things to consider:

Salary and Bonus - These are some of the more straightforward items to think through, but be aware of how a bonus may pay out in your first year - will it be pro-rated based on the amount of time you were employed during the year? If this is the case, you may have some negotiating power to make up for any part that you'll miss out on through a sign-on bonus or other benefits.

Equity Compensation - Make sure you understand the types of equity compensation you are awarded, and specifically how they will be taxed. Also, start coming up with a plan to deal with company stock holdings - do you want to be holding onto the stock or selling regularly and diversifying your investments more widely?

Benefits - There is a lot to consider when it comes to benefits:

Is there a 401(k) plan, and if yes, should you contribute on a pre-tax or after tax basis?

Does your employer offer disability insurance? If not, should you consider an individual policy to protect your earning power?

Which health plan works best for your family and is there an opportunity for tax savings through either a health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA)?

Is there any benefit to participating in a group life insurance plan vs. purchasing insurance on your own?

Taxes - Be sure to follow the instructions when filling out your W-4, but keep in mind that bonuses and equity compensation will most likely have federal taxes withheld at 22%, which may be too high or too low depending your situation.

03/26/2026

Over time, inflation destroys the purchasing power of cash. But, the stock market has consistently outpaced inflation over long periods of time. So if you're saving for the long term and not investing your money in the stock market, you're missing out.

03/18/2026

Investing should be simple, but the waiting part is not easy. Make sure you're picking a strategy and sticking to it.

03/10/2026

Would you buy your company's stock if you received a cash bonus?

Did you know that holding onto RSUs that have vested is essentially the same as buying your company's stock with cash you've received from your salary or as a bonus?

RSUs are taxed when they vest, so there is no tax benefit to holding onto the shares. And if you sell the shares immediately, there will likely be very little taxes due related to the sale (only the movement in the share price from the time of vesting to the time of sale is taxable gain or loss).

So think of RSUs as a bonus that is received in shares of stock. Most of the time, it's best to reallocate those shares in a way that makes sense for your personal savings and investment plan.

And if you do decide to hold onto some of those shares, just make sure it's not a large enough portion of your savings to put your long term goals in jeopardy if things start to go wrong for your company.

12/30/2025

As you think about your personal savings plan, don't stop at thinking about how much you want to save - consider where you should be saving as well.

One of the best ways to be proactive about taxes is to consider how your savings are impacting your tax situation. There are three different tax buckets that you can save into - taxable (savings and brokerage accounts), tax deferred (pre-tax 401(k)s or IRAs), and tax fee (Roth 401(k)s or IRAs). Which account you choose to save to can impact both your current and future tax bill.