09/09/2026
One of the biggest misconceptions about financial planning is that everyone is working toward the same thing.
Recently, I met with a new client who has done an incredible job building her financial foundation.
She's debt-conscious.
She's saved consistently.
She invests aggressively for retirement.
She's an engineer and has already crossed the first $100,000 milestone.
But what stood out to me was the flexibility she values.
You can see it all over her financial strategy!
She isn't convinced buying a house is the next step for her
She wants the flexibility to attend grad school.
Potentially live internationally for extended periods of time.
Pursue opportunities that haven't fully revealed themselves yet.
In other words, she wants options.
That's one of the reasons I often talk about creating a "reservoir account."
A place where money can collect before it's assigned to a specific goal.
A future home.
A relocation.
A career pivot.
An unexpected opportunity.
Something you haven't thought of yet.
A simple framework looks like this:
Income → Reservoir → Checking
Income first flows into a reservoir.
A place for savings goals, investments, and future opportunities.
Then monthly spending flows to checking.
Money gets assigned a purpose before it gets spent.
What I love about this approach is that it makes success the *default.*
The goal for so many people I partner with is to create enough margin to feel ease when life changes.
And for many people, that's exactly what working with a financial planner can bring to your strategy.
