Will Hess - The Friendly Finance Guy

10/02/2026

A dollar you need in 6 months has a very different job than a dollar you need in 30 years.

That’s why I like using the 3 buckets when talking through financial planning.

🪣 Bucket 1: Short Term 0–2 years
Money you may need soon should generally prioritize liquidity and stability.
- High-yield savings
- Money market funds
- CDs
- Cash

🪣 Bucket 2: Mid Term 3–7 years
Here, you may have a little more room for growth while still managing risk.
- Treasuries
- CDs
- Bonds
- Investment accounts with a balanced mix of stocks and bonds

🪣 Bucket 3: Retirement Long Term
With more time before the money is needed, the focus can shift more toward long term growth, tax strategy, and retirement income.
- 401k / 403b
- Traditional / Roth IRA
- HSA
- Annuities
- Whole life cash value

The goal isn’t to find the one “best” place for your money.
It’s to make sure every dollar has the right job, in the right bucket, for the right timeline.

That’s what planning is all about.

09/17/2026

LET’S GO BUFFALO! ❤️🏈💙

09/11/2026

I hate golf!

But I love supporting a good cause with my best friends

Irondequoit Professional Firefighters Local 4176 Charity Golf Tournament

08/27/2026

THINGS FUTURE YOU WILL THANK YOU FOR

Roth Retirement Accounts-
Pay taxes today. Build a source of potentially tax free retirement income for tomorrow.

Investing in Stocks While You’re Young-
Giving a diversified, stock focused ETF decades to compound can be more powerful than trying to find the “perfect” time to invest.

Long-Term Care Planning-
Put a plan in place before you need care when you still have more options for protecting your assets and family.

Building Cash Value in Whole Life Insurance-
A properly structured whole life policy can build guaranteed cash value over time while providing permanent life insurance protection.

A Health Care Proxy-
Decide today who can make medical decisions for you if someday you can't make them yourself.

08/20/2026

What a job provides
vs
What you should consider setting up

Work will usually provide:
Health, Dental, Vision Insurance
Limited life insurance (1-3x your salary)
Traditional or Roth 401k or 403b
Some form of employer match (free money)
Some jobs might not offer a match, but will usually offer a pension of deferred comp

Things to consider setting up on your own:
Emergency savings
Roth IRA (individual retirement account)
Personal Life insurance
Non-retirement investing

07/30/2026

Put your money in...

Roth IRA/401K - want to invest for retirement and not pay taxes on it later

Traditional IRA/401K - want to invest for retirement and get a tax break now

Taxable Brokerage - Want to invest more beyond retirement accounts, or want the money before retirement

High Yield Savings Account - If you want to earn something on your emergency fund, or other short term savings

Checking Account - Money to cover one month of expenses plus a little buffer

Whats the money for?

Investing:
-Roth IRA/401k
-Traditional IRA/401K
-Taxable coverage

Saving:
-HYSA

Spending:
-Checking

06/19/2026

Brokerage vs 401k vs Roth IRA

Some commonly used terms and accounts.

unfortunately most people don't get a chance to be educated thoroughly in the differences.

In a perfect world, using all three efficiently leads to the best retirement outlook

Stay educated! Stay friendly!

06/01/2026

Advisor during the week

Aging semi pro football player during the weekend

Protecting Clients, Quarterbacks, Running backs and Crazy Daughters 24/7

05/08/2026

05/06/2026

knowledge will always be power!

unfortunately a majority of us were taught all about mitochondria and Pythagorean theory

not key financial terms and strategies that we need in our adult lives

people in the industry - what other terms did you wish were common knowledge?

everyone else - what terms do you regularly hear and think "what the heck does that mean?