Joshua Leana, Financial Advisor

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Syracuse, NY
Joshua Leana, Financial Advisor

You don’t need to have everything figured out — that’s what I’m here for.

I help individuals and families reduce financial stress and build a clear, thoughtful plan to reach their goals, one step at a time.

06/05/2026

This was the biggest financial mistake I’ve ever made.

Remember when the government was sending out COVID checks?

I used that money to buy a brand new Ford Mustang GT.
(And yes… I actually pulled over in the middle of the road to take this picture. Not my proudest moment.)

At first, I loved it.

It was fast.
It looked incredible.
And it taught me a lot about taking care of something valuable.

The downsides?

It was expensive.
It wasn’t practical.
And living in the Northeast? It got stuck in the snow more than I’d like to admit.

I thought it would make me feel successful.

Instead, it made me feel broke.

I traded it in for a Kia Sportage, and honestly that turned out to be one of the best financial decisions I’ve made.

Sometimes the things we think symbolize success are actually the things holding us back.

What’s a decision you made that looked right at the time but completely changed how you think about money today?

06/03/2026

Over a year ago, I walked away from engineering to start over.

And around this time last summer, I hosted my very first seminar.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.

I had all my friends and family in one room, listening closely…
Trying to understand why I would make such a big change when everything seemed to be going so well.

“Why leave engineering?”
“Why start over?”

Fair questions.

For me, it came down to a few things:

I wanted to build something of my own.
I needed to push myself outside of my comfort zone.
And most importantly, I wanted to make a real impact in people’s lives.

This career isn’t just about investments.

It’s about helping people live better, more intentional lives, and being able to actually see that impact firsthand.

Looking back now, I’m proud of myself for taking the leap.

If you’ve ever changed careers, what pushed you to do it?

06/01/2026

Cait and I are less than 100 days out from our wedding.

A few lessons I've learned:

Weddings are expensive.
The amount of planning is overwhelming.
Seating charts are madness.

Everyone always said planning a wedding was tough.

Cait agrees (she's the project manager).

Extremely grateful for this chapter of our lives.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

05/28/2026

This was me last year before a round at To***co Road.

Excited. Confident. Ready to go low.

I got humbled very quickly.

Started with 12 balls, barely finished with 1. Shot 36 over par.

It's a brutal course. Mentally and physically exhausting.

And I couldn't wait to play again.

That's what I love about golf. You never fully master it.

You just keep trying to make small improvements each round.

I think business and life work the same way sometimes.

What's something that humbled you recently?

05/25/2026

The Roth IRA didn’t exist until 1998.

The Roth 401(k) didn’t exist until 2006.

Let that sink in.

A huge percentage of today’s retirement strategies weren’t even available to the generation before us.

If you were born before the 1940s, your options were limited.

You didn’t retire early because you couldn’t engineer tax-free income at scale.

The tools simply didn’t exist.

Today, we have a completely different playbook.

Multiple tax “buckets.”

Control over when and how income is recognized.

The ability to design tax-efficient cash flow in retirement.

That’s a massive advantage (if you use it properly).

Because most people are still defaulting into outdated strategies without even realizing it.

Ask yourself:

Are you building your future with today’s tools…

or still operating with yesterday’s assumptions?

05/22/2026

Raven Thorogood III was one of the top Wall Street investors of her time.

In 1999, she ranked among the top 22 brokers on Wall Street.

Her stock picks delivered an incredible 213% return that year, outperforming thousands of professionals.

You can even find her in the Guinness World Records.

The funny thing about Raven?

She was a six-year-old chimpanzee.

And she picked her stocks by throwing darts at a board.

No strategy.

No insider knowledge.

No understanding of what a stock even was.

Yet she outperformed over 6,000 Wall Street pros.

A simple story, but a powerful reminder:

Luck plays a much bigger role than we like to admit.

05/21/2026

A question I get all the time:

"What percentage should I put into each account?"

401(k), Roth IRA, Brokerage, HSA, High Yield Savings

They want the perfect allocation, the exact formula, the optimized split.

This question is a trap.

There is no universal answer.

You're trying to optimize a percentage before you even understand the entire system.

I see people making six figures, highly analytical, incredibly smart, reducing their entire strategy to:

"Tell me what % goes where."

The right answer depends on variables most people never think about.

I've never given the same answer twice.

Because there isn't one.

Nail the system first and the percentages will reveal themselves.

05/20/2026

A blind spot I see all the time with smart, high earners:

"I'm doing great, I have a lot saved in my 401(k)"

And they usually do.

But it's almost entirely pre-tax money.

It's not their fault, it's what they've been told to do.

"Josh, you need to put away 10% of your income every year until retirement and you'll be a millionaire!"

This is a future tax liability waiting to happen.

Sure, you'll be fine for the first few years of retirement.

But when RMDs kick in?

Forced withdrawals. Higher taxable income. Surprise tax brackets.

Now you're paying more in taxes, whether you like it or not.

Tax diversification matters just as much as asset diversification.

You did a great job saving.

Don't let Uncle Sam take a bigger cut than necessary.

No strategy = taxes out of your control

05/19/2026

It's easy to get caught up in the daily grind.

It's harder to sit down and enjoy the present moment.

What I've noticed is that no matter how small these pauses are, they bring a sense of peace (and some good ideas).

What simple moments bring you the most joy?

05/18/2026

A common myth I keep seeing on internet forums:

"You don't need an emergency fund, just invest everything."

Let's debunk this.

The point of an emergency fund is to cover expenses when things go wrong (and they will).

Job loss, car repairs, unexpected medical bills, home emergencies, etc.

Psychologically, it serves an even bigger purpose.

It gives you peace of mind and time to think so you don't make terrible financial decisions under pressure.

What would happen if you ignore this and invest everything instead?

Well, you might get higher returns over time, but when you need the money, you're forced into a bad position.

You're at the mercy of market timing.

You might sell investments at a loss.

Or you might sell them at a gain, and have to pay capital gains taxes.

The worst time to sell out of your investments is when you're forced to.

How would you feel if the market was down 20% when you needed the money?

Having emergency funds is all about giving yourself the ability to think clearly when things go wrong.

Put yourself in a good position to handle the blows.

Address

507 Plum Street Suite 200
Syracuse, NY
13204

Telephone

+13154256357

Website

http://www.midamerica.equitableadvisors.com/

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