More than 15 years ago, a dear friend said to me: "Steph, life is worth stopping to smell the roses more often." This was in response to me being a goal-driven person and not taking time to celebrate what I had. As a competitive athlete, I learned to identify priorities, set and accomplish goals, … Read more about Celebrating
Taxes as a Privilege
It’s year-end tax planning time. And when it comes to paying taxes, I am like most folks – not smiling when writing that check. However, it is a lot easier to pay taxes when you have some perspective. Approximately 8% of the world’s population lives in a developed country with clean drinking … Read more about Taxes as a Privilege
Setting Limits
While I prefer to exercise outside, I do go to the gym to build strength. My warmup is 18 minutes on the treadmill. The other day, I started thinking about why I run for only 18 minutes. What if I went to 20 minutes? Is that much harder? Or, is that the amount of running time I am used to? After … Read more about Setting Limits
How You Use It
Building wealth is not always about how much money you make, it is about how you choose to use it. For example, one of my clients has a good job and makes $150k per year. He is unmarried, but cares for a number of family members. He manages to save about $50k per year and spends the other $100k. … Read more about How You Use It
Taking that First Step
This week, we are taking the first step to building our social media presence. If you are a social media user, please visit and follow Clear Sky Wealth’s Facebook and Instagram pages. We plan to share fun and inspiring information on these pages. While developing a social media presence for Clear … Read more about Taking that First Step
Five Tips For Moms Doing Back To School Shopping
Last week, I got a phone call inviting me to be on News 8 to talk about back-to-school finances. I was grateful for the opportunity! The challenge was that they contacted me on Tuesday afternoon to be on the show on Wednesday at 8:45am. With that short of notice, I almost said “No.” However, I … Read more about Five Tips For Moms Doing Back To School Shopping
Second Best
In 2007, I decided that I wanted my passion for investing to be more than a hobby. That prompted me to interview with all types of firms. I wanted to start my career off perfectly by joining a prestigious firm with a strong brand name. My ideal firm was Merrill Lynch, which had a great reputation … Read more about Second Best
Doing It “All”
One of the questions I get from clients and colleagues is where do I find the time to do everything – family, business and fun? Life is indeed rich and full… and I love it that way. There are two things that allow me to fit so many things into my life: clear priorities and being present. The first … Read more about Doing It “All”
New Address, Bigger Space
We have moved into our new office space! While we enjoyed our temporary office, we are so happy we found our ideal space. The new space is larger and has even more of what we value in a space: plenty of natural sunlight to inspire ideas, earth tone colors to keep conversations flowing easily, … Read more about New Address, Bigger Space
Taking Action
Have you put off something for way too long? If so, does it cross your mind daily, sometimes multiple times a day? I have, and just thinking about it is more work than actually doing it. One of my business coaches recommended that I write down my 1-year goals, then break them down into action … Read more about Taking Action
Seeing A Solution
Last week, I went to the beach for some inspiration. I find it is a great place to go when I need to think and get some perspective. While getting out of my car, I noticed a woman in her mid-40s who was walking up and down the boardwalk looking out towards the beach. She looked rather frantic. … Read more about Seeing A Solution
Imagining The Future
One would not describe me as an early adopter of technology. In fact, my dad called me in 2010 to tell me how cool the Apple iPhone is. He really liked the features and everything you could do with it. I told him: “You're such a hip and cool and young dad!” :-) At the time, I did not imagine … Read more about Imagining The Future