Financial Planning

About Financial Planning

The modern financial planning movement took shape on December 12, 1969, when thirteen advisors met in Chicago to launch the International Association for Financial Planners and the College for Financial Planning; by 1973, the first 42 Certified Financial Planner professionals graduated, proving that advice could be holistic instead of product centric.¹

To protect consumers, the College transferred ownership of the marks to an independent nonprofit in 1985, creating today's CFP Board and expanding fiduciary and ethics standards so planners had to integrate education, examination, experience, and ethics in every engagement.²

Demand keeps growing: the Financial Planning Standards Board counted 230,648 CFP professionals worldwide at the end of 2024, with the U.S. surpassing 100,000 certificants and leading global growth, so households in the Hudson Valley can now access planners who meet one cohesive standard of care.³

Financial Planning Highlights

• Cash-Flow & Reserve Modeling: Maps inflows, debt, and emergency fund targets so routine expenses, reserve levels, and premium commitments stay synchronized.
• Protection Layering: Coordinates life, disability, long-term care, and umbrella coverage to keep beneficiaries and successors whole if a wage earner is hurt or passes away.
• Tax-Efficient Savings: Aligns HSAs, retirement plans, and taxable accounts with projected withdrawals so clients know which bucket funds health care, college, or business capital next.
• Estate & Succession Design: Keeps beneficiary designations, trusts, and buy-sell agreements current so ownership transfers and legacy gifts unfold on your timeline.
• Accountability Rhythm: Uses quarterly reviews and secure portals to monitor KPIs like savings rates, investment drift, and policy renewals between formal meetings.

Rising Costs

Sticker prices for 2025-26 in-state public tuition climbed to $11,950 while private nonprofit averages hit $45,000, forcing families to absorb 2.9%-4.0% annual jumps before they even calculate housing or books.¹

At the same time, Fidelity's 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate shows a newly retired 65-year-old needs $172,500 for lifetime medical outlays, up 4% year over year, so ignoring Medicare premiums or HSAs quickly widens the gap.²

Locally, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress reports every regional county now posts median home prices above $300,000, with seven counties topping $430,000, so Rockland households must budget for larger down payments and property taxes even as inventory shrinks.³

Cheaper Premiums

• Max HSAs early in the year: 2025 limits let you defer $4,300 for self-only HDHP coverage or $8,550 for family coverage plus a $1,000 catch-up at age 55, so front-loading reduces taxable income and stockpiles healthcare cash.¹
• Use SECURE 2.0 super catch-ups: Ages 60-63 can add up to $11,250 on top of the standard $23,500 elective deferral in 2025, creating a $34,750 shelter that keeps retirement glidepaths on pace.²
• Leverage New York's 529 deduction: State taxpayers can deduct up to $5,000 per filer ($10,000 for joint filers) in annual contributions to the NY 529 Direct Plan, lowering state tax bills while funding future tuition hikes.³
• Plan 529-to-Roth rollovers: SECURE 2.0 now lets long-funded 529 accounts roll up to $35,000 into a beneficiary's Roth IRA (subject to limits), salvaging surplus college savings and accelerating tax-free growth.⁴
• Prep for Roth-only catch-ups in 2026: High earners earning above $150,000 will owe Roth treatment on future catch-ups, so coordinating pretax and Roth buckets now smooths cash flow later.⁵

What We Do

Every plan starts with a live discovery call where we collect cash-flow statements, tax returns, policy schedules, and business documents. From there we help you draft strategies, like when to draw HSAs versus brokerage accounts, when to refinance or retire debt, and how to stage gifting, then review them with you.