Read & Reflect
Money & Mindset
Should You Wait for Mortgage Rates to Drop Before Buying a House?
Buyers have been waiting on lower mortgage rates since 2022. Here's what that wait has cost, why the rate and the house are two separate decisions, and the questions that matter more than timing the market.
Picking Your Price
Every outcome you envy has a price tag. A look at the five-year tax on ignorance, why sudden wealth so often unravels, and choosing the price you'll pay.
What Does Financial Independence... Mean?
Financial independence has a clear definition. But the definition doesn’t tell you what life is supposed to look like once you get there.
When an Uncontacted Tribe Walked Out of the Amazon
When an uncontacted tribe emerged from the forest, two worlds briefly met.
Why We Care So Much About What Other People Think
We spend more energy than we'd like to admit on what other people think, and it shapes our money decisions. Where does that instinct come from?
10 Financial Insights You Might Find Eye Opening
Focus on income or investments? Rent or buy? Let's dig in.
New Year, Same Principles
Did you know that New Year's resolutions are over 4,000 years old?
For My Next Stunt, I'll Show You How To Be Happy
How's that for a title? Did I catch your attention? As a financial planner, I've seen and heard just about everything. A lot of wins, and a lot of "oh shit… 3, 2, 1, panic" moments.
The Paradox of Small Joys
We often feel a quiet shame about enjoying little things, as if joy should only be reserved for life's big moments, like the promotion, the wedding, the vacation. But when you zoom out, life is made almost entirely of the small stuff.
The Fisherman Story
A powerful reminder that the life you're working toward might already be within reach.
Reimagining Wealth
Why I started ClearMind Capital, what's shifting in the financial planning world, and how this journey is becoming something much bigger than numbers.
Working With an Advisor
What Is an Independent Financial Advisor? What I Learned Inside the Big Firms
An independent advisor runs their own firm instead of working for a bank, brokerage, or insurance company. I worked at the big firms before going independent, and this is how the difference looks from the inside.
When Should You Hire a Financial Advisor? Sooner Than You Think, and Here Is Why
You do not need a large portfolio to work with an advisor. Starter engagements exist. Here are six life moments where planning done early changes the outcome, plus the ages that carry rules.
Financial Advisor Near Me in Columbus: How to Compare Your Local Options
A search for a financial advisor near you returns three very different kinds of firms wearing the same label. Here is how to tell them apart and get a long list down to the two or three worth contacting.
What Does Fiduciary and Fee-Only Mean?
Fiduciary is a legal duty. Fee-only is a business structure. Here is what each one actually protects you from, what neither one fixes, and the standard of care worth holding out for.
How to Choose a Financial Advisor in Columbus: 9 Questions Worth Asking
Nine questions to ask before hiring a financial advisor in Columbus, what a good answer sounds like, and how to verify any of it yourself in about ten minutes.
Fee-Only, Fee-Based, or Commission: How to Follow the Money
Three ways financial advisors get paid, who writes the check in each one, what each model is genuinely good at, and the one question that tells you which you are dealing with.
How Much Does a Financial Advisor Cost in Columbus, Ohio? (2026 Fee Breakdown)
What financial advisors charge in 2026, the four ways they get paid, and the second fee almost nobody notices. Written in plain English, with the questions to ask.
Planning & Retirement
When Should We Take Social Security? How We Think It Through
Should you take Social Security at 62, 67 or 70? We follow one couple, Mark and Julie, as they figure out the age that fits the retirement they want.
Planning Your Finances as a Content Creator
Creator income runs on a different set of rules, and nobody hands you the manual on day one. So here is ours.
What the Fairness Act Changed for Columbus Public Employees (OPERS, STRS, SERS)
OPERS members don't pay into Social Security, which used to mean two federal rules cut their check. Not anymore. Here's what the 2025 Social Security Fairness Act changed for Ohio public employees.
What Happens to Your 401(k) When You Leave a Job (And the Mistake That Costs the Most)
Four options for an old 401(k), what cashing out really costs an Ohio resident after tax and penalty, and the rules that can move your money if you do nothing.
Taxes & Giving
How to Tithe Smarter in 2026 by Giving Stock Instead of Cash
If you tithe in cash, a new 2026 deduction and a few shares of appreciated stock could make the same gift to your church cost you less. We ran the math on a $15,000 tithe.
Understanding Your Central Ohio Property Taxes
Franklin County is rolling out its 2026 property value updates, but a spike in your home's paper worth does not mean an equal spike in your tax bill. We break down exactly how Ohio property taxes are calculated, the major tax credit overhaul coming this year, and what the local tech boom means for your monthly payments.
Ohio's CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan and How the $4,000 Deduction Works
Ohio's CollegeAdvantage 529 gives every contributor a $4,000-per-child state tax deduction with unlimited carryforward. Here is how it works, who can claim it (grandparents included), and how to make sure you are getting the most out of it.
Here’s What You Need To Know About Ohio’s New Flat 2.75% Income Tax
Ohio moved to a flat state income tax rate in 2026, down from a graduated system that topped out at 3.125%. Here's what you need to know.
For Business Owners
Is There Such a Thing as a Free 401(k) for a Small Business?
A provider can run your company's 401(k) without ever invoicing the business. Here is where that money comes from instead, and how to find your plan's number.
How to Tell if Your 401(k) Fees Are Too High
Your plan's cost is written down in two documents you already get. Here is how to find your number and what to measure it against.
What a 401(k) Really Costs a Small Business (And Who Pays for What)
A 401(k) sends two separate bills, one to the company and one to employee account balances. Here is what each runs for a small plan, and which parts you get to decide.
Is Your Company 401(k) Any Good? Five Things You Can Check This Week
Five checks a small business owner can run on their own 401(k), where each answer sits on the report the plan already files with the government, and what the answers tell you.
How to Set Up a Cash Balance Plan, Step by Step
A cash balance plan can let a business owner put away far more than a 401(k) allows and deduct it. You can't open one on your own, though. Here is why, what setting one up looks like, and how late you can start for this year.
How Does Your Company's 401(k) Score? Try the ClearMind 401(k) Scorecard
Every 401(k) files a public report with the Department of Labor each year. Our free Scorecard reads your plan's latest filing and scores it in five areas.
Who Does What on Your 401(k)?
Your recordkeeper, administrator, custodian and auditor each have a narrow job written into a contract. Here is where each one stops, and what those contracts already require them to tell you.
Who Is Responsible for Your Company's 401(k)?
Four or five parties work on your 401(k), and each one has a narrow job. By default, nobody is assigned the whole plan, and under ERISA that responsibility falls back on your business.
Should Your Ohio Business Start a 401(k)? Here Is the 2026 Math, in Plain English
What it costs an Ohio small business to start a 401(k) in 2026, the three federal tax credits that can cover most of it, and what the owner personally gets out of it.
Military & Veteran Planning
How I Built My VA Disability Claim With Almost No Medical Records
My unit didn't go to medical unless something was broken, so my service records were thin. Here's the step-by-step process I used to build my own VA disability claim anyway.
How Military Retirement Benefits Work With a Civilian Job and a 401(k)
How retired pay, the TSP, TRICARE, and a VA rating fit with a civilian paycheck and a 401(k) in 2026, plus the VA rating where health care stops costing you copays.
