Money Dates

“Tax planning is a year-round endeavor. It's not something to think about when you file your taxes in April.” This one goes out to all Portland taxpayers! It’s easy to get blindsided by these two local levies: the Metro Supportive Housing Services Tax and the Multnomah County Preschool For All Tax, which were both passed in 2020 and are still tripping up high earners five years later. Often, mismatched withholding trips up taxpayers. Employers only withhold once an individual crosses a set income threshold, so dual-income households can each stay under the line while their combined income lands well above it. Remote employees living in Multnomah County but paid by an out-of-state employer hit the same blind spot. The two taxes don't even share a footprint, as Supportive Housing covers the broader Metro area, while Preschool For All applies to Multnomah County specifically. This means neighbors just across a boundary can owe one tax and not the other. Both taxes require their own personal tax filings, not just an Oregon return line item, and quarterly estimated payments kick in once liability hits $1,000. It’s important to check pay stubs, compare withholding with your partner's, and treat tax planning as a year-round habit rather than an April surprise. Local taxes are proliferating, so if you want to avoid getting snuck up on, have a good plan in place! Key Topics: Two Sneaky Portland Taxes, Five Years Running (06:54) Why Employer Withholding Falls Short (11:02) Where the Supportive Housing Money Actually Goes (14:56) Doing the Math on a $3,270 Tax Bill (18:44) Preschool for All: Free Daycare, Different Numbers (21:31) Two Taxes, Two Thresholds, One Confusing System (23:14) Stacking to $8,000: Filing Rules and the Quarterly Payment Trap (26:24) Resources: Multnomah County & Metro Taxes: What Portland High Earners Need to Know: https://www.equalvoices.co/post/multnomah-county-metro-taxes-what-portland-high-earners-need-to-know Money Dates Episode 19: Why High-Income Households Still Struggle to Donate https://www.equalvoices.co/podcast-1/why-high-income-households-still-struggle-to-donate Metro boundary address lookup: https://gis.oregonmetro.gov/boundary-lookup-tools/metro-boundary-address-lookup Supportive Housing Services progress: https://www.oregonmetro.gov/what-metro-does/housing-and-homelessness/supportive-housing-services/progress Schedule Your Free Intro Chat: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals. Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

“There's always going to be some new technology, some new shift, some new way of thinking... but here's the thing, we still have the same nervous system that we had back then.” Many investors right now are worried that today’s market is “different”. Our hosts, Dan and Natalie Slagle, discuss why the bubble we might be in is no different from previous ones. They give a tour through four centuries of market mania. Dutch tulip futures trading for the price of an Amsterdam house. Isaac Newton losing a fortune in the South Sea Bubble. The dot-com crash that erased 78% of the NASDAQ. The 2008 housing collapse built on leverage instead of speculation. The 2021 meme-stock and crypto frenzy that took Bitcoin from $5,000 to nearly $69,000 and back down again. Every one of them runs on the same fuel, beginning with a story people tell themselves, a fear of missing out, and the conviction that this time is different. A bubble is simply price disconnected from underlying value, propped up by expectation rather than fundamentals. It goes from displacement, boom, euphoria, profit-taking, panic. Can you tell a genuine paradigm shift from a bubble narrative? Would you buy your winning investment today, at today's price, if you didn't already own it? And whose voice are you listening to, and what do they gain if you believe them? Assets change, stories change, but the instinct to chase and the instinct to panic don't. As an investor, it pays to keep a level head. Key Topics: The 40% Question (04:41) Why Smart People Do Dumb Things With Money (07:13) Defining a Bubble: Story Over Fundamentals (10:09) Tulip Mania: Betting on Flowers That Don't Exist Yet (15:41) Newton's Costly Lesson: The South Sea Bubble (23:28) Dot-Com Bust to Housing Collapse (25:13) GameStop, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin's Wild Ride (26:48) "I Would Never": Confronting Hindsight Bias (28:27) FOMO Confessions: Crypto Buys and a Banana on a Boat ETF (33:37) Three Questions to Stress-Test Any Investment (39:18) Closing Takeaways: Different Story, Same Nervous System (44:15) Resources: Money Dates Episode 34: Too Much of a Good Thing: Diversifying Out of a Single Stock Without a Massive Tax Bill https://www.equalvoices.co/podcast-1/too-much-of-a-good-thing-diversifying-out-of-a-single-stock-without-a-massive-tax-bill Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals. Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

“This decision should not be based on a spreadsheet at the end of the day.” Our hosts, Dan and Natalie Slagle, turn the mic on their own family planning by asking themselves, “Should we have a second child?” To Dan, the first time around carried the thrill of not knowing; the second carries the different weight of already knowing what’s in store. Natalie counters that knowing what's coming brings its own quiet stress, even if the unknowns felt scarier the first time. From there they work through age gaps, their reliance on a friend-built support network in lieu of nearby family, and how parenthood has already reshaped their careers, especially the pay and ambition gap that tends to open up for mothers specifically. Then Dan lays out seven financial categories every couple should walk through: childcare, housing, income, healthcare, everyday costs, education savings, and long-term costs. They land on a short list of questions worth asking before making the big decision. What's the monthly cash flow margin? Is there an emergency cushion? Does this feel affordable, or merely survivable? Here’s the thing, though. Spreadsheets can help to inform a decision like this, but they shouldn't be the end-all-be-all. A child isn’t just another investment. They’re more than that. And so when it comes to the choice of whether or not to have baby number two, more ground can be covered with good old-fashioned communication between husband and wife than any document filled with calculations ever could! Key Topics: Why the Second Time Feels Different (06:12) Age Gaps, Village-Building, and Career Timing (11:53) The Motherhood Pay Gap, Up Close (18:00) Seven Financial Categories, Mapped Out (19:43) Housing, Cars, and Kicking the Can Down the Road (26:21) Income Shifts and the Reduced-Hours Question (28:57) The 529 Guilt Trip and Long-Term Costs (32:03) The Real Questions Before Deciding (34:43) Resources: Learn more about Portland's Preschool For All Program: https://multco.us/programs/preschool-all Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals. Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

“This rebrand still embodies everything that we've built up to this point... but it's meeting us where we're at in our personal life, and where a lot of our clients are at.” Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, spent over a year pouring heart and soul into a full rebrand of the firm they founded in their twenties. Fyooz Financial Planning is retiring. In its place comes E_____ V_____ W_____ (you’ve gotta listen to find out!) The old brand no longer matched who they had become or the couples they serve. These are high-earning dual-income households, often in their forties, many with kids, concentrated in medicine, engineering, and tech, to pinpoint a few industries. These clients want both partners engaged, respectful, and treated as equals. Traditional firms still often default to one spouse (historically the higher earner) handling the finances; Dan and Natalie want both spouses to have a voice. With this rebrand, the work’s the same, with the added bonus of clarifying their mission. That’s ongoing, relationship-driven financial planning that keeps both voices in the room as life shifts, whether it’s new jobs, children, career pivots, or inheritances. The updated website, language, and core values now make that explicit. Fyooz had a special place; the new brand simply elevates what clients already experienced and what the founders always intended! Key Topics: Announcing the Rebrand (03:49) Why the Old Brand No Longer Fit (04:25) Origin Story of “Fyooz” and Pronunciation Woes (07:02) The Problem They Set Out to Solve (10:41) Ideal Client Profile: Love, Respect, and Numbers (17:55) “Our Ideal Clients Are” (21:40) Ongoing Planning as Relationship Work (27:18) New Brand Reveal! (And what it represents) (32:25) Resources: The New Brand Website!: https://tinyurl.com/487tbxxr NYT Article Feature Mentioned in Episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/your-money/money-relationships-marriage.html Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals. Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

“You don't want to apply to any schools without having an idea of what that school is likely to cost your family.” Our hosts, Dan and Natalie Slagle, close out their two-part college funding series with Jonathan West of College Aid Pro. He’s a financial planner who has personally guided his own four kids through four very different college paths. Jonathan recommends that parents run the numbers before falling in love with a school. Every college calculates a Student Aid Index through the FAFSA, or, at roughly 250 more selective schools, the CSS Profile, and that number (meaning not the sticker price) is what families should react to. High earners often assume they're locked out of aid entirely and skip the exercise, but need-based aid is only one lever; merit aid, tied to grades and test scores, varies wildly and unpredictably from school to school. Jonathan also discusses community college as a legitimate, underrated on-ramp; the modest payoff of most private scholarships; a shrinking pool of college-bound teenagers; and growing openness to gap years and trades. Regardless of income, Jonathan encourages all parents to keep saving, in a 529 or elsewhere, and don't let uncertainty about the future of higher education talk you out of it. Nobody, he says, has ever regretted having more! Key Topics: How College Costs Got So Complicated (02:36) Need-Based Aid vs. Merit Aid, Decoded (06:07) Merit Aid's Secret-Recipe Problem (12:30) Private Scholarships: A Nice Bonus, Not a Strategy (20:45) Community College as a Financial Strategy (24:44) Gap Years, Trades, and Alternatives to the Four-Year Path (28:45) Inside the College Aid Pro Software (36:59) When Should Parents Start? A Timeline Guide (42:30) Resources: College Aid Pro: https://collegeaidpro.com/ Jonathan West Email: [email protected] Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals. Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit https://www.equalvoices.co/legal