Wealth with Intention
Money Wisdom for Your Next Chapter
Are You Getting Your Full 401(k) Match? How to Check in 15 Minutes
The short version: your employer match is the highest-return money in your financial life, and three fairly ordinary mistakes cause people to miss part of it. You can check all three yourself in about fifteen minutes using your Summary Plan Description and your most recent pay stub.
Most people assume that if they are contributing to their 401(k), the match takes care of itself. Usually it does. But "usually" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and the exceptions are expensive.
What is a 401(k) employer match?
An employer match is money your company adds to your 401(k) based on what you contribute. It is compensation you have already earned. You just have to meet the plan's conditions to receive it.
Two formulas cover most plans:
- 100% of the first 3%, then 50% of the next 2%. You contribute 5% of pay, your employer adds 4%.
- 50% of the first 6%. You contribute 6% of pay, your employer adds 3%.
Your exact formula lives in your Summary Plan Description, the document your p...
The Three Principles of Sound Investing: Consistency, Courage, and Balance
Financial news makes markets sound arbitrary. Over any given week, that is close to true. Over a lifetime of investing, a small number of principles do most of the work, and they are far less exciting than the commentary suggests.
There are three we come back to constantly: consistency, courage, and balance. Each has its own post below. This page is about how they fit together, because in practice they are not three separate ideas. They are one idea approached from three directions, and the order in which you apply them matters more than most people expect.
The short answer
Consistency is staying invested. Courage is what staying invested requires when markets fall. Balance is what makes both of those possible without relying on willpower.
- Consistency addresses the largest measurable cost in investing, which is the gap between what markets return and what investors actually earn.
- Courage addresses the moment that gap opens, which is almost always during a decline.
- Balance addresse ...
How to Manage and Invest Your Financial Settlement After Divorce
What should you do with a divorce settlement?
Park the money somewhere safe, wait 60 to 90 days before making any permanent decisions, and then invest it according to when you will actually need it. A settlement is not one pot of money. It is several different kinds of money with different tax rules, and treating it as a single number is the most expensive mistake women make in the first year after a divorce.
This article is about what happens after the decree is signed. If you are still negotiating, still waiting on a QDRO, or still deciding which assets to ask for, that is a different set of questions. Intentional Divorce Solutions covers that ground in detail, starting with how to divide assets in a divorce.
The first 90 days: do less than you think you should
There is enormous pressure to act quickly. Your attorney is done. The accounts have transferred. Everyone around you has an opinion about what you should do with the money.
Do less.
The only urgent items in the first 90 days a...
What to Do in the First 30 Days After Inheriting Money
In the first 30 days after inheriting money, the most important thing you can do is slow down. Gather a complete inventory of what you inherited, park any liquid cash somewhere safe like a high-yield savings account, get a basic understanding of the tax picture, and start assembling a team of professionals. Most financial decisions can wait 30 to 90 days. Almost none of them require immediate action.
Why the First 30 Days Matter More Than You Think
Inheriting money is rarely just a financial event.
It usually arrives in the middle of grief, family dynamics, and decisions you were not expecting to make. And somewhere in all of that, someone is telling you that you need to act fast.
You don't. Not on most of it.
What you do in the first 30 days is not about making moves. It is about getting grounded, getting clear, and protecting yourself from the mistakes that are easiest to make when emotions are running high.
Here is what actually matters right now.
Step 1. Give Yourself Permission to...
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Inheriting Wealth
Inheriting wealth is rarely simple. Along with the financial windfall often comes grief, confusion, and the weight of responsibility. Maybe you've recently lost a parent or loved one, and now you're faced with managing money you never expected to have. It's a lot to process, and it's okay to feel overwhelmed.
While I can't take away the emotional complexity of this moment, I can help you avoid some of the most common financial mistakes I see clients make during this transition. Here are six pitfalls to watch out for—and how to navigate them with intention.
1. Making Big Decisions Too Quickly
When money suddenly appears in your account, it's tempting to act fast. Maybe you've been dreaming of a new car, or you want to help family members, or you think you should invest it immediately before you "waste" it.
I get it. But here's what I've seen happen: clients who rush into major purchases or investments often regret those decisions within a year or two.
What to do instead: Give yours...
When Should You Take Social Security? 62 vs. 67 vs. 70 in 2026
By Leah Hadley, AFC®, CDFA®. Last updated September 2026 with the current Social Security figures.
"When should I start taking Social Security?" is one of the questions we hear most often from people approaching retirement. It sounds like it should have a simple answer. It does not, because the best choice depends on your health, your other income, your marital status, your taxes, and how long you expect to work. Let's walk through how the decision works and what to weigh so you can choose on purpose instead of by default.
The short version. You can claim Social Security as early as 62 or as late as 70. Every year you wait, your monthly benefit gets larger, and for someone with a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 70 pays about 77% more per month than claiming at 62. Waiting is often the better deal for people who expect a long life or who have a spouse who may outlive them. Claiming earlier can make sense if you need the income, have health concerns, or are working through a ga
...Back to the Investment Basics Part 5: Patience and Personal Persistence
By Leah Hadley, AFC®, CDFA®. Last updated September 2026.
So far in this series, we have looked at how recency bias pulls investors off course, why saving comes first, how to invest broadly in markets that are both robust and random, and why the price you pay matters.
Applied together, those give you a sturdy way to capture the returns markets have to offer. The last two basics are different. They are not about markets at all. They are about how you behave once the portfolio is built, and whether it fits your life.
The short answer. Patience means staying invested through downturns so you are still there for the recoveries. Personal means matching how much you invest to your own goals and timelines, not to the news or your neighbor. In practice, that comes down to three steps. Set aside cash or stable investments for spending you expect in the next few years, invest the rest for the long term, and automate as much as you can so fewer decisions are left for the moments when you feel
...Back to the Investment Basics Part 4: The Price You Pay Matters
By Leah Hadley, AFC®, CDFA®. Last updated September 2026.
In Part 3, we described markets as both robust and random. Today we turn to price. What does the price of a stock actually tell you, why are prices so hard to predict, and what does “the price you pay” mean for your own results?
The short answer. A stock’s price is set by the collective judgment of millions of buyers and sellers, which makes it a reasonable estimate of value in aggregate and a poor tool for predicting what happens next. The price you pay matters in two ways. What you pay for the investment itself affects your long-term returns, and what you pay to own it, through fund fees and trading costs, comes straight out of those returns. You do not need to outguess prices. You need to invest broadly, keep costs low, and stay put.
Why Does One Share Cost $763,600 and Another $509.77?
In mid-September 2026, one Class A share of Berkshire Hathaway traded at roughly $763,600. A Class B share of the same company traded a...
Back to the Investment Basics Part 3: Our Marvelous Markets
By Leah Hadley, AFC®, CDFA®. Last updated September 2026.
In Part 2, we covered saving, the first of five basics that have served investors well over time. Now that you have money to invest, the next question is where returns actually come from and what that means for how you should invest. That is the subject of Part 3.
The short answer. Stock market returns come from the ongoing work of real companies producing goods and services, which is why markets have rewarded patient owners over long periods. At the same time, which companies, industries, and countries lead at any given moment is close to random, and it changes without warning. The practical response is to own the market broadly and diversify widely, so you are in the winners without needing to identify them in advance. The S&P 500 fell 18.1 percent in 2022 and rose 26.3 percent in 2023, which is a good reminder that both ideas are true at once.
Two Ideas That Are Both True
Consider two ideas about the market that seem to...
Back to the Investment Basics Part 2: First Save, Then Invest
By Leah Hadley, AFC®, CDFA®. Last updated September 2026.
In Part 1, we looked at how recency bias pulls investors off course, and why the antidote is a handful of basics that have held up through every market scare. Today we start with the first one, and it is the least glamorous. Before you can invest, you have to save.
Knowing that does not make it easy. Saving means choosing less now for more later. It is also the part of investing you control completely. You cannot control what the market does this year, but you can control how much you set aside and how automatically you do it.
The short answer. Saving comes before investing because you cannot invest money you never set aside, and the amount you save often matters more than your investment returns in the early and middle years. The most reliable way to save more is to automate it, so the decision is made once instead of every month. A sensible order for most people is to build a starter cash cushion, capture any employer matc
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Leah Hadley, AFC®, CDFA®, MAFF®
Founder/Senior Wealth Manager
Leah Hadley is the founder of Intentional Wealth Partners and Intentional Divorce Solutions, sister companies based in Cleveland and serving clients nationwide. Intentional Wealth Partners provides financial planning and wealth management. She specializes in helping women and couples navigate major life transitions with confidence and clarity. She is also the author of Intentional Money: The Modern Woman's Guide to Building Wealth, Purpose, and Peace, host of the "Intentional Divorce Insights" podcast, and a sought-after speaker.
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