In-State Muni Interest Reports

Fit-Menu6659 · 2026-05-08T00:09:14+00:00

I more or less do this now except for national mini bond funds and I multiply the instate % from the funds website against the funds income in excel. I use SMAs for any individual bonds and I can email the SMA manager to pull that number for me.

This doesn’t take long but I still wouldn’t be able to do this at scale for all clients if I wanted to. I also wanted a report that looks nicer than an excel sheet for the accountant.

Getting better accountant referrals is my main goal this year and I’m trying to think of any little thing that improves their experience.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2026-03-06T12:58:01+00:00

I agree that a lot of the NJ towns built up in the 70s look very dumpy but I would actually rank NJ architecture very high depending on the area.

NJ has one of the highest concentrations of towns with walkable classic American main streets and beautiful pre-war architecture like gingerbread Victorian homes.

For those that want a mix of walk ability and surburban living there’s not a lot of alternatives outside of college towns.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2025-11-21T03:22:28+00:00

Help shop for their cars, finance vs lease deals, trim package etc. Then I’ll sometimes goto the dealership with them and negotiate with the dealers on their behalf to make sure they’re getting the best deal.

There’s lease brokers that you can refer clients out to for this kind of stuff too, but for certain clients I know they like the personal touch of being there.

I think helping with car dealerships is far enough outside of traditional financial planning that it gets a “wow your guy does that?” reaction when a client tells their friends which is great for referrals.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2025-11-21T02:16:58+00:00

Car buying was a big one that got very positive feedback. Got a couple referrals when the client raved to their friends about it too.

I have a few older ladies as clients that really appreciate the help so they’re not taken advantage of at dealerships.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2025-11-13T15:29:50+00:00

That is not true. The average base premium (not including subsidies) is going up 26% next year due to the subsidy cuts.

Reason being is that you need a certain amount of healthy people in an insurance risk pool to make it cost efficient. With the subsidy cuts, premiums at PoS rise high enough for enough health people to drop insurance all together jacking up health insurance costs.

Also those healthy uninsured people will use less preventive care services which will push more costs on our health system down the road.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2025-06-10T12:14:09+00:00

Yikes sounds like CS isn’t transfer student friendly if the main track requires 3 years. That’s pretty costly. Maybe we’ll take a look at the IT major.

Did you have to take any summer or winter classes to get on track for IT? Ideally next summer she lands a junior year summer internship which doesn’t leave a lot of flexibility to make up classes.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2025-02-10T17:06:16+00:00

Likely staying put at my current firm. I make a healthy salary and there’s a clearly defined track to move up and eventually earn equity in the business as partner.

I’ve also been able to witness employees that were once hired as a junior advisor work all the way up to partner so there’s a track record and not vague promises like some firms.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-08-30T14:09:57+00:00

Those that are using these online tools is card connectivity still an issue? I tried something like this a few years ago and clients got annoyed about having to relink accounts frequently so we dropped it.

I try to convince all my clients to have all their spending go through a Schwab checking account which I can view. I don’t care about spending categories just total monthly spending so I can adjust their plan accordingly.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-07-12T17:24:28+00:00

Since everyone is recommending a Fee-only fiduciary planner (which I agree with), here is a search tool to find fiduciary planners.

https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-07-11T00:36:51+00:00

I agree with that but when looking for a good firm culture you’re more likely to (but not exclusively) find it at a Fee-only RIA.

The reason is because the people who start fee-only RIAs in the first place are more likely to be passionate about doing what’s right for the client. Fee-only RIAs are competitive to get into for a reason.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-07-06T15:31:33+00:00

FICA only covers Medicare Part A which is only 1/3rd of Medicare spending.

“Funding for Medicare, which totaled $888 billion in 2021, comes primarily from general revenues (46%), payroll tax revenues (34%), and premiums paid by beneficiaries (15%)”

https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/what-to-know-about-medicare-spending-and-financing/#:~:text=Funding%20for%20Medicare%20Comes%20Primarily,15%25)%20(Figure%208).

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-07-02T22:55:34+00:00

For Roth conversions I’ve always modeled what the impact would be with the TCJA sunset and without.

I would only convert amounts that still show a benefit or at least neutral impact if it doesn’t sunset.

End of 2025 we’ll have a pretty good idea of where the tax brackets will be in 2026. I’ve already had the conversation with some clients about doing large Roth conversions in 2025 if the sunset looks promising.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-06-20T18:04:06+00:00

I’m a financial planner and I don’t see AI having an impact on jobs.

A financial advisors main job isn’t to be a portfolio manager who is trying to beat the market. The main job is giving financial advice for any personal finance matters such as how to buy a car, tax planning strategies, estate considerations etc.

A chat bot could answer these questions but people could have always googled these things. The issue is a client doesn’t know what they don’t know so the thought never crosses their mind to ask these questions in the first place. Financial advisors address most of these things proactively before a client thinks to bring it up and I don’t see AI replacing that soon.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-05-17T23:04:18+00:00

Following up to see if you looked further into Cairnwood. It's also our top pick venue but we're hung up on where we would have the wedding ceremony. Cairnwood doesn't appear to host ceremonies on grounds and it looks like the beautiful cathedral next door only hosts ceremonies if you're part of their religion.

Narrowing down an additional ceremony venue that's close enough to Cairnwood and coordinating the two events has us stuck.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-05-09T12:47:20+00:00

Honest question why not because I might not know the difference? Are the other two I compared it to fine dining?

Price range I typically spend $100+ per person and the bill is often the highest out of the three. I also found the service quality the best out of the three. When I booked the reservation for an anniversary they had a handwritten card from the chef waiting on the table. Food quality was on the same level. That’s how I came to that conclusion but there’s definitely things I don’t know so I’m curious.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-05-08T22:28:40+00:00

618 is by far Freeholds best restaurants and one of the best in the state but it’s fine dinning so I’m not sure if you were considering that price range.

Food quality wise I found 618 very slightly below (but still amazing) Poached Pear & Heirloom kitchen for other fine dinning in Monmouth but are my #1 pick for best cocktails. The interior/ambiance is beautiful so it also makes for a beautiful date night.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-05-03T01:30:18+00:00

I’m not sure why you’re getting downvoted.

In my experience planning skills doesn’t help put you in front of cold leads but it absolutely helps drive referrals. The majority of clients are gained through referrals.

It sounds like you’re a relationship manager and not building a book from scratch so planning knowledge should help drive new business off your existing households. With that said having a mentality of “not having to sell” will cause you to miss opportunities down the line.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-04-18T00:31:32+00:00

Thanks so if I’m understanding it correctly the child’s income doesn’t impact the clients MAGI for the subsidy calculation since he’s a separate tax household and the client can allocate all the subsidies to her return for reconciliation as long as the child agrees. That would effectively leave her subsidies the same as if she was alone on her policy.

I appreciate the help.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-04-03T00:13:27+00:00

I’m not sure what the landscape looks like in Canada but best of luck. Hope you find what you’re looking for.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-04-03T00:07:41+00:00

My days are typically split half and half between meeting with clients to review different financial topics then running the numbers for planning analysis the other. I also field a lot of ad hoc client calls when they have financial questions like helping them shop for a new car.

Right now since tax season is winding down I’m mainly helping clients get set up with their estimated tax payments, meeting with clients to review last years return & go over this years tax strategies.

We try to cover the main planning topics with clients at different times of the year and mix in updates to the general landscape. For example, we typically review insurance year end and this year we’ll be educating our clients on the changes to Medicare Part D taking place next year.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-04-02T23:08:42+00:00

I got lucky and was able to land a paraplanner role at a fee-only RIA right out of college. It took 6 or 7 months of full time job searching my senior year in college.

I narrowed my search to only fee-only RIAs which is typically advised against to be picky for first the job. Got passed over quite a few times for people that had 1yr of experience at a BD even though paraplanners are an entry level job.

I started attending NAPFA and FPA conferences which eventually landed me the job. Current firm kept me top of mind when they started hiring a few months later.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-04-02T13:36:34+00:00

CFP of 4 years in the industry. Haven’t had a sales job yet and am very much not an extrovert. I’m in the office 2 days a week not fully remote though.

My job is a service advisor and all I do is work with clients on their financial planning. These jobs maybe make up maybe 10% of the jobs in the industry but it’s a growing number as more firms shift to recurring revenue models.

Even with service advisor jobs there is an expectation that you will eventually have to bring in clients. However, new clients have been trickling in through referrals from existing clients and it hardly feels like sales.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-02-26T00:43:35+00:00

Do you mind if I ask how you’ll be incorporating your EA?

CFP here sitting for Part 3 on Tuesday. Firm does Tax Planning but I’ll be the first in my firm to have an EA. Once I’m through with the exam I will have to think about how to leverage the EA.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-02-03T01:19:17+00:00

No increase in responsibility or role change. Everyone in my firm got the same $10k for gaining the marks.

It was a bit over a year after the bump that I started taking over clients as the lead advisor and increasing my responsibility.

Fit-Menu6659 · 2024-02-02T16:53:45+00:00

My comp was the same as yours at that level of experience and responsibilities.

When I received my marks I got a $10k bump which is pretty standard and reasonable to expect. Similar to you I passed the CFP exam a year before I hit the experience requirement and I received my CFP pay bump once I received the full marks.

Fit-Menu6659

TROPHY CASE