Know My Plan

Know My Plan Save Time | Reduce Stress | Pursue Goals Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.

Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Know My Plan is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Please follow this link to Important Disclosure Information: http://raymondjames.com/smicd.htm

09/18/2026

There's nothing worse than lying to yourself.

I've had people tell me, quietly, not at a cocktail party, "I'd rather drive a nice car than pay for my kids' college." And you know what? If that's true, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with it.

What's not fine is pretending otherwise. The lie you tell yourself about that opens the door to every other lie: working out isn't that important, I don't really need much sleep, I function just as well on Mountain Dew as I do on water. Self-deception in one area of your life quietly cripples growth in every other area. I've seen it enough times to believe it completely.

As a financial planner, I'm not here to hand out my own goals. These aren't my goals, they're yours. Don't tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me the truth about what you actually want, and let me help you build toward it.

If someone tells me, "I love my job, I never want to retire, I want to work until I'm 70 and spend more than I probably should on paper because I plan on working forever," I don't judge that.

If someone tells me, "I'm not paying for my kids' college, I want them to earn it the way I did and have real skin in the game," okay. That's a plan too.

The goal isn't to live up to someone else's version of responsible. It's to be honest enough with yourself to build a plan around what's actually true.

What's the thing you've been telling yourself you don't really want, but say anyway?

--Nic

GTC 63.8 | Stop Lying To Yourself

One of my favorite gifts...A few years ago, my good friend Corey Keating got me this basketball.I make sure that I have ...
09/17/2026

One of my favorite gifts...

A few years ago, my good friend Corey Keating got me this basketball.

I make sure that I have it displayed in a prominent place in my office where I see it every day.

I love the message - "Stick To The Plan"

It is one thing to have a plan, it is quite another to stick to it in good times and bad times.

The cardinal sin of the plan is tinkering.

It feels like tinkering is human nature.

In anything worth planning for, it sure helps to have a coach/accountability partner to allow the plan time and space to work.

--Nic

09/16/2026

I don't judge clients for what they spend money on.

It's their money, and we all value different things.

There's plenty I enjoy that they wouldn't, and plenty they enjoy that I wouldn't.

What I do owe them is honesty. If the jewelry, the travel, whatever it is, is eating into the amount they can safely spend without derailing the goals they told me mattered, I have to bring that into the light.

Here's what that actually sounds like:

"We agreed you needed to put $40,000 a year away to retire when you wanted to. If it turns out you can really only put away $24,000 because other things matter more right now, that's completely fine. But the plan has to change. Retiring at 55 probably becomes retiring at 62. So the real question is: are you okay working seven more years so you can do the things you actually want to do today?"

If the answer is yes, great. I'm not going to judge that.

What I won't do is what a lot of advisors do: say "it'll be okay" and never actually show the trade-off.

I think financial planning is really just telling people their real options. Do X, you get Y. Do A, you get B.

Then let them choose with their eyes open.

--Nic

GTC 63.7 | Honest Options

Are your pets taken care of?The Nielsen family loves our fur family members.They bring us an incredible amount of love a...
09/15/2026

Are your pets taken care of?

The Nielsen family loves our fur family members.

They bring us an incredible amount of love and joy.

We want to make sure they are taken care of if something happens to us.

We are having conversation with many families like me who want to be sure their entire family is taken care of if something happens to them.

Pet Trusts are a real thing for real people.

These are not just for celebrities and athletes.

If you have questions, let's connect.

--Nic

Bonus: drop a picture of your fur baby in the chat.

Financial Planning - Bare Necessities(1) Have access to "cash." (Emergency Fund, HELOC, SBLOC, etc...)(2) Automate whate...
09/13/2026

Financial Planning - Bare Necessities

(1) Have access to "cash." (Emergency Fund, HELOC, SBLOC, etc...)

(2) Automate whatever you can. Decision fatigue is very powerful.

(3) Invest outside of your retirement plan, but ensure you get all of your employer retirement plans FREE money (the match). Liquidity is the new luxury.

(4) Have adequate amounts of insurance (life, disability, long-term care, auto, house, and umbrella).

(5) Have proper estate planning documents executed and in-place.

(6) Ensure that income > expenses.

(7) Stay diversified. Don't invest too much in anything that could cause irreparable harm to your plan.

09/13/2026

If you live in a state like Illinois, this is almost a no-brainer: you get a state tax deduction up to $20,000 for contributing to a 529.

If you're torn on where to save for college, that alone can tip the scale.

But here's the bigger myth I want to clear up: the fear around 529 penalties.

Yes, if the money isn't used for qualified education expenses, the growth gets hit with a 10% penalty.

But while that money sits in the 529, you're not getting a 1099 every year on dividends and interest, so you're getting real tax deferral the whole time.

When you actually run the math, that 10% penalty is close to a recapture of the taxes you would've paid anyway in a taxable account. It's not the disaster people make it out to be.

That said, a joint brokerage account is a great option too. Mom and dad keep full control of the assets, and there's complete flexibility in how the money gets used, no restrictions tied to "qualified education expenses."

Honestly, the best answer for a lot of families is both. It doesn't have to be all one or the other.

--Nic

GTC 63.6 | Thoughts on a 529 vs. Brokerage

Families who commit to their financial plan, and stick with it, always look back in three years and it's transformationa...
09/12/2026

Families who commit to their financial plan, and stick with it, always look back in three years and it's transformational.

They're always the families that end up so much further ahead than the ones who tinker and try and piece it together.

It takes time for the systems, the habits, and the automations to actually compound—but once they do… unignorable.

---
If you're a high-achieving professional and recognize it's time to seek a professional to help you and your family put a financial plan in place, please get in touch with us, we're currently taking on great new clients.

If you're already working with an advisor but have considered making a change, please know that we help people do this all the time. It's a simple transfer process that can be done without you having to be involved at all (if you like).

Nic

09/11/2026

Following up on the securities-based line of credit conversation: there's a specific number you need to hit before you can even use this tool. Most places require at least $100,000 in the account before they'll extend one.

Here's how to get there without sacrificing free money along the way: first, always contribute enough to your employer plan to get the full match, that's free money, don't skip it. After that, the priority becomes the sprint to $100,000 in an account you can actually leverage.

A few things worth knowing before you use one:

You won't get dollar-for-dollar credit. Expect somewhere between 50 and 65 cents of credit for every dollar in the account.

If the underlying investments drop in value, it works a lot like a margin call. That built-in cushion, since they're not lending you 100%, is also your safety net.

On a $100,000 account, that's roughly a $60,000 line of credit, sitting there unused, costing nothing, until you need it.

I have one myself. We set these up for clients all the time. It's not without risk, but done right, it's one of the most useful tools available once you cross that threshold.

I think liquidity is the ultimate luxury in 2026.

--Nic

GTC 63.5 | Liquidity

Most times: You just need a planner to pull it altogether. The number of people who contact us convinced they're behind ...
09/10/2026

Most times: You just need a planner to pull it altogether.

The number of people who contact us convinced they're behind and end our conversation realizing they're actually almost financially independent, is one of the best parts of this job.

Money anxiety and money reality are often two completely different things.

Anxiety is loud and without a plan will keep you stressing and working forever.

However, in reality when a professional actually runs the numbers, things are usually a lot better than the story in your head.

Let someone run the math for you.

---
If you're a high-achieving professional and recognize it's time to seek a professional to help you and your family put a financial plan in place, please get in touch with us, we're currently taking on great new clients.

If you're already working with an advisor but have considered making a change, please know that we help people do this all the time. It's a simple transfer process that can be done without you having to be involved at all (if you like).

Nic

09/09/2026

I can't tell you how many times I've sat across from someone in their 40s or 50s who has every investment dollar locked inside a qualified retirement account.

They want to move. They need a down payment. They've got a great idea for a business.

And they have zero liquidity.

None.

The younger you are, the earlier you want to retire, the more entrepreneurial you are, the more you need access to capital, not just a big number on a statement.

One tool we use for this doesn't get talked about enough: a securities-based line of credit.

It works a lot like a HELOC, except your investment portfolio is the collateral instead of your house.

A bank looks at what's in the account and tells you how much they're willing to lend against it.

If you never use it, it just sits there. Zero balance, costs you nothing. But it's there the moment you need it, for a down payment, a business opportunity, an emergency, without having to sell investments, trigger a taxable event, or unwind a plan you've spent years building.

It's quietly become one of our favorite tools for clients who want their money to keep working and stay accessible at the same time.

--Nic

GTC 63.4 | Liquidity

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