Jake Murphy, FSCP - Financial Planner

Jake Murphy, FSCP - Financial Planner Jake Murphy is a registered representative of and offers securities and investment advisory services through MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC.

I help young families navigate rising costs, competing priorities, and the pressure of doing everything at once and pre-retirees make smart decisions around retirement, income, taxes, and what comes next. Supervisory Office: 201 King of Prussia Rd, Suite 501, Radnor, PA 19087. Tel:610-766-3000.

Mr. Krabs owned a successful business and still acted like spending a dollar might bankrupt him.As a kid, I thought he w...
06/06/2026

Mr. Krabs owned a successful business and still acted like spending a dollar might bankrupt him.

As a kid, I thought he was the smartest character on SpongeBob.

As an adult, he reminds me of some people I meet.

I've talked to CRNAs and other clinicians making $250,000+ with $80,000 sitting in cash, $400k in retirement accounts, and more financial momentum than they ever had earlier in their careers.

Yet they're still hesitant to book the vacation.

Still putting off the kitchen renovation.

Still wondering if they can afford to cut back from 5 shifts a week to 4.

Still asking themselves if they're "allowed" to spend the money they've spent years saving.

Mr. Krabs had a vault full of money and still hated spending it.

Was he actually wealthy?

Or was he just scared to use what he already had?

At 25, I got an email saying the 401(k) from my first job was being terminated.There was about $2,300 in it.A month late...
06/04/2026

At 25, I got an email saying the 401(k) from my first job was being terminated.

There was about $2,300 in it.

A month later, I was going to Italy with Valerie's family.

The financially "correct" move was obvious. Roll it into another retirement account and let it keep growing. Instead, I cashed it out and used the money for the trip.

At the time, I was less than two years into my career. Cash flow was still tight, and setting up another account for a relatively small balance felt like one more thing on a very long list.

So I took the money and went to Italy.

Fast forward 40 years, assuming an 8% return, that $2,300 could have grown to almost $50,000.

I know some people will read that and cringe.

But here's the thing:

I still remember that trip.

We talk about it all the time.

And we already have plans to go back and recreate parts of it one day.

The $50,000 is hypothetical, but those memories aren't.

And I still wouldn’t trade the trip to Italy for the rollover I “should’ve” done.

06/03/2026

A 35-year-old netting $187,000 a year has the potential to earn around $12,900,000 before retirement, yet the average American will only save around $300,000 of it for themselves.

That gap is insane, but traditional budgeting is a big reason why.

People hate budgeting because it feels restrictive. Nobody wants to track every coffee or feel guilty every time they spend money.

So without a real structure behind where the money is supposed to go, life starts spending it automatically.

A raise turns into a bigger mortgage. Bonuses disappear into trips, furniture, eating out, subscriptions, random Amazon purchases, and lifestyle upgrades that slowly become permanent.

Meanwhile investing gets whatever happens to be left over at the end of the month instead of getting funded intentionally first.

That’s why cash flow systems matter so much more than budgeting.

Someone automating $1,500/month starting at 35 instead of waiting until 45, assuming a 7% return, could end up with roughly $1,300,000 more by retirement.

That's how over $12,000,000 can pass through someone’s hands while only a fraction of it ever reaches the compounding stage early enough to matter.

We’re about to plan a $10k+ honeymoon for a fraction of the cost using credit card points.Val and I are planning our Dec...
05/29/2026

We’re about to plan a $10k+ honeymoon for a fraction of the cost using credit card points.

Val and I are planning our December honeymoon, and instead of trying to figure out the points game on our own, we decided to work with an expert.

I’ve always known points can be powerful.

I’ve just never spent enough time learning how to really maximize them past my American Airlines Citi card getting me a few flights over the years.

So rather than pretend I’m an expert in one more thing, we''ve signed on with Joel Ang, who I met on LinkedIn, to help us do it right.

Now we just have to pick the destination.

We want somewhere warm in December, and Costa Rica is a heavy favorite right now.

If you’ve been, anywhere you would recommend?

Or is there somewhere else warm that time of year you’d put above it?

You can make $220,000 a year and still feel weird spending $6,000 on a vacation you’ve wanted for 3 years.Why do we do t...
05/27/2026

You can make $220,000 a year and still feel weird spending $6,000 on a vacation you’ve wanted for 3 years.

Why do we do that to ourselves?

It's because of hitting a point where the money is finally better but the wiring hasn’t caught up yet.

For years, the focus was survival.

Get through the early career years.
Cover the mortgage.
Keep up with daycare, groceries, car payments, and everything else that seems to hit at once.
Try not to swipe the card too hard after another expensive month.

Then income gets better.

Now the question isn’t,
“How do I make it to next Friday?”

It’s more like:
- Do I throw extra cash at the mortgage?
- Increase retirement contributions?
- Build up more cash?
- Help the kids with school?
- Renovate the kitchen?
- Book the Disney trip we keep talking about?
- Or finally let myself enjoy some of the money without feeling irresponsible?

When you’ve spent years associating money with pressure, it can feel uncomfortable when money finally starts creating options.

I’ve seen people doing really well on paper still hesitate over every bigger decision because they feel like every extra dollar has to be “optimized.”

But that mindset can keep someone stuck longer than they realize.

Being a landlord sounds great… until you inherit a tenant who’s threatening to kill her boyfriend who isn’t even suppose...
05/21/2026

Being a landlord sounds great… until you inherit a tenant who’s threatening to kill her boyfriend who isn’t even supposed to be living there.

Our first property is a duplex, classic house hack style. Still a big fan of it.

The other unit came with a tenant I was told was “perfect.”
Never missed a payment. Her dad takes care of everything.

Amazing, right?

Two weeks into homeownership I find out I actually inherited:
an alcoholic, in a verbally (and sometimes physically) abusive relationship.

They were screaming at each other at all hours.

2pm… while I’m on a client call.
3am… while I’m trying to sleep.

She’d literally threaten to kill him… and then refuse to get rid of him.

The point is, no spreadsheet prepares you for that.

I told her clearly: this needs to stop and he needs to go or they’re both out.

They behaved for a week then went right back to it.

So I gave them a choice: leave now, or I start the eviction process.

Luckily, they left.

The unit was banged up (holes in the walls, carpets wrecked), but the security deposit covered it.

No big deal financially.

The real cost was four months of peace of mind… while we were also trying to move into a new home and settle into life.

Before you become a landlord, think hard about whether you’re ready for the unsexy side of it.

Because this is the part nobody puts on TikTok.

Anybody got a crazy landlord story?

A couple in their early 30s making $250k can get approved for a $750k home and still be setting themselves up for stress...
05/20/2026

A couple in their early 30s making $250k can get approved for a $750k home and still be setting themselves up for stress.

That’s the part people miss when they ask, “How much house can I afford?”

Because the internet will give you clean little rules:

“30% of income on housing”
“3x your salary”
“Whatever the lender approves you for”

But those numbers don’t know you've got:
- student loans you actually want gone
- retirement you’re trying to fund aggressively
- kids’ education on your radar
- and a desire to still enjoy your 30s without feeling house-poor

So here’s the framework I use instead.

A mortgage is “affordable” only if it still leaves room for:
1. 3-6 months of expenses in cash (so life doesn’t wreck you)
2. retirement contributions you can stick with
3. monthly breathing room (no credit cards just to feel normal)

If the payment forces you to sacrifice all three, that means you over stretched.

This is something I help clients map out all the time, using their goals, not a rule of thumb.

$70k salary. Full benefits. I had zero interest but I would've took it anyway.I didn't get the job and it was the best t...
05/19/2026

$70k salary. Full benefits. I had zero interest but I would've took it anyway.
I didn't get the job and it was the best thing that could've happened.

Yesterday, I passed by a truck for a company I applied for a job to fresh out of college.

Marketing job for a local equipment supplying company. Driving in that day, I knew this wasn't a job I had a passion for whatsoever.
I put on the act for the interview anyway because I wasn't just gonna bomb it.

I probably would've took it because it looked good on paper and made my parents proud because they wanted me to be safe and secure.

I got this email and was relieved. They made the choice for me.

I may have never known what it was like to have total control over what my days look like and the people I work with if I were to take that "safe" path.

Thank you, Megan.

A 60-year-old with $600,000 in assets, a $130k mortgage, and plans to retire in 5 years cancelled a meeting last week be...
05/18/2026

A 60-year-old with $600,000 in assets, a $130k mortgage, and plans to retire in 5 years cancelled a meeting last week because he was too overwhelmed to talk about money.

He said there were too many “what ifs,” so it didn’t feel worth it right now.

But that was the exact thing worth planning around.

He didn’t know if he could stop working at 65.
He didn’t know if part-time work would be optional or required.
He didn’t know if the travel they wanted was actually realistic once the paycheck stopped.

That’s a dangerous place to be 5 years out.

Because “I might work part-time” sounds harmless until it becomes “I have to work part-time.”

And that changes the whole retirement picture.

Less control over your time.
Less freedom to travel when you want.
Less confidence spending the money you spent 40 years building.

That’s the cost of waiting too long to run the numbers.

Five years out, the question is simple:
will part-time work be a choice, or the thing holding the plan together?

“I’ll run out of time before I run out of ideas.”A mentor Wes Young gave me that line with an hourglass that now sits on...
05/14/2026

“I’ll run out of time before I run out of ideas.”
A mentor Wes Young gave me that line with an hourglass that now sits on my desk.

I think about it anytime “later” starts sounding like:

“I’ll figure out the retirement date once we’re closer.”
“I’ll review Social Security once I’m a few years out.”
“I’ll get serious about the estate documents after the kids are older.”
“I’ll update my beneficiaries when things slow down.”
“I’ll look at life insurance after the baby comes.”
“I’ll get serious about planning after this next stretch of overtime”

Then later shows up as something else.

A retirement date that keeps moving.
A Social Security decision that gets rushed.
A beneficiary form that still has the wrong person listed.
A life insurance gap that gets noticed too late.
A pile of cash sitting around because nobody knew where it should go.

That’s how financial stress builds.

One delayed decision at a time.

Address

30 S 17th Street, Suite 204
Philadelphia, PA
19103

Telephone

+14846634112

Website

https://financialprofessionals.massmutual.com/jake-murphy

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