Hi friends,

If you’re in the Bay Area, you’ve probably followed the news about the avalanche in Tahoe last month that took the lives of nine people. One of them was a mom my age who Lisa and I saw regularly at our neighborhood gym. I’m sure I shared a barbell with her at some point. She was new to lifting but a good runner. She was always kind.

Moments like this tend to do that thing they always do: they collapse time. They make the “someday” version of our life feel a lot less guaranteed.

It also brought me back to a question I ask clients during what I call our “no numbers” meeting. No spreadsheets. No charts. Just life.

If you only had ten years left, what would you change about how you live?

Most people do not say they would blow everything up. They say something quieter:

• I would stress less about the small stuff.
• I would be more present with the people I love.
• I would stop postponing the parts of life that make me feel most alive.

And then the follow-up question (the one that actually matters) is:

So what would it look like to move 5% in that direction now?

Not a dramatic pivot. Just a small, honest reallocation of time, attention, and money toward what matters most.

I am feeling a little sentimental as I write this, and also genuinely grateful for this community and the chance to do work that is ultimately about helping people build a life they actually get to enjoy.

If this topic resonates, hit reply with one sentence:

What would you do more of, if you gave yourself permission to start now?

What I Want to Share:

​Tax Returns Need Extra Diligence After IRS Cuts, Warn Tax Advisors (Forbes) This is a good year to slow down and double-check your return before filing, as IRS staffing cuts could lead to more delays or missed notices. If you’d like help thinking through your tax situation, you can schedule a free consult with us.

​Human Capital and Your Portfolio (CFA Institute) When we work with clients, they often think of their net worth as the number on their balance sheet—but in reality, it’s much bigger than that. This article is a great reminder that your earning potential—your human capital—is often your largest asset, especially during your working years. It’s a helpful lens for thinking more holistically about risk, particularly when your career, income, and investments may all be tied to the same place.

​From Tools to Teammates: Working Smarter with AI (LinkedIn Learning) This short course—created by a Modern Family Finance client and leader at OpenAI—teaches a practical framework for using AI day to day: not just for one task, but by assigning it different “roles”. The link above is from Brice’s personal post and gives you free access to the course for 24 hours. It’s one of the most practical yet big-picture guides I’ve seen for using AI across your life.

Photo Of The Month: The MFF team got together in San Francisco this month for team building and strategy sessions focused on continually improving our firm. We were all newbies at pickleball, but now we’re hooked!