LGBTQ+ Planning for the Long Run
One of my favorite definitions of the work we do comes from Elizabeth Jetton, M.Ed, CFP®, who said that financial planning is about reconciling the inherent tension between what we need and want today and what we’ll need and want in the future. Financial planning is self-care for both our current selves and our future […]
Coming Out: A Lifelong Journey that Shapes Our Finances
There’s a mainstream notion that the coming out process for LGBTQ+ folks is a singular event, like the day we tell our parents or the day we come out on social media. The reality is that coming out is a lifelong, iterative journey that we make decisions about almost every day: whether it’s with strangers […]
A Thriving Community: LGBTQ+ People Reimagine Their Lives
For me, being a part of the LGBTQ+ community comes with a sense of strength, possibility, and empowerment. We have to overcome so much just to be our true selves, and the path we travel to be that self is both difficult and empowering. Yet unburdened by the “norms” of our world, being LGBTQ+ can […]
How Being LGBTQ+ Shapes Your Finances
Even with recent societal and legal changes that have granted more protections, LGBTQ+ people still face many unique financial (and non-financial) challenges. It’s a major reason why the team at Thinking Big is particularly passionate about helping clients manage their finances so that they can achieve their goals and live fulfilling, happy lives. It’s important […]
Generational Differences in the LGBTQ Community and their Impact on Finances
When it comes to finances, our relationship with money is shaped immensely by our upbringings and cultural backgrounds, including our particular generation. For LGBTQ people, historical events like the Stonewall Uprising and the AIDS crisis have impacted our outlook and approach to our finances. An LGBTQ person who has lived through the AIDS crisis or […]
Let’s Have a Baby! Adoption for LGBTQ Family Planning
In our next installment of “Let’s Have a Baby” we’re going to look at adoption for LGBTQ family planning. Adoption can be the go-to choice for many LGBTQ families. Some parents-to-be have been adopted themselves and know the deep and meaningful familial connections that can be forged through adoption. Other parents choose adoption because they […]
Let’s Have a Baby! Surrogacy for LGBTQ Family Planning
My son was born by a gestational surrogate. The process was a whirlwind for my husband and me. We had to think about things like how would we find an egg donor? How much would this cost in total? Would our attempts fail? Or would this take years to have a baby? How would we […]
Queer Family Planning: A Introductory Guide
If you’re a queer person, LGBTQ family planning may seem like a monumental feat. It already takes more energy to navigate everyday life when you come up against challenges that have to do with your identity. Because of the bigotry that’s built into our societal systems and portrayed in our media, you may not have […]
How Marriage for Same-Sex Couples Impacts Their Financial Plan
Marriage for same-sex couples has recently come into the media spotlight after Justices Thomas and Alito attacked the 2015 landmark decision to legalize it—a reminder to all of us that this important freedom is still on shaky ground. But even so, recent updates in LGBTQ demographics show that in the past five years same-sex couples […]
Why I Decided to Work with an LGBTQ Specialty
Fifty years ago this month, we will celebrate the seminal event that brought the LGBT rights movement to the forefront: the Stonewall Riots. Even though the LGBT rights movement began decades before the riots, this event catapulted LGBT people into the national spotlight. It is because of these brave men and women that people like […]