“It’s one thing to talk about the numbers. It’s another thing to actually look at the homes that you’re purchasing for that price point.”

What happens when financial planners face their own home-buying crossroads?

Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, pull back the curtain on their decision to walk away from homeownership despite having the pre-approval, down payment, and professional know-how to make it happen.

Their landlords planned to sell by June 2026, later moved up to March. The Slagles targeted a monthly mortgage of 20% of household income.

But reality hit hard. Nearly million-dollar homes came with unfinished basements, century-old infrastructure, and compromised locations. Dan openly admits his MTV Cribs-era expectations didn't match Portland's housing market. Also, the competition at their price point contradicted everything they'd read about soft housing markets.

The Slagles aren't anti-homeownership. Dan candidly envisioned an 18-year family home followed by downsizing near their daughter's future city. But prioritizing flexibility, financial breathing room, and intentional resource allocation won over societal expectations and professional optics.

Sometimes the wisest financial decision is recognizing when the timing simply isn't right.

Key Topics:

1. Getting Pre-Approved: The Numbers (09:31)
2. What Home Ownership Meant Emotionally (12:27)
3. Dan’s MTV Cribs Disillusionment (19:02)
4. Rent vs. Buy Analysis (23:58)
5. What Renting Freed Up Financially (27:08)
6. Non-Negotiables: Location Over Square Footage (31:46)
7. The Turning Point: Disappointing the Realtors (33:35)
8. Final Decision and Looking Forward (38:38)

Resources:

1. Homeownership vs. Renting: The Good, the Band, and the Budget (episode)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.

“Your goals should reflect your own capacity to hit those goals and not comparison to the rest of the world.”

What makes a financial goal stick? Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, tackle the psychology behind why most New Year's resolutions fail by January's second Friday, dubbed "Quitter's Day" by fitness app Strava!

The usual culprits are vague aspirations, borrowed goals from social media, too many competing priorities, and zero actionable systems.

But rather than willpower, the solution is intentionality.

The Slagles introduce three essential filters for goal-setting. First, the values filter asks what matters most right now. Dan chooses flexibility around their upcoming home purchase and family time, while Natalie boldly prioritizes self-care, acknowledging that taking care of herself enables her to show up better in every other role.

Second, the season of life filter puts your current life circumstances in context. Are you a new parent with daycare costs? Recovering from burnout? Building a business? Your capacity differs wildly depending on these circumstances.

Natalie shares her struggle with wanting to max out both 401(k)s ($24,500 each, totaling $49,000 annually for 2026) while acknowledging that their current expensive life stage simply doesn't support that goal.

Third, the numbers filter grounds goals in actual cash flow, income, expenses, and reserves.

Beyond these filters, realistic goals share six characteristics: specific amounts, time-bound deadlines, cash flow support, behavior-based actions (not just outcomes), emotional tolerability, and acknowledged trade-offs.

That last one matters. Naming what you're not doing prevents November disappointment!

The Slagles recommend one primary goal supported by complementary goals and maintenance goals. For example, building cash savings from $50,000 to $100,000 (primary), while pausing extra investing and cutting expenses (supporting), yet maintaining current retirement contributions (maintenance).

Partners should separately answer: "What would make me feel more secure by December 2026?" Then compare notes and create one shared goal together, keeping it simple, transparent, and actionable.

Key Topics:

1. Why Goals Fail: Quitter’s Day Explained (04:18)
2. Why January 1st Is Too Late (07:01)
3. Filter #1: Values (08:29)
4. Dan’s Goal-Setting Success System (09:21)
5. Filter #2: Season-of-Life Reality Check (15:40)
6. Natalie’s 401(k) Comparison Trap (18:23)
7. Filter #3: The Numbers Don’t Lie (19:21)
8. Six Characteristics of Realistic Financial Goals (20:59)
9. Primary, Supporting, and Maintenance Goal Framework (25:56)
10. Couple’s Exercise: Questions to Start the Conversation (28:19)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping...

“I feel like the goal today is really just to normalize what we've learned throughout the year, normalize financial mistakes, and also financial growth.”

What does financial transparency really look like? Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, open their books (literally!) to share the unfiltered reality of their 2025 financial journey.

The highs were high.

Their financial planning practice achieved 107% of its revenue goal, enabling them to provide meaningful employment while maintaining their own financial security. Personally, they saved $54,000 across retirement accounts, a 529 plan, and brokerage investments.

Most significantly, they saved enough for a home down payment ($140,000) but chose to press pause and continue renting. Not only did this give the Slagles financial flexibility, but also peace of mind.

But transparency means sharing the lows too.

Dan regrets spending over $500 between two pairs of marathon shoes after second-guessing his original purchase. Natalie confesses to falling down the Amazon rabbit hole during maternity leave. Their recycling bin, now nearly empty after cutting Amazon for just one month, serves as a surprising "lagging indicator" of improved spending habits.

Emergency expenses stung hardest, like Dan's $3,000 root canal redo, plus several other four-figure surprises.

Through it all, they embraced the power of regular financial check-ins as a couple. They’ve learned to give themselves grace during expensive life stages (like $2,000 monthly childcare), and not lose sight of long-term wins while managing short-term stress.

Looking ahead to 2026, Natalie wants to build a more confident money mindset and increase charitable giving, while Dan aims to focus less on daily cash flow anxiety and more on the bigger financial picture that’s at work behind the scenes.

Key Topics

1. Setting Up 2025's Financial Recap (05:03)
2. Business Revenue (08:37)
3. Personal Savings (13:16)
4. The Home Purchase Decision and Financial Calm (14:49)
5. Regrettable Purchases (17:16)
6. Emergency Expenses That Hurt (24:20)
7. The Down Payment That Wasn't: $140,000 in Perspective (26:48)
8. Hard Lessons: The Need for Regular Check-Ins (30:39)
9. 2026 Goals: Mindset and Charitable Giving (33:49)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.

"There’s just this guilt that comes along with [not giving away wealth].”

Why do successful professionals earning $300,000+ struggle to give charitably? Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, tackle this uncomfortable reality by drawing from their own experiences.

So what are the usual barriers? The Slagles break it down by practical and psychological.

Lifestyle creep consumes income through fixed expenses like childcare and mortgages, creating a scarcity mindset even at high earnings. High earners compare themselves to those making $60,000 donations and question whether their $100 monthly contribution matters.

Analysis paralysis sets in when considering tax strategies like donor-advised funds versus simple cash gifts. Perhaps most paralyzing is uncertainty about choosing the "right" charity that aligns with values and uses funds effectively.

Natalie admires faith-based clients who tithe 10% as a non-negotiable expense, treating charitable giving like rent: essential and automatic! They discuss practical frameworks like starting with 1% of income ($3,000 annually for someone earning $300,000) or setting fixed dollar goals spread across multiple organizations.

The mechanics matter less than just starting.

Options range from simple cash donations to appreciated stock transfers that avoid capital gains taxes, or donor-advised funds that provide immediate tax deductions while allowing time to choose recipients. For 2025, many will itemize deductions due to increased SALT limits, making charitable contributions tax-advantaged.

Dan's personal connection (running the Chicago Marathon for the American Cancer Society after losing his mother) shows how giving becomes meaningful when aligned with values.

The most important thing is to treat charitable giving as reflecting family values, not losing money. Start small, notice the feelings, and build from there!

Key Topics:

• Why Giving Feels Hard Despite High Income (02:14)
• Lifestyle Creep and Scarcity Mindset (03:37)
• Fear of Doing It Wrong (06:58)
• Donor-Advised Funds as a Solution (07:43)
• Learning from Those Who Tithe (15:15)
• Percentage vs. Fixed Dollar Approaches (16:18)
• Mechanics: Cash, Appreciated Stock, and RMDs (18:32)
• Breaking Down Donor-Advised Funds (21:55)
• Tax Benefits of Charitable Giving (27:17)
• Shifting Mindset from Loss to Values (31:44)
• Dan's Marathon Fundraising Story (34:05)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.

"The theme of this is inflation isn't the problem, it's us. It's our expectation."

What if the real culprit behind your financial stress isn't rising prices, but rising standards?

Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, get brutally honest about their own household spending, and explain why inflation might be the easy scapegoat when lifestyle creep is the actual problem.

After consistently overspending their $3,000 monthly discretionary budget (sometimes by $1,400) the Slages finally took a close look at their numbers.

The results were shocking: their spending has increased just 27% since 2018 (roughly 3.3% annually), but their bills have skyrocketed 193% over the same period. From $2,700 to $8,000 monthly, these "fixed" expenses reflect choices about location (Portland vs. Minnesota), childcare, and lifestyle upgrades they've made along the way.

Natalie points out that many expenses we consider "forced", like rent or daycare, are actually choices. They've increased spending above inflation rates while blaming inflation itself!

Dan brings up the generational shift. That is, previous generations lived with less, but constant social media advertising makes contentment nearly impossible. Every Instagram scroll presents another "necessary" purchase.

Their approach involves separating bills from discretionary spending using their proprietary cash flow worksheet. Expectations evolve. For example, having a house cleaner feels essential now, though their parents managed without one.

As income rises during peak earning years, people naturally want more "padding," typically exceeding actual inflation.

The solution is to get together with your spouse to do annual spending reviews, have honest communication about thresholds, and reframe "less" as "enough" while focusing on experiences over material purchases.

Key Topics:

• Examining Household Budget Categories and Overspending Patterns (03:52)
• Spending Data Since 2018 (10:29)
• Bills Increasing 193% from $2,700 to $8,000 Monthly (15:10)
• Fixed Expenses are Actually Choices about Lifestyle (20:59)
• Generational Differences in Expectations and Normalcy (22:02)
• Social Media's Role in Constant Consumption Pressure (23:24)
• Adaptation Psychology (27:24)
• Planning an Annual Money Date to Reset Expectations (28:52)

Resources:

• Cashflow Management System Worksheet (free resource)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.

“Your mental health is absolutely worth some weight in this conversation, if not more than the financial needs.”

What if the price of your high-paying job is slowly draining the life you're working so hard to build? As our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, discuss in today’s episode, burnout among high-income professionals is a real thing!

Many successful professionals in consulting and tech are exhausted after 15-20 years of climbing the corporate ladder. With young families at home, many of Dan and Natalie’s clients have questioned whether their current income justifies the stress. Some are even considering taking a full year off before transitioning to nonprofit work or roles paying half their current salary, often landing on $150,000 as the "magic number."

The financial planning approach starts with budget analysis: understanding fixed obligations versus discretionary spending. Dan and Natalie emphasize that clients with high savings rates (25-30%+) often have more flexibility than they realize. The key is modeling long-term retirement projections with reduced income scenarios to determine if major life goals remain achievable.

Beware, though. Locking in high expenses (like a mortgage) reduces future flexibility. Natalie values maintaining options, or the ability to go part-time or step back without financial catastrophe.

Always trust your gut when burnout signals appear, and make sure to seek professional guidance on the numbers. The decision isn't purely financial; mental health and family well-being warrant significant weight. The question isn't just "can we afford this change?" but "what does staying cost us?"

Key Topics:

• The Burnout Epidemic Among High Earners (07:01)
• When Is Enough, Enough? (09:13)
• Starting With Your Budget and Expenses (12:32)
• The Mortgage Decision and Future Flexibility (13:51)
• Modeling Income Reduction Scenarios (19:07)
• Building Financial Flexibility Before You Need It (20:08)
• Trusting Your Gut on Personal Well-being (25:24)
• Replacing Income Through Part-Time Work or Brokerage Withdrawals (27:36)

Resources Mentioned:

• Homeownership vs. Renting: The Good, The Bad, and The Budget (Money Dates Episode 5)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.

"Default is always the easiest option. I will also say, it is not [always] the best option for you.”

With open enrollment season in full swing, our hosts Natalie and Dan Slagle dive into a dilemma that has plagued many married couples (and people in general) during this time of year: choosing workplace benefits.

For many, open enrollment means defaulting to last year’s plan out of fatigue or confusion. It’s a far cry from Natalie’s tongue-in-cheek visual of a couple at their breakfast nook, romantically highlighting benefit packets. If only it were all so simple (and romantic)!

Natalie and Dan detail how they normally proceed down the list of benefits with clients: from medical, to dental, to vision.

Dan walks through how they help clients compare premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums. A big component is calculating both the minimum and maximum potential annual costs, which is key for families expecting big medical events like childbirth.

They move on to tax-advantaged accounts like HSAs and FSAs, including underused tools such as the dependent care FSA. They also talk disability, life, and legal insurance, as well as what to factor in should you think about leaving your current employer sometime in the near future.

Treat open enrollment as a shared decision, not a solo chore. Couples who plan benefits together gain not just financial clarity but stronger alignment as a household team!

Key Topics:

• Why Open Enrollment Overwhelms Most Couples (01:44)
• The “Breakfast Nook” Fantasy vs Reality (03:49)
• Comparing Premiums, Deductibles, and Maximums (05:38)
• Planning for Predictable Medical Events (11:50)
• Understanding HSAs, FSAs, and Hidden Savings (13:01)
• “Use It or Lose It”: Avoiding FSA Pitfalls (20:02)
• Disability and Life Insurance (24:20)
• Legal Insurance (27:24)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.

“Creating a space to have these conversations where the two of you can maintain your emotions and be very open about what your feelings are, why you want something, why you don't want something, actively listening – That’s just great practice for setting up your household finances in general.”

What happens when one spouse has their heart set on a $20,000 pop-up camper and the other isn't buying it… literally? Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, break it down in this episode of Money Dates!

Natalie's been eyeing those square campers that pop up with beds on each side, the kind her aunt, uncle, and neighbors all had growing up. For her, it's about creating family memories outdoors, now with added convenience for their daughter. Dan? He's not convinced they need to skip straight from tent to pop-up camping.

Dan didn't grow up with campers; his mind immediately jumps to practical concerns like storage and learning to back up the camper. Plus, he's been harboring his own eight-year dream of owning a camper van by age 40. Suddenly, they're navigating competing visions of adventure.

Both he and Natalie unpack their "why” and end up butting heads in the process. Natalie acknowledges that she wants Dan to be genuinely excited, not just compliant. Dan admits his "no" might really mean "not now."

They explore compromise strategies: the 30-day delay tactic to avoid buyer's remorse, creating a dedicated "camper savings" account, or scaling down expectations. Most importantly, they recognize they need to examine their actual financial plan together, not separately assume things look fine.

Conversations like these work best in neutral spaces (coffee shops beat kitchen tables), with active listening, and grounded in actual numbers. The goal isn't winning the argument but staying aligned as a team, even when dreams don’t fully align.

Key Topics:

• The Big Reveal: Natalie Wants a Pop-Up Camper (05:11)
• Dan's Resistance: Storage, Skills, and Tent Loyalty (08:40)
• Why You Need to Be Intentional About Your Conversation Environment (12:03)
• Plot Twist: Dan's Eight-Year Camper Van Dream (14:29)
• Why Numbers Matter: Looking at the Financial Plan Together (17:10)
• Compromise Strategies: Delay Tactics and Savings Goals (20:56)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.