Are you on track? 8 Key Financial Ratios for High Earners in the Bay Area
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Back when I was a tech employee, my partner and I looked for someone to help us navigate our finances. We worked with three different financial advisors over the years, but never felt like any of them “got” us.
When your life and dreams look different, standard advice might not resonate. But going at it alone can be stressful and expensive if you miss out on wealth building opportunities.
We started Modern Family Finance to give our community life-centered financial advice so that you feel supported and excited about your future.
Your mid-career years are full of big financial decisions. You want to change jobs, have lifestyle flexibility, buy a (bigger) house, raise your family, support your parents, start a business, travel around the world, and oh – you’d also like to make sure you can retire at some point. How we help:
LOWER TAXES
Get proactive on taxes, one of your biggest lifetime expenses. We’ll work with your tax professional to streamline the process.
INVEST MINDFULLY
Your investments are key to reaching your goals. We offer personalized, diversified, tax-efficient portfolios designed to stand the test of time.
MAXIMIZE YOUR EQUITY
Got RSUs, ESPPs, or stock options? Make smart tax-aware decisions with your equity comp.
FINANCIAL LIFE DESIGN
We take you through a heart-centered process to connect the dots between your financial realities and the life you long to live.
You’ve got a good income and you’re saving.
But when can you start living and working on YOUR terms?
How much do I need
to save to have
enough?
How do I invest in a
way that feels
aligned?
Help! How can I be
more tax efficient?
When can I afford to
do that “thing” I’ve
always dreamed of?
You have a vision for the life you want to live. We help you design and execute on a financial plan to make it possible.
We need our money to last longer. Yet women earn less, invest more conservatively and feel more stressed about money than men. Let’s change the statistics.
How we define our relationships. How we build families. Where we choose to live. Who we can and can’t depend on for support. Our practice specializes in the unique needs of our community.
You have a vision for the life you want to live. We help you design and execute on a financial plan to make it possible.
We need our money to last longer. Yet women earn less, invest more conservatively and feel more stressed about money than men. Let’s change the statistics.
How we define our relationships. How we build families. Where we choose to live. Who we can and can’t depend on for support. Our practice specializes in the unique needs of our community.
You’ve got RSUs, ESPPs, or stock options (or some combination). We help you make a plan that manages for taxes and concentration risk.
Self-employment tax. Solo 401k or SEP IRA. S-corp or sole prop. Deductible expenses. There’s so much to consider when you’re the boss. We’re here to help.
What’s your “number?” Figuring out a path to get there is half the battle. Finding the courage to make the leap once you’re there is the other half.
I’m a CERTIFIED
FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and former tech professional on a mission to transform the way we think about money and work.
I spent 15 years in tech, most recently as a director at a Fortune 500 company in Silicon Valley. Lisa, my spouse, served as a social worker in the public health system. We had good jobs, but we wanted more – more time, flexibility and purpose-driven work. Financial planning afforded us the freedom to make the leap from salaried security, take our family around the world, and pursue dream ventures from filmmaking to bicycle rides.
It’s now our mission to help others make their dreams a financial reality.
We always act in your best interest
No proprietary products. We’re free to look at all the solutions and choose the best.
No hidden fees. No commissions. See our transparent fee structure.
Standard of excellence for financial planners.
Casey and Jesse have thriving careers and two sons, age 3 and 5. Their challenge: Figuring out how to balance it all.
Casey is a marketing manager at a startup that recently went public and Jesse is a software engineer for a large established tech company. They both are doing well at their jobs, but the daily grind is wearing them out…
CONTINUE READINGAfter two successful decades in corporate HR, Drew feels unfulfilled in her career and dreams of making a change. Their challenge: Taking a career risk while maintaining her family’s financial security
She’d like to explore a career change that would bring her back to why she chose her field in the first place: to help create well-being for people. Yet she’s a single parent to her 12 year old daughter – wouldn’t leaving her stable high-income career be irresponsible?…
CONTINUE READINGMorgan and Santiago don’t want to wait until retirement age to leave corporate life and start a new
CONTINUE READINGEXCELLENT Based on 17 reviewsTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Karen Dorsey2023-04-11I enjoy working with Jenni because she's in a similar phase of life and can relate to my family's financial goals. My husband and I have three young kids, so we have very limited free time or interest in learning about stocks. Jenni has helped us to clarify our financial goals, set up systems that make our money work for us without thinking about it, and made us feel overall less anxious about money. She's someone you can trust, and we highly recommend her.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Rita Troyer2023-04-11Jenni helped me craft a vision and execute a plan to leave my secure tech job, take a six month sabbatical and pursue working as a freelancer. Working with Jenni gave me the peace of mind and the confidence to take time off and forge a new path. She knows what it's like to go through this journey of shifting careers and living abroad. I appreciate that she's a woman, a person of color, and queer. I trust her and I absolutely recommend her services to others!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Adrienne Hyder2023-03-29I reached out to Jenni after I unexpectedly lost my spouse and had to take care of my young kids on my own. Jenni became the Personal CFO of my finances, helping me to navigate complex paperwork in a time of overwhelming grief. I feel like Jenni is a peer, a real human being who has my back. She understands my phase of life because she is also a mom, and in addition she knows all the numbers and brings lots of tools. She takes a very holistic approach to our work together and talks to me about finances in a way that I can understand. It comes across that she is doing this work as an intentional practice and not just a job.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Alchemy & Twine2023-03-28My partner and I were feeling stuck in the grind of Bay Area life, and wanted help figuring out a plan to get to a point where we can stop worrying about income and start enjoying life. We really appreciate how Jenni gets the bigger picture of it all. She's helped us put money into the context of our lives. We've had two other prior advisors, and she's been the only one that has talked to us about money in this way. We appreciate how down to earth and real Jenni is. She's also very focused, responsive, and efficient, while at the same time warm and funny. Instead of dreading getting into the details of our finances with someone else, we enjoy our meetings and always leave feeling better and more relaxed. She's helped us feel like we're doing ok and put a plan in place. With her help, we can let go of a lot of the nebulous worry we used to have about our finances. Thank you Jenni!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Elena Bazina2023-03-27I reached out to Jenni to help me plan for starting a family and taking some time off. What I found most valuable about our work together was how it helped me get more disciplined about managing my company stock and money. I tell friends it's like having a fitness coach - you could try figuring it out yourself, but if you have someone to help, you are much more strategic and diligent. In the past when big decisions came up, like buying a house or exercising stock, perhaps I could have done things a bit better if I had someone to help. It's helpful to have regular conversations with Jenni and have someone who understands your full picture. I just feel a lot more prepared now.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Gustavo Vazquez2023-03-22Jenni has been working with my partner and me for over a year as we plan for major career changes and a new adventure living outside of the USA. Jenni's support has been integral in this transition and we wouldn't have felt comfortable moving forward with our plans if it weren't for her. Before working with Jenni we would daydream about making a change but the conversations would never progress far past the question "How much money do we need to make this feasible?" Living in a culture built on scarcity and fear around having enough to retire, we had serious doubts about whether we could and should make this move. The financial projections, the budget reviews, and the emotional support Jenni provided us helped us realize our dream is feasible. We’ve appreciated how balanced Jenni's sessions are - presenting a clear view without sugar coating, allowing us to feel confident that we have the key information we need to make informed choices. We are moving forward into this new adventure with a clear view of risks, knowing that if things don't work out we can make adjustments. We highly recommend Modern Family Finance to others in our LGBT community, especially those wanting to pursue a non-conventional path like early retirement or moving abroad.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.M Rothstein2023-03-18I reached out to Jenni when I was making the transition to becoming self-employed. I was feeling overwhelmed managing my finances and felt like I was not doing a good job budgeting or saving. Jenni has been so easy to work with. She helps me simplify the process and really takes the time to talk through things so I’ve been learning a lot. The regular 1:1 meetings are so helpful for me. I feel much more confident working with her than my previous bank and trust that she's helping me to invest my money in a way that aligns with my values.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.aiden Forrest2023-03-17My partner and I have been working with Jenni for the past year and a half and have had a great experience. Neither of us had ever worked with a financial planner before and didn't really know where to start. In our time working with Jenni, she really helped us to figure out our goals and then start taking action. It's also great to have her for all of the one-off questions we had around company stock and tax questions. Jenni is unique because she comes from the tech industry, so she understands our careers and the work culture. I appreciate that she's a fiduciary, so she works in our best interest and is not trying to sell us anything. My partner and I highly recommend working with her, especially for anyone coming from tech or new to financial planning.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Janet Austin2023-02-26My partner and I have been working with Jenni for over two years now and have loved working with her. We first met when we were wanting to carve out a new plan for our financial future and didn’t know where or how to start this process. We wanted more freedom in our lives to potentially live abroad or have one of us not work, but we didn’t know if this was financially feasible and didn’t have any confidence in making decisions in this area. We also wanted our money to be more aligned with our values and invested more in organizations we cared about. Jenni had us come up with our own values statement about what we are hoping money could support doing in our lives, to live our best lives. She refers to that often, making sure our financial work is aligned with our social and spiritual priorities. This is something quite unique and we feel sets her apart. Our work with her has been life changing. She is highly engaged, thorough, a clear communicator and 100% committed to your success, as you define it for yourself. We highly recommend her services!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Trish Ang2021-07-20Our ERG hosted Jenni and Lisa for a virtual presentation on financial wellness and tips for reaching financial goals. Their presentation was really excellent: they shared personal stories and anecdotes and also many practical tips and useful guidance, especially for the LGBTQIA+ community! Would highly recommend their workshops to any other ERGs or companies looking to provide quality programming for their communities.
LET’S GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER
FREE FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT
We review your financial situation and provide an assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks.
PERSONALIZED ONGOING ADVICE
Hire us and together, we’ll develop a financial plan that gets you to where you want to go. Success is driven by consistent, proactive decisions over a long period of time. Consider us as your trusted guide and accountability partner.
We are a modern family from San Francisco. Jenni is a financial advisor and provides fee-only comprehensive financial planning. Previously, she worked in tech where she was named “Hero of the 500s” by Fortune Magazine for her corporate and community contributions. Lisa is a licensed clinical social worker who heads operations.
1999 Harrison St
Suite 1800
Oakland, CA 94612
415-295-6206
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