Introducing The Lineup — a biweekly series from Currents’ founder, Nate Willardson, CFP®, connecting markets, strategy, and your biggest financial moments.
Surfing is Nate’s passion, and just like waiting in the lineup for the right wave, big financial decisions like retirement, a business sale, or a large stock position take patience, timing, and the confidence to know when to move.
How Much Can You Actually Spend in Retirement?
Replacing abstract probabilities with a framework that offers concrete, manageable paths forward. Retirement, as a concept, is a fairly new phenomenon. The earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old, yet only in the last three generations or so have humans had the option to stop working and “just keep living” (cue Matthew McConaughey). Because for most of history, when you stopped working…you died. Survival hinged on completing some type of work to keep food on…
The Largest IPO in History Went Underwater in Seven Weeks.
What SpaceX tells us about new issues, index funds, and where investment returns actually come from. Unless you’ve had your head under a rock, you saw the largest IPO in history come to market this June. SpaceX is another Elon Musk company with a grand vision, and for the first time you could buy a piece of it. Quick primer if you tuned it out: SpaceX builds and flies rockets, sells satellite internet through…
The Hidden Retirement Tax Bill and the Fix You Are Missing
Planning for retirement? See how we turn what you’ve saved into income you can count on. Explore Our Retirement Process → You spent thirty years doing everything right. You maxed out your 401(k). You contributed to your IRA. You let compound interest do the heavy lifting, and now retirement is close. On paper, it looks great. Here’s what most people don’t see coming: there’s a tax bill built into that balance, and it’s been growing…
Lump Sum vs Phase In: Investing Proceeds After Selling A Business
You just sold your business and the cash hit your account. Should you invest it all now, or phase into the market? This is one of the heaviest questions I hear from clients. For years, your net worth lived inside something you mostly controlled, a business whose value moved on your terms. Now it is a number on a screen that changes every second the market is open. My best attempt at putting this feeling…
Your Numbers Work. So Why Doesn’t Retirement Feel Safe?
The most successful savers I meet are often the most anxious about retiring. On paper, they have already won. The 401(k) is maxed. No debt. The portfolio is healthy. The math says they can stop working tomorrow and be fine. And yet, sitting across the table, I can’t feel any excitement. It is some version of the same quiet acknowledgement: “It’s exciting, but also a bit terrifying.” If that is you, you are not…
Your Stock Is Worth Millions. So Why Doesn’t It Feel Safe?
Your Stock Is Worth Millions. So Why Doesn’t It Feel Safe? The short answer: When most of your wealth sits in one stock, the biggest risk isn’t financial. It’s the quiet tax it puts on your life: a retirement you can’t quite commit to, plans kept in pencil, a price you check more than you’d admit. Concentration risk never shows up on your balance sheet, yet for many successful professionals it’s the largest risk they…
From Insight to Action
If any of these topics reflect questions you’re currently considering, a conversation can help connect them to your broader financial picture. Talking through your situation can provide context and help organize how these ideas apply to your specific priorities.
Schedule a 30-minute introduction to review your situation and planning considerations.