Please allow me to introduce myself
Welcome!
This blog will be the space to find my thoughts and ideas when they need to be expanded on more than Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn will allow. The posts will generally fall into one of three categories:
(1) Current events
This will be where I share my views on recent news items and their potential impacts. It could be a new law that was recently passed, an announcement by a company or government, movement within the markets, or perhaps a big non-financial story.
(2) Educational
Here we'll do a deep dive into specific topics like why having a trust (or multiple) is an important aspect of your estate plan, are you missing out on potential tax savings, should you be taking a look at Bitcoin, etc. I'll do my best to break them down into digestible bits and not use effusive language, industry jargon, and acronyms.
(3) Stories
These will be more informal and where you’ll get an inside look at the various financial quandaries and decision-making processes that I go through with my own family. Some of the items may seem trivial, some may seem daunting. We all deal with these financial decisions every day and I’ve found the best way to educate is to openly share my own experiences. For some reason, there’s this false assumption that those who work in finance have their own financial lives completely figured out. We don’t. We’re just like everyone else doing our best to balance today versus tomorrow.
Within the various posts, you’ll be sure to find plenty of pop culture references and bad puns / Dad jokes. I'm going to title each post with a song lyric (where appropriate) as music has played an instrumental part in my life (I warned you about the bad puns). I grew up playing the drums and there’s a good chance you can find me tapping my foot or fingers to a beat throughout the day. I started with the school band in 3rd grade, progressing to marching band in high school, and basketball pep band for the first two years of college. Like all the other wannabe rock stars, I also played dances and parties with various bands. If you can name the artist and song that the lyric comes from, leave a comment on the post.
My goal is to publish two per month with the occasional one-off if a current event necessitates it. It's important to me that all the posts are accessible so each one will be available in at least two forms of consumption (i.e. audio, written, or video). If you have any requests along that front, again, please let me know.
For those who do not know me, I am Matthew G. Ricks, MBA, CFP® but Matt's fine by me. Truth be told, I do not have a preference between Matt or Matthew. I grew up with three other Matt's in my grade with two of them also having last names beginning with R. Seeing as their last names were Remenschneider and Rozell, Matt R was not likely so I quickly became "Ricks". To the point where friends' mothers thought my name was Rick and it got put on my basketball team jacket. It wasn't until my first job after college where I was called Matt or Matthew on a regular basis.
I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional based out of New York City. I have spent my entire career in finance working with both institutions (think pension or 401(k) plans) and individuals. Prior to starting Haystack Financial Planning, I worked at some of the biggest firms out there. I eventually realized that life in a big corporation was too stifling and not suited for me. Needless to say, founding my own firm and being the only employee is just a wee bit different.
I live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with my wife and our 2 sons, the oldest is 4 and the younger one is 14 months. We've lived in our current apartment for coming up on 7 years and have definitely enjoyed the city life. We are big fans of the Central Park Zoo, Natural History Museum, riding the Q train, and exploring the different playgrounds NYC has to offer.
Thank you for reading and I can’t wait to share more with you.