Designing Work-Optional Lifestyles for Women & Couples with Dynamic Financial Plans | Financial Consultant for Executives & Business Owners in Sports & Tech | Financial Wellness Speaker

Most financial advice wasn’t made for women with full lives.
It was made for simplicity, and usually, for men.


The people I work with aren’t starting from zero. They’re earning well, making smart choices, and juggling a lot of moving parts - work, family, and future plans all at once.

Some make financial decisions on their own, others share them with a partner. Either way, they want to see how it all fits together and feel confident that the choices they’re making now won’t limit their options later.

I’m Renee Cohen, CFP®, founder of Nexa Wealth, a life-first financial planning firm for women in their 40s and beyond, and the partners who plan life alongside them.

I started Nexa because I was tired of watching capable women follow generic advice that ignored their real lives. Money touches every choice: career shifts, equity compensation, real estate, caregiving, stepping back or leaning in and each one deserves context.

My role is to be your steady partner in decision-making:

• To make complex choices feel clear and manageable
• To help you weigh trade-offs without judgment
• To keep your plan flexible enough for both now and later

Together, we build a living financial roadmap that evolves with you, so you can move forward knowing every dollar has direction and every decision has perspective.

My clients describe me as calm, direct, and easy to talk to. I’m here to help you think things through, not judge your past decisions or tell you what you “should” do.

Most of the people who find me don’t have the time or desire to become experts about money.
They just want someone they can trust to make sense of it all, explain things clearly, and help them make smart choices without turning it into a second job.

If that sounds like you, and you’d like a partner who helps you make confident financial decisions without putting life on pause, you can reach me here or at nexawealthplanning.com.

Renee Cohen, CFP®

My brain is still buffering.

Week one of 2026 is done.

I've opened the same email three times without reading it.
I wrote 2025 on a client wide message I sent yesterday.
My to-do list looked at me and laughed.

Somewhere along the way, we decided that "back to work" means "immediately performing at peak capacity."

That's not how humans work.

But I showed up. The work got done.
Just maybe not at full speed and that's okay.

If your first week back felt more "survival mode" than "CEO mode".  Same.

We made it. That counts.

Happy Friday. 💙

→ What's the most "week one" thing you did this week?

Renee Cohen CFP®

Financial planning that puts life first | Partnering with women and couples to make confident money decisions | Founder, Nexa Wealth

“Okay, maybe a dumb question…”


“Don’t you just make money off managing investments?”

She said it halfway through our intro call.

Fair question.
You’ve probably wondered it too.

I hear that all the time.
And I don’t blame you.

The industry hasn’t done a great job of explaining how this actually works.

So let’s break it down.

Financial advice has often been pitched as a “free perk” if you buy a product:

A mutual fund.
An annuity.
An insurance policy.
(Take your pick.)

But the advice?
It’s not really free.
It’s just buried in the fine print or baked into a commission.

So the real question becomes:

Was that advice truly in your best interest
or was it about meeting someone else’s sales quota?

That’s why I charge for advice first.

When you’re paying for a plan,
you know the recommendations are built around your life, goals, and values,
not what someone’s trying to sell you.

And yes, sometimes we implement investments or insurance too.
But that comes after the strategy is clear, not before.

And when we do place a product?
It’s because it fits your plan.
Not because there’s a bonus attached.
Not because it’s the “recommended option” from a brokerage firm.

Financial planning should feel like clear, unbiased guidance across all the pieces of your financial life.

If no one’s ever walked you through how this works, that’s not on you.

This industry hasn’t always been transparent.
But you don’t have to stay in the dark.

You deserve to know who’s truly in your corner
and who’s working off a commission.

📌 What’s one thing you wish you understood more about working with a financial advisor?

My nephew checking his inbox during the holidays.

Zero unread.
Full focus.
Very serious business.

I unplugged for the holidays, but my inbox didn't get the memo. 847 emails waiting.

Hope your holidays were filled with good food, good people, and maybe even some real rest.

The kind where you actually put the phone down and didn't feel guilty about it.

Now back to reality. 😅

But I'm back now and glad you are too. Happy 2026.

What does your inbox look like this week? Clean or chaos?

Financial planning for women | Real conversations about money for women in their 40s and 50s | Financial Planner + Founder, Nexa Wealth

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The biggest drain on your money usually isn’t what you’re spending.


It’s the mental load of carrying all the decisions at once.

Not the obvious, one-time choices.
The ongoing ones that never really turn off.

Should I change this now?
Am I missing something?
Is this still the right move given everything else going on?

What wears my clients down isn’t lack of discipline.
It’s having too many moving parts living in their head at the same time.

This week alone, that showed up in a few different ways.

One client is moving overseas.
Exciting, yes. But it comes with layers of decisions around what happens to her accounts, what can stay in the U.S., what needs to change, and how to handle taxes without creating problems later.

Another client has several big expenses coming up at once, all competing for the same dollars.
The question wasn’t whether she could afford them.
It was how to prioritize them without putting unnecessary pressure on cash or derailing what she’s building.

And another client inherited a large stock position years ago.
It’s now a big part of her net worth, right as she’s planning a major home renovation.
So we had to think through diversification, taxes, timing, and how to fund the renovation without everything feeling tangled together.

This is the part of money work most people don’t see.

It’s not one decision.
It’s how every decision touches several others.

A big part of my role isn’t telling clients what to do.
It’s helping them get everything out of their head and onto the table.

We look at how the pieces connect.
We talk through trade-offs.
And we make decisions in a way that fits their life.

That’s the kind of work I do with clients, and I don’t open it all the time.
I do have two spots for my 3-month planning work right now.

If you want to talk through whether it’s a fit, just DM me.

Some of the costliest money decisions don’t look risky when you’re making them.


They look reasonable.
It’s the choice that lets you move on and get back to your life.

When clients come to me, this is usually where they are.

They haven’t made some obvious “big” mistake. For the most part, they’ve been making “good moves”. 

But they’re carrying a lot of decisions at once, and decisions feels like it impacts five other things. 

Something that worked a few years ago may not be working the best now. 

Using cash for one thing changes what’s available later.

Moving investments affects taxes and timing in ways that don’t show up right away.

Because nothing feels wrong in the moment, it’s so easy to keep going as is. 

By the time we talk, they’re usually overthinking the same questions.
And wondering if they missed something.

This is the point where I slow things down.

I don’t start by fixing anything.
I start by separating the questions that have been competing with each other.

What needs attention right now.
What can wait without causing a mess later.
And what decisions would limit you in if you made them too soon.

Once those pieces are no longer tangled together, their decisions start to feel easier to make.

Because the client isn’t trying to solve her entire financial life in one conversation anymore.

She’s deciding the next right thing, with the bigger picture present.

Most of the time, there isn’t something wrong with your money.

You’re just carrying more decisions than you should have to on your own.

And that’s usually when money starts to feel reactive, instead of something you can actually see and steer.

“I know it’s dumb, but I still feel like I’m not where I should be.”

I hear this every week.
Usually from women with more money than they’ve ever had.

You may not have said it out loud.
But you’ve probably thought it.

“I should be further along by now.”

Further along than who?

An article that says you need $3M to retire?
A calculator that doesn’t know your life?
A coworker who talks big but has no real plan?

The goalpost keeps moving because it was never yours to begin with.

What’s usually missing isn’t money.
It’s a definition that actually fits.

Most people aren’t behind.
They’re measuring against someone else’s formula.

Instead of asking “Am I on track?”
Try asking, “What does enough actually look like for me?”

→ Anyone else feel this way right now?

In your peak earning years, this feeling is common.

You're earning more than you ever have.
And yet money doesn't feel simpler.

You thought higher income would bring relief.
More confidence.
A sense that you were finally "there."

Instead, the questions got harder to answer.

This is usually when money stops being a math problem and starts becoming a decision problem.

Every choice affects something else.
Saving affects spending.
Spending affects flexibility.
Work affects energy.

Nothing exists in isolation anymore.

In your 40s, you're often carrying more at the same time.

Career expectations.
Family needs.
Future planning.
Your own health and bandwidth.

So money isn't just about growth.
It’s about support.

And that shift can feel unsettling if no one names it.

Many women I talk to assume this discomfort means they're doing something wrong.
Maybe not saving enough.
Maybe not thinking far enough ahead.

But that's rarely the issue.

More often, it means your income has outgrown the way you're thinking about money.

You're using old questions for a much more complex season of life.

Clarity at this stage doesn't come from chasing the "right" move.

It comes from understanding what your money needs to do for this phase of your life and what it doesn't.

If money feels heavier now than it used to, that's not failure.

It's a sign that your growth requires a different perspective.

→ Anyone else feel like the questions got harder, not easier?

“New year, new me.”
(The lie we tell ourselves every January.)

I don’t really have a morning ritual.
No cold plunge. No 5am journaling. No vision board.
I just start.

Some years I hit January running.
Other years I’m still mentally on the couch, halfway through a Netflix binge.

This year, I’m somewhere in between.

I keep seeing every January:

The pressure to have it all figured out by week one is another way to feel behind.

I see it show up with money, too.

The urge to treat January like a hard deadline.
New goals. New systems. All at once.

One client finally started her business at 51.
She didn’t launch in January.
She launched in March after two false starts and changing her mind more than once.

Another client left her marriage and rebuilt her finances from scratch.
It took her until April to open her new accounts.

Most meaningful financial moves don’t always happen because the calendar flipped.

They happen when someone finally has the space to look at things honestly and decide what actually matters next.

January isn’t magic.
It’s literally a calendar page we assign a lot of pressure to.

The reset happens when you’re ready.
Not when the date tells you to be.

If you’re still easing back in this week, that’s fine.
If you’re already in full work mode, also fine.

There’s no right pace.
Just the one you’re actually in.

→ Are you fully back or still mentally on vacation?

You can think you’re “on track”
and still feel unsure where it’s headed.

At some point, “Am I on track?” stops being a yes-or-no question.

You’re doing what you were told was responsible.
And yet, something doesn’t sit right.

Most advice makes this feel simple.

Hit the number and you’re fine.
Miss it and you’re behind.

But a lot of women I talk to have solid numbers.
They still don’t feel settled about where things are going.

That’s because being “on track” isn’t really about how much you’ve saved.

It’s about where all of this effort is actually leading.

You can make good decisions for years
and slowly realize you’re building toward something you never really chose.

In your 40s, this gets harder to ignore.

Career decisions are more impactful.
Family needs change.
Time and energy matter more than they used to.

One reasonable choice quietly shapes the next.
And changing direction starts to feel more costly than it once did.

So maybe the more useful question isn't
"Am I saving enough?"

It's whether the way you're using your money is still supporting the life you want now.
Not just the plan you set five years ago.

One keeps the plan intact.
The other helps you decide if the plan still fits.

→ Does anyone else's 'on track' feel different than it used to?

If money hacks could make you rich, we’d all be millionaires by now.

There’s no magic financial tip waiting to “blow up” your wealth overnight.
If there were, everyone would already be using it.

It’s why so many women earning multiple six figures still wonder if they’re missing something.

The issue isn’t income.
It’s that most advice points you toward hacks instead of building a strategy that fits your life.

When you step back and create a plan that reflects your goals and values—
Your money stops feeling scattered.
And it starts working for you.

Here’s what that looks like in real life:
→ Big decisions feel easier
→ You’re in the right financial vehicles for growth
→ You keep more of what you earn
→ And you have breathing room to actually enjoy your money today

The “secret” isn’t another hack. It’s this:
→ Knowing where every dollar goes without feeling restricted
→ Choosing investments that fit your future, not someone else’s
→ Walking into tax season without the “what if I missed something” pit in your stomach

That’s what a strategy built around you delivers.

—

📌 What’s the best money tip you’ve ever received?

Making more money doesn’t automatically make you feel safer.


For many women in their 40s, it actually makes decisions feel more complicated.

By this point, your income is higher than it used to be.
You’re more established in your career.
You’re not starting from scratch anymore.

So there’s an expectation that money should feel simpler now.
Instead, decisions start to require more thought.

Not because anything is going wrong, 
but because each choice affects more parts of your life than it used to.

In your 40s, money decisions rarely live in isolation.
They touch your time, your energy, your family, your career flexibility, and the options you want to keep available later.

Changing direction (slowing down, stepping away, or reworking priorities) feels more consequential than it did before.

I hear this a lot from women in this stage:

“I have more money than I ever thought I would…
and I’m less certain about what I want next.”

So you find yourself standing at a point where the old path doesn’t quite fit anymore.

The risk isn’t making a bad decision.
It’s staying on autopilot because everything looks fine.
That’s how drift shows up in your 40s.

That discomfort isn’t a sign you’ve failed with money.
It’s a sign that the definition of “doing well” you built earlier in your career needs to be updated for where you are now.

Feeling secure in this season comes from understanding what your money is meant to support and what it needs to stay flexible for.

When that’s clear, decisions start to feel steadier and more intentional.

→ Anyone else in this phase right now?

You shouldn’t need to justify enjoying your money.

But somehow, every time you book the flight or splurge on the birthday dinner… guilt taps you on the shoulder.

This past weekend, I bought the $1,000 shoes I’ve been eyeing.
And for a split second, I hesitated.
Not because I couldn’t afford them,
But because that little voice whispered,
“Shouldn’t you be saving this instead?”

That voice doesn’t vanish when you start earning more.
Or when you “know better.”
Or even when you build financial plans for a living.

It sticks around when your money feels disconnected from your life.

Because enjoying your money and being smart with it shouldn’t feel like opposites.
But for a lot of high-earning women—it still does.

Not because they’re reckless.
But because they’re not 100% sure what’s already handled and what isn’t.

That’s where the doubt creeps in.
That’s where the overthinking starts.

What changes everything?

→ Knowing what’s going toward the future
→ Knowing what’s fueling the life you want right now
→ And knowing you’re allowed to enjoy both

That’s the kind of permission that doesn’t come from a budgeting app.
It comes from a plan that gets you.

Not just the numbers.
The way you want to feel when you spend, invest, save, and live.

If you’ve been earning well but still feel like you have to justify every “fun” purchase…
This isn’t a money problem.
It’s a strategy gap.

And that’s fixable.

“What should my financial goals be for this year?”

I get this question every January.

But I never answer it directly.

Instead, I ask:
“What do you actually want your life to look like in December?”

If you hesitated, that’s the point.

Most people set financial goals backwards.

Save more money
Max out my 401k
Pay off debt faster

These aren’t goals.
They’re tasks without a destination.

Here’s how I work through this with clients:

1. Start with the life (not the number)

Ask yourself:
→ What do I want to say YES to this year without hesitating?
→ What would I do if money wasn’t the thing holding me back?
→ What does my ideal Tuesday look like in five years?

Write it down. Get specific.

2. Work backwards to the money

Once you see the life clearly:
→ The lake house = X amount by Y date
→ The career pivot = Z months of runway
→ Early retirement = a real drawdown strategy

Now you have targets that mean something.
Not arbitrary benchmarks from an online calculator.

3. Identify what’s actually in the way

It’s not always “not enough money.”

It’s usually:
→ Cash sitting idle instead of working
→ Tax inefficiency quietly eating gains
→ No system connecting income → investments → real life goals

4. Build the bridge

Map the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
Then reverse-engineer the quarterly actions to close it.

That’s a financial plan.
Not “save more.”

Because “enough” is a moving target.
A number on a calculator.
A fear dressed up as math.

But:
Take my daughter to Portugal without guilt.
Leave this job by 50 on my terms.
Buy the vacation home.

Those are goals.

The number isn’t the goal.
The life is.

→ What’s one thing you want to say YES to this year?

Being gifted stock can quietly turn into a tax headache if you don’t know what you’re dealing with.

On the surface, it sounds like a win.
But the rules matter more than most people expect.

A lot of people assume gifted stock works like an inheritance. It doesn’t.

There’s no step-up in basis.
You get the stock and you also get all the built-in gains that come with it.

Most of the stress isn’t about the money itself. It’s the uncertainty.

You’re holding something valuable, but you don’t really know what it costs to use it.

That’s usually when it becomes clear this isn’t a simple decision.

If you sell everything without a plan, the tax bill can be massive.
And once that happens, there’s no undo button.

Most people come in asking, “Should I sell?”

I’m usually focused on what decisions are still open before anything is final.

That’s how I worked with a client who was gifted just under $4 million in a single stock, with about $2.5 million of gains.

We sold shares over time in years when her income was lower.
We used some of the most appreciated stock for charitable giving.
And we rebuilt the portfolio so it supported her goals, not just what she inherited.

Once she could see the path forward, it stopped feeling like a guessing game.

Sometimes the most important money decision isn’t earning more.

It’s knowing how to use what you already have without creating a problem you didn’t need.

If this is something you’re navigating, it’s worth talking through early, before taxes make the decision for you.


→ Did you know gifted stock works this way?

Sustainability Focused Strategic Sourcing | Personal Branding and LinkedIn™ Presence Expertise | Panel and Podcast Guest | The Good Witch of LinkedIn™ ✨

Visibility used to be about consistency. Now it’s about distinction. And the easiest way to lose authority is to look and sound exactly like everyone else.

Many people think their visibility problem is volume of content.

It isn’t.

In a world where AI search rewards recognizable expertise, the real risk isn’t posting too little. It’s blending in. The rules of visibility have shifted, and volume no longer wins. Distinction does.

I’ve watched incredibly smart, capable founders and executives do all the "right" things and still feel invisible.

They post consistently. They use the "recommended" tools. They may even hit some of those vanity metrics. And yet they still aren’t known. Their pipeline feels unpredictable. Their content sounds interchangeable with everyone else. Their ideas get buried under louder, less qualified voices.

That isn't a content problem.
It’s a positioning problem.

Authority begins with clarity. Visibility grows when the market understands exactly what you stand for. AI search amplifies the voices that already stand out.

My work centers on helping founders, executives, and business owners become the voice their audience, and AI, immediately recognizes.

I do that through three pillars:

Clarity:
Defining the position, point of view, and message that differentiate you instantly.

Visibility:
Building thought leadership that attracts opportunities instead of chasing them.

Strategy:
Designing content and engagement strategies that help turn recognition into revenue.

Your personal brand isn’t a side project. It’s a very necessary business asset.

Being everywhere doesn’t matter if no one remembers you. And credibility is engineered intentionally, strategically, and with your unique point of view no one else can replicate.

If you want to stop sounding like everyone else, step out of the commodity expert trap, and build a presence humans and AI cannot ignore, I’d love to connect.

Let’s make your expertise unmistakable.

Melissa Cohen

The best thing about LinkedIn is always the people. In this week's #FourToFollow I'm highlighting four people in my network who I think you need to follow.

Omarion Calloway is a writer, advocate, and NYU Class of 2026 student using storytelling to drive social change. Beginning his journey as a young caregiver for his family, he transformed personal responsibility into a powerful voice for resilience, empathy, and representation. Awarded over $1.3 million in scholarships and featured in national media, Omarion is the author of More Than Survival: A Guideline for Young Caregivers, shining light on an often-overlooked community. Whether through film, media, or advocacy, he is building bridges between entertainment and social impact—proving that stories don’t just inspire, they move people to action.

Kevin Smith is the Founder and Chief Kindness Chaser of Kindness Worldwide, a global nonprofit born from one simple belief: the meaning of life is to live it in a way that makes a meaningful difference. After building a successful wealth advisory practice, a chance moment involving a lost wallet sparked a deeper calling — to make kindness the most valuable currency in the world. Today, Kevin leads initiatives that inspire communities to “be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people,” creating a culture of compassion across the globe. His journey and mission are captured in a recent documentary, reflecting a life devoted not just to success, but to significance.

Lindsey Fine is a sales leadership coach and fractional revenue partner who helps leaders and teams perform at a high level without burning out or leading on autopilot. She built a career leading sales teams at Amazon, Salesforce, Meta, and Dropbox. Along the way, she learned that real leadership isn’t about ego or pressure, but clarity, communication, and being human first. Today, Lindsey coaches sales leaders and revenue teams to cut through chaos, strengthen messaging, and show up with confidence. Her superpower is getting to the real issue fast, and turning uncertainty into momentum.

Tina Dietz is an award-winning vocal leadership expert and pioneer in voice-powered publishing. As Founder & CEO of Twin Flames Studios, she helps entrepreneurs, content creators, and industry experts transform spoken ideas into world-class audiobooks and podcast-to-book publications that build authority, visibility, and new revenue streams. Recognized by Forbes, Inc., ABC, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune, Tina has led industry innovations including the first fully guided remote audiobook recording experience and is at the forefront of converting voice-based content into lasting intellectual property. With two decades of experience across 30+ industries and clients ranging from Johnson & Johnson to GE, she is a trusted partner for experts ready to turn their voice into impact.

I hope you enjoyed this week's Four To Follow.  Please share in the comments who you think is a must follow.

Be Impossible to Confuse With Anyone Else on LinkedIn®. Personal Branding & Strategic Positioning That Builds Authority. Amazon Bestselling Author. The Good Witch of LinkedIn 🪄

I firmly believe LinkedIn is the world's greatest free mini-education. Yes, you have to push through some of the clutter and noise (and I am particularly annoyed with copy/paste LLM posts), but there is so much here that inspires me every day. Here are this week's #LinkedInNuggets.

✨ “We talk a lot about “finding our path.” But sometimes, the path forms because we keep walking. Today, I’m thankful for the uncertainty that trained my patience and the quiet perseverance that built my character.” - Nitish Kumar

✨ “Next time you are on a plane, at a conference, at a restaurant… just say hello to someone. You never know who you might meet.” - Kimmy Seltzer

✨ “Not every provocation requires a response or deserves your energy. Sometimes the most powerful move is to let someone spin themselves while you remain steady and unruffled.” - Vivian James Rigney

✨ “…you never really know who your story might reach, or how much it might mean to someone else. If you’re carrying a lot, or wondering whether what you’re doing matters: it does. Even when you don’t see it yet.” - Omarion Calloway

✨ “As a recovering people pleaser, I’ve often made decisions based on minimizing disappointment rather than honoring what’s actually right, necessary, sustainable, or aligned. Today was a reminder that discomfort doesn’t automatically mean you made the wrong call. Sometimes it just means you chose honesty over approval.” - Kate McKinnon MLD, PHR, SHRM-CP

✨ “In the messy middle of our careers, clarity rarely comes before movement.
It usually comes because we were willing to take a step without seeing the whole path.” - Amy P Wilkins, CPQC, ACC

There are always nuggets of wisdom just waiting to be read. Which nugget resonated the most with you today?

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The Battle

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