Money Dates

Dan and Natalie Slagle with Equal Voices Wealth
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Money can be one of the most powerful tools in your household… when you know how to talk about it. Money Dates is hosted by a pair of married certified financial planners who have spent years in their professional and personal lives perfecting this very topic. Natalie and Dan Slagle, with Equal Voices Wealth, have witnessed the benefits of having open, honest conversations about money. Each episode, they share personal stories, practical financial advice, and mindset shifts that help you grow wealth and confidence together. Whether you're navigating joint finances or dreaming up big financial goals, these are the money dates that matter. Learn more at equalvoices.co

  1. 6d ago

    Multnomah County & Metro Taxes: What High Earners Need to Know

    “Tax planning is a year-round endeavor. It's not something to think about when you file your taxes in April.” This one goes out to all Portland taxpayers! It’s easy to get blindsided by these two local levies: the Metro Supportive Housing Services Tax and the Multnomah County Preschool For All Tax, which were both passed in 2020 and are still tripping up high earners five years later. Often, mismatched withholding trips up taxpayers. Employers only withhold once an individual crosses a set income threshold, so dual-income households can each stay under the line while their combined income lands well above it. Remote employees living in Multnomah County but paid by an out-of-state employer hit the same blind spot. The two taxes don't even share a footprint, as Supportive Housing covers the broader Metro area, while Preschool For All applies to Multnomah County specifically. This means neighbors just across a boundary can owe one tax and not the other. Both taxes require their own personal tax filings, not just an Oregon return line item, and quarterly estimated payments kick in once liability hits $1,000. It’s important to check pay stubs, compare withholding with your partner's, and treat tax planning as a year-round habit rather than an April surprise. Local taxes are proliferating, so if you want to avoid getting snuck up on, have a good plan in place! Key Topics: Two Sneaky Portland Taxes, Five Years Running (06:54)Why Employer Withholding Falls Short (11:02)Where the Supportive Housing Money Actually Goes (14:56)Doing the Math on a $3,270 Tax Bill (18:44)Preschool for All: Free Daycare, Different Numbers (21:31)Two Taxes, Two Thresholds, One Confusing System (23:14)Stacking to $8,000: Filing Rules and the Quarterly Payment Trap (26:24) Resources: Multnomah County & Metro Taxes: What Portland High Earners Need to Know: https://www.equalvoices.co/post/multnomah-county-metro-taxes-what-portland-high-earners-need-to-knowMoney Dates Episode 19: Why High-Income Households Still Struggle to Donate https://www.equalvoices.co/podcast-1/why-high-income-households-still-struggle-to-donateMetro boundary address lookup: https://gis.oregonmetro.gov/boundary-lookup-tools/metro-boundary-address-lookupSupportive Housing Services progress: https://www.oregonmetro.gov/what-metro-does/housing-and-homelessness/supportive-housing-services/progressSchedule Your Free Intro Chat: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

  2. Oct 1

    Irrational Exuberance, When Markets Lose Their Minds

    “There's always going to be some new technology, some new shift, some new way of thinking... but here's the thing, we still have the same nervous system that we had back then.” Many investors right now are worried that today’s market is “different”. Our hosts, Dan and Natalie Slagle, discuss why the bubble we might be in is no different from previous ones. They give a tour through four centuries of market mania. Dutch tulip futures trading for the price of an Amsterdam house. Isaac Newton losing a fortune in the South Sea Bubble. The dot-com crash that erased 78% of the NASDAQ. The 2008 housing collapse built on leverage instead of speculation. The 2021 meme-stock and crypto frenzy that took Bitcoin from $5,000 to nearly $69,000 and back down again. Every one of them runs on the same fuel, beginning with a story people tell themselves, a fear of missing out, and the conviction that this time is different. A bubble is simply price disconnected from underlying value, propped up by expectation rather than fundamentals. It goes from displacement, boom, euphoria, profit-taking, panic. Can you tell a genuine paradigm shift from a bubble narrative? Would you buy your winning investment today, at today's price, if you didn't already own it? And whose voice are you listening to, and what do they gain if you believe them? Assets change, stories change, but the instinct to chase and the instinct to panic don't. As an investor, it pays to keep a level head. Key Topics: The 40% Question (04:41)Why Smart People Do Dumb Things With Money (07:13)Defining a Bubble: Story Over Fundamentals (10:09)Tulip Mania: Betting on Flowers That Don't Exist Yet (15:41)Newton's Costly Lesson: The South Sea Bubble (23:28)Dot-Com Bust to Housing Collapse (25:13)GameStop, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin's Wild Ride (26:48)"I Would Never": Confronting Hindsight Bias (28:27)FOMO Confessions: Crypto Buys and a Banana on a Boat ETF (33:37)Three Questions to Stress-Test Any Investment (39:18)Closing Takeaways: Different Story, Same Nervous System (44:15) Resources: Money Dates Episode 34: Too Much of a Good Thing: Diversifying Out of a Single Stock Without a Massive Tax Bill https://www.equalvoices.co/podcast-1/too-much-of-a-good-thing-diversifying-out-of-a-single-stock-without-a-massive-tax-bill Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

  3. Sep 17

    Can We Afford Another Kid?

    “This decision should not be based on a spreadsheet at the end of the day.” Our hosts, Dan and Natalie Slagle, turn the mic on their own family planning by asking themselves, “Should we have a second child?” To Dan, the first time around carried the thrill of not knowing; the second carries the different weight of already knowing what’s in store. Natalie counters that knowing what's coming brings its own quiet stress, even if the unknowns felt scarier the first time. From there they work through age gaps, their reliance on a friend-built support network in lieu of nearby family, and how parenthood has already reshaped their careers, especially the pay and ambition gap that tends to open up for mothers specifically. Then Dan lays out seven financial categories every couple should walk through: childcare, housing, income, healthcare, everyday costs, education savings, and long-term costs. They land on a short list of questions worth asking before making the big decision. What's the monthly cash flow margin? Is there an emergency cushion? Does this feel affordable, or merely survivable? Here’s the thing, though. Spreadsheets can help to inform a decision like this, but they shouldn't be the end-all-be-all. A child isn’t just another investment. They’re more than that. And so when it comes to the choice of whether or not to have baby number two, more ground can be covered with good old-fashioned communication between husband and wife than any document filled with calculations ever could! Key Topics: Why the Second Time Feels Different (06:12)Age Gaps, Village-Building, and Career Timing (11:53)The Motherhood Pay Gap, Up Close (18:00)Seven Financial Categories, Mapped Out (19:43)Housing, Cars, and Kicking the Can Down the Road (26:21)Income Shifts and the Reduced-Hours Question (28:57)The 529 Guilt Trip and Long-Term Costs (32:03)The Real Questions Before Deciding (34:43) Resources: Learn more about Portland's Preschool For All Program: https://multco.us/programs/preschool-all Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

  4. Sep 15

    Our Rebrand Revealed!

    “This rebrand still embodies everything that we've built up to this point... but it's meeting us where we're at in our personal life, and where a lot of our clients are at.” Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, spent over a year pouring heart and soul into a full rebrand of the firm they founded in their twenties. Fyooz Financial Planning is retiring. In its place comes E_____ V_____ W_____ (you’ve gotta listen to find out!) The old brand no longer matched who they had become or the couples they serve. These are high-earning dual-income households, often in their forties, many with kids, concentrated in medicine, engineering, and tech, to pinpoint a few industries. These clients want both partners engaged, respectful, and treated as equals. Traditional firms still often default to one spouse (historically the higher earner) handling the finances; Dan and Natalie want both spouses to have a voice. With this rebrand, the work’s the same, with the added bonus of clarifying their mission. That’s ongoing, relationship-driven financial planning that keeps both voices in the room as life shifts, whether it’s new jobs, children, career pivots, or inheritances. The updated website, language, and core values now make that explicit. Fyooz had a special place; the new brand simply elevates what clients already experienced and what the founders always intended! Key Topics: Announcing the Rebrand (03:49)Why the Old Brand No Longer Fit (04:25)Origin Story of “Fyooz” and Pronunciation Woes (07:02)The Problem They Set Out to Solve (10:41)Ideal Client Profile: Love, Respect, and Numbers (17:55)“Our Ideal Clients Are” (21:40)Ongoing Planning as Relationship Work (27:18)New Brand Reveal! (And what it represents) (32:25) Resources: The New Brand Website!: https://tinyurl.com/487tbxxrNYT Article Feature Mentioned in Episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/your-money/money-relationships-marriage.html Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

  5. Sep 3

    Cracking The College Funding Code with Expert Jonathan West

    “You don't want to apply to any schools without having an idea of what that school is likely to cost your family.” Our hosts, Dan and Natalie Slagle, close out their two-part college funding series with Jonathan West of College Aid Pro. He’s a financial planner who has personally guided his own four kids through four very different college paths. Jonathan recommends that parents run the numbers before falling in love with a school. Every college calculates a Student Aid Index through the FAFSA, or, at roughly 250 more selective schools, the CSS Profile, and that number (meaning not the sticker price) is what families should react to. High earners often assume they're locked out of aid entirely and skip the exercise, but need-based aid is only one lever; merit aid, tied to grades and test scores, varies wildly and unpredictably from school to school. Jonathan also discusses community college as a legitimate, underrated on-ramp; the modest payoff of most private scholarships; a shrinking pool of college-bound teenagers; and growing openness to gap years and trades. Regardless of income, Jonathan encourages all parents to keep saving, in a 529 or elsewhere, and don't let uncertainty about the future of higher education talk you out of it. Nobody, he says, has ever regretted having more! Key Topics: How College Costs Got So Complicated (02:36)Need-Based Aid vs. Merit Aid, Decoded (06:07)Merit Aid's Secret-Recipe Problem (12:30)Private Scholarships: A Nice Bonus, Not a Strategy (20:45)Community College as a Financial Strategy (24:44)Gap Years, Trades, and Alternatives to the Four-Year Path (28:45)Inside the College Aid Pro Software (36:59)When Should Parents Start? A Timeline Guide (42:30) Resources: College Aid Pro: https://collegeaidpro.com/Jonathan West Email: jonathanw@collegeaidpro.com Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

  6. Aug 20

    The College Money Talk: What Married Couples Need to Agree On First

    “The easiest option is to say, ‘We'll figure it out when the time comes,’ which isn't necessarily a plan. To me, it's a hope.” For most couples, the sticker price of college never gets a number attached to it out loud. At least, not until an acceptance letter forces the issue… which is exactly the wrong moment! Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, break it down in this Money Date. Campus visits, admissions decisions, financial aid offers: these arrive stacked with emotion, and emotional timing makes for bad negotiating, whether the negotiation is with a spouse or a newly admitted teenager. Dan and Natalie offer a framework built on seven questions to prepare for college finances. It dives into such things as what resources actually exist, what your cap is, and whether your child should have skin in the game when it comes to covering expenses. Then, we’ve got harder questions. What happens to a scholarship's leftover money? Who absorbs the cost when a teenager falls for a school above budget? What actually belongs in "the bucket" beyond tuition nobody quite budgets for? And finally, when and how does a family tell a teenager any of this, in a way that reads as shared strategy rather than burden? None of it is complicated math. It's a conversation most families never have out loud… until they're forced to. Key Topics: Why the Money Conversation Gets Skipped (08:17)Question One: What Resources Do We Actually Have? (12:38)Question Two: What’s Our Cap? (14:56)Question Three: Should Our Kids Have Skin in the Game? (21:59)Question Four: Where Does the Scholarship Surplus Go? (27:46)Question Five: Who Pays When Our Child Goes Over Budget? (34:00)Question Six: What's Really in the College "Bucket"? (36:22)Question Seven: When and How Should We Tell Our Kids? (39:15)Recap and Wrap-up (42:12) Resources: Check out our blog post for an easy way to copy and paste the conversation prompts for your college money talk!: https://www.equalvoices.co/post/the-college-money-talk-7-questions-married-couples-need-to-answer-before-the-campus-tours-startNYT Article: Parents’ Financial Support May Not Help College Grades: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/education/parents-financial-support-linked-to-college-grades.html Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

  7. Aug 6

    Are We Worse Off Than Previous Generations?

    “On paper, millennials are doing better than boomers were at the same age.” Every generation insists it got the raw deal, so our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, decided to check the math instead of just complaining. Adjusted for inflation, millennials at 34 hold $1.35 for every dollar boomers had at that age, according to St. Louis Fed research, thanks largely to post-pandemic gains in stocks and home equity. But two structural gaps complicate the "we're fine" story. Homeownership sits up to nine points lower than it was for boomers and Gen X at the same age, and student loan debt, averaging $30,000-$45,000 per borrower, has outpaced wage growth as tuition nearly tripled since 1990. Layer on three major economic shocks packed into one working lifetime, the 2008 financial crisis, the pandemic, and the fastest interest-rate spike in 40 years, plus a generational shift from pensions to self-managed 401(k)s, and the "doing better on paper" claim starts to feel more fragile than it looks. Dan and Natalie land somewhere more nuanced on the spectrum of this debate. Millennials, as a whole, aren't clearly worse off than boomers were, but the generation may be more internally unequal, with tech workers, finance professionals, and pre-2021 homebuyers pulling far ahead while others carry outsized debt into a slower-growth economy. As Natalie puts it, averages hide the fact that nobody actually lives at the average. Key Topics: Are Millennials Really Worse Off? (04:13)Millennials at 34 vs. Boomers at 34 (08:50)The Great Wealth Transfer (Maybe) (11:55)Student Loan Debt Outpacing Wages (18:44)Three Economic Shocks, One Working Lifetime (27:34)Pensions vs. 401(k)s: Who Holds the Risk Now (28:15)Not Worse Off, Just More Unequal (35:15) Resources: See full resource/reference list on the blog post: www.fyoozfinancial.com/podcasts/are-we-worse-off-than-previous-generations Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

  8. Jul 23

    Can You Afford a Pay Cut? Here's How to Calculate It

    “Can my finances support the life I want to live going forward?” In recent years, many high earners have been walking away from lucrative jobs in search of more fulfilling careers. Are you in the same boat? If so, it’s important to have a strategy before making the leap! Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, break it down in this episode of Money Dates! USA Today found that 64% of job switchers between 2022 and 2024 also changed careers, not chasing a bigger paycheck, but chasing remote work, better balance, or work that finally feels meaningful. The dilemma, as Dan frames it, is that flexibility and money often pull in opposite directions, and you may not get to choose both. So before running any numbers, he and Natalie walk through questions meant to separate what someone is actually after: a new career, a sabbatical, less stress, more presence at home. Then comes the math. Using a hypothetical couple, they model a household earning $430,000 down to the dollar, including what they spend, what they save, what they can trim, and which tax bracket they fall into (among other details). The exercise finds $16,500 in painless annual cuts and a savings rate that can drop from 22% to 18% without derailing long-term goals. Natalie's hypothetical salary floor lands at $188,000, a real but survivable step down from $250,000. Beyond the spreadsheet, Dan and Natalie remind listeners that salary is only one line item. As Dan puts it, financial planning isn't only about building wealth; it's about buying yourself the freedom to choose how you spend this one, precious life. Key Topics: Can You Afford a Pay Cut? (02:17)From Job-Hopping to Full Career Pivots (04:21)Remote Work, Balance, and Meaning (07:35)Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Jump (11:18)Step One: Building the Budget (13:16)Case Study: A $430K Household Asks What the Floor Is (16:14)Cutting $16,500, Lowering the Savings Rate, and Landing on $188K (21:15)Beyond Salary: Benefits, PTO, and the Tax Upside of Earning Less (28:39) Schedule a Free Consultation Here: https://www.equalvoices.co/start Join our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest financial resources: https://www.equalvoices.co/contact Natalie Slagle, CFP®, and Dan Slagle, CFP®, are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Equal Voices Wealth https://www.equalvoices.co/ — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together. At Equal Voices, 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 https://www.equalvoices.co/legal

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Money can be one of the most powerful tools in your household… when you know how to talk about it. Money Dates is hosted by a pair of married certified financial planners who have spent years in their professional and personal lives perfecting this very topic. Natalie and Dan Slagle, with Equal Voices Wealth, have witnessed the benefits of having open, honest conversations about money. Each episode, they share personal stories, practical financial advice, and mindset shifts that help you grow wealth and confidence together. Whether you're navigating joint finances or dreaming up big financial goals, these are the money dates that matter. Learn more at equalvoices.co

Information

  • Creator
    Dan and Natalie Slagle with Equal Voices Wealth
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Equal Voices Wealth
  • Show Website
    Money Dates

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