Habits Inc.

Most financial advisors are set up for failure. There is an inherent hurdle they face whenever they send a LinkedIn DM, cold email, or even when there's a warm introduction. "oh they're just trying to sell me something" "they just want me to transfer my assets" "I'm just another name on a list to them" "I bet they're sending a million of these messages a week" It's quite sad that the industry has deterred hard working, smart, intentional, young professionals and families. I'm all for digital banking, financial management applications, account aggregators, newsletters, blogs or whatever the DIY lifestyle includes. There are a lot of fantastic financial advisors out there, but they're hiding in plain sight, and contrary to what you may think... Many of them are exactly what you're looking for. That's why at Habits Inc. we've become obsessed with our testimonials and feedback slack channel. There's always some sort of weekly snapshot of a family saying "Habits is such an intuitive and obvious need that I never expected to use, but so happy we/I did."

Please join us in celebrating Crystelle Desnoyer, a member of the Habits Inc. advisory board, a well deserved congratulations with her new role at Kyndryl !

When I was younger, I thought a big salary would solve everything. Turns out, it's not that simple. I've met plenty of high earners who are: - Stressed out - Working constantly - Barely seeing their families Most of us (myself included) have no idea what we actually need to be happy. I've seen: - People making $500k+ drowning in debt - "Successful" folks who are miserable Why? We never stop to define what "enough" really means for us. Your magic number? It's probably lower than you think. Here's a little exercise that helped me: (1) List what truly matters to you (2) Estimate the real cost (3) Add it up You might be surprised to find that what you really want is: - Less time at work - More family dinners - A sense of purpose It's easy to get caught up in the rat race. I've been there. But remember — you get to define success on your own terms.

The biggest hurdle for the financial services industry is so freaking obvious from the inside. It's the "what's in it for me" culture and older generations have plagued it throughout the industry. Can we stop approaching every connection as potential new client or chance to prospect? Your clients and prospects smell it from a mile away. And it stinks up an industry with an already dicey reputation. It's one of the reasons why we quit our jobs, started Habits Inc., and built our invite-only marketplace. Let's stop commoditizing relationships and people.

Just got off the phone with Sarah. She turned 30 last month. On paper, she's made it: - College degree - Steady job in tech - $75k salary But she feels stuck. “My parents had a house and two kids by 30. I'm living paycheck to paycheck with roommates and student debt,” she says. Numbers tell stories: - Only 27% of 30-34 year olds have kids now, vs. 60% in 1990 - Her $75k doesn't go as far as her parents' $50k did - Home prices jumped from $290k to $420k in 4 years Sarah isn't alone. Many millennials I talk to feel: - Anxious about the future - Priced out of important milestones their parents took for granted - Unsure how to build wealth in this economy But here's the silver lining… Sarah's taking control. A few weeks ago, she connected with one of our top advisors. Now, she's building a roadmap tailored to her unique journey. The rules have shifted, but so have the opportunities.

Housing prices have exploded. For the median household in America… - 2016 mortgage: $1,300/month - Today's mortgage: $3,700/month That's a 185% increase in 8 years. The landscape has shifted dramatically: - Housing costs have nearly tripled - Wages haven't kept pace - Millennials and Gen Z face new challenges But here's the thing: Millennials are adaptable. Gen Z is resourceful. The game has changed, so we change our strategy: - Think creatively about rent vs. buy - Work with a vetted advisor - Know your priorities There are always options, even when the path is unclear. You're not alone in this.

I flew with one of our first investors to meet up with a fund yesterday. And for context, this was my fourth time, but began to meet the other partners and overall a very positive experience. One question that was asked that has stuck with me since is "what has been your #1 learning lesson along the journey?" And it was so obvious... Most problems are solved by users or potential new ones. Over the years of my financial services career, I've always been annoyed with it's traditional culture. Suits, in-person branch visits, paper performance reports, organized quarterly gatherings, the same political conversations every 4 years, 800 customer service numbers, classic debates of DIY investing vs. cookie cutter solutions, I think you get the point. Truth is? If you are below 45, you are not only expecting, but demanding more than investment management. Someone who can cover the blind spots on taxes. Someone who can help answer that mortgage related q. Someone who can reliably be there when that "oh sh*t" moment chills your spine. At least that's what I've learned after speaking with thousands of millennial families. Maybe I'm wrong, or naive. But I think the thousands that have come to Habits Inc. to find their advisor would beg to differ.

Our parents had it easy: - Get a job - Save for retirement - Enjoy golden years For millennials, the game is different. The new "success" checklist: - Freedom - Flexibility - Living on our terms Sounds great, right? Wrong. There’s a dark side. Constant FOMO. Toxic comparisons. Never feeling "enough." Here's the truth: There's no one-size-fits-all success. What matters is defining success on your own terms. It's about aligning your actions with your personal vision. It's okay to want different things. It's not okay to live someone else's life. Take a moment. Reflect on what truly matters to you. Your path is yours alone. Own it.

Our parents had it easy: - Get a job - Save for retirement - Enjoy golden years For millennials, the game is different. The new "success" checklist: - Freedom - Flexibility - Living on our terms Sounds great, right? Wrong. There’s a dark side. Constant FOMO. Toxic comparisons. Never feeling "enough." Here's the truth: There's no one-size-fits-all success. What matters is defining success on your own terms. It's about aligning your actions with your personal vision. It's okay to want different things. It's not okay to live someone else's life. Take a moment. Reflect on what truly matters to you. Your path is yours alone. Own it.

Being stubborn cost me over $35,000 and please learn from my mistake. A couple years ago, a financial advisor shared some guidance about ~$200k that I had in a brokerage account. I had plans to inject a decent chunk of savings from my brokerage account towards a side hustle (that I planned to roll-up into a full-time business). Long story short, I didn't follow their advice. - Sold assets (spring 2022) - Owed a lot in taxes (had been investing since 2016) - Market took off (rapid recovery in covid) - Lost nearly all of my borrowing power (interest rates were crazy low too...) - Lost a lot of personal runway without a paycheck. - And I took my anger and frustration on friends & family. Worst part? That money flew away so fast that I didn't know where it could have gone towards. And contrary to what you might think, I work with that advisor today. But it allowed me to get to a level of vulnerability and confidence. Since now, I feel confident, smart, and on the ball. My advisor is there for me, doesn't judge, challenges my ideas, brings new new ones to the table, covers my blindspots and helps me level up in both life & business. (For example he recently helped me launch a 529 strategy so, even though I am not married nor do I have kids, I am already ahead of my goal to never have a child of mine pay for college) I'm fortunate to learn at a young age the value of good advice. That's why I work with a financial advisor today. The tough part is finding the right one. That's why we built Habits Inc. And also why I am so lucky to be part of the prestigious 1871's Fintech Fall Cohort, because I'm not just open to financial advice, but founder advice too!