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Stephanie McCullough, Financial Planner, Speaker and Podcaster

Monthly Insights for Women

Stephanie McCullough is founder of Sofia Financial and co-host of the award-winning Take Back Retirement podcast. One of Investopedia's Top 10 Financial Advisors of 2023, Stephanie provides non-judgmental, truly holistic financial planning for professional women. She has found that women “of a certain age” are faced with a particular set of problems around the goal of retirement, especially those facing it on their own. Her mission is to empower women to make wise financial decisions so they can control their future, and thus she speaks to women’s groups regularly. Stephanie is married with two kids in their 20’s, and has degrees from Duke University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Follow Stephanie @sofiafinancial and www.sofiafinancial.com.

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Featured Post

Sofia Financial Insights - March 2024

“THE ACQUISITION OF MEMORIES” They say that a checkbook and a calendar never lie. If that's true, and I believe it is, then we should occasionally ask ourselves an important question: If an impartial observer tallied up how you spend your time and money, what would they say is important to you? While I'm certainly hopeful they'd say that you spend your time and money in complete alignment with what's most important to you, I'm guessing most of us would feel that we could do a bit better. I...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read

I'VE BEEN PONDERING With the stock market hovering around all-time highs again (see 2023 returns below), it's natural to wonder what's next. Will the market continue to climb, or will we experience yet another decline? If we follow the constant doom and gloom headlines, we're likely to believe that it will be the latter. Of course, the truth is that nobody knows, which of course offers no comfort whatsoever. But negative headlines are a dime a dozen no matter where the market stands at any...

3 months ago • 3 min read

I'VE BEEN PONDERING Most of you know I served on a Federal Grand Jury for 18 months. Every other Thursday my fellow citizens and I found our way to a windowless room in the courthouse on 9th and Market in Philadelphia, to hear overviews from Assistant US Attorneys and testimony from witnesses, and to vote on whether or not to indict. Some cases were done in an hour; some took many months. It was a fascinating (if time consuming) look into our justice system. Our Grand Jury was assigned to...

5 months ago • 2 min read

I'VE BEEN PONDERING Have you thought about the day you may no longer be fit to look after your own finances? A friend pointed me to this recent New York Times article about that conundrum. (This is a "gift" link which should give you full access to the article, even without a subscription.) I was delighted to find it features a financial planner whom Janice and I happen to know, Elliott Appel. He went through his own journey when his father started showing signs of impairment. The article...

8 months ago • 2 min read

What’s the Next Crisis? We find ourselves already halfway through the year, and I don’t want to spoil your enjoyment of late sunsets and lazy days. But it’s been an eventful six months in terms of headlines. In fact, there have been three separate “crises” that have seemingly defined 2023 so far, at least in the financial press. But here's an interesting thought experiment. I'm curious if you can remember the primary topic of each of the three crises we've experienced this year? I'll give you...

10 months ago • 2 min read

ONLINE COURSE ALERT! Have you ever wished for an in-depth, approachable online course on Personal Finance specifically for Women? Taught by me? That's just what I was asked to create for the American Physician Institute - and it goes live next week! There are eight separate talks spread over four weeks, starting Wednesday, May 24, with 13 full hours of learning! Or you can watch the recordings whenever you have time. One of the things I'm most excited about is the exclusive interview with...

11 months ago • 1 min read

I'VE BEEN PONDERING Here's a financial risk you may not have thought about: longevity. While most people hope for a long life, living a long time can be a risk to your financial security. Laura Carstensen, Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and author of A Long Bright Future, spoke at a conference I attended years ago, and her words are stuck in my brain. She said, "Medical science has given us an extra 30 years of life. Isn't it interesting that we chose to put them on the end." 🤯...

about 1 year ago • 2 min read

I'VE BEEN PONDERING: Being a Woman is Expensive! Women face myriad financial challenges. Have you read the endless articles about the gender wage gap? And the time women take out of the workforce to be caregivers? Oh - and our longer life expectancy? Less frequently discussed is the fact that life actually costs more for us! A recent article from HerMoney states, ”the truth is, it’s expensive to be a woman. Much more expensive over the course of our lifetimes than it is to be a man. Many of...

about 1 year ago • 3 min read
janice@sofiafinancial.com

I'VE BEEN PONDERING I have a few younger friends who are just getting to their 50's, and they're not necessarily thrilled about it. I try to tell them it's actually a great phase of life! But I think novelist Deanna Raybourn says it much better in this article. I've been a fan of Raybourn's books for several years - give me a good mystery with a strong female lead any day! And now I know why - we share some important views on life. (This might be too much information, but I'm totally with her...

over 1 year ago • 2 min read
janice@sofiafinancial.com

I'VE BEEN PONDERING Geek alert! Economic statistics can seem super boring. Here's a story on their real impact. Economic statistics are important. Policymakers rely on them in making big decisions. Politicians wield them like weapons, either to find reasons to congratulate themselves, or to bash and blame their opponents. But how reliable are they really? Coming up with a single number to characterize the experience of 330 million people, to try to explain what’s happening to people with a...

over 1 year ago • 3 min read
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