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5<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;"><meta name="keywords" content=""><meta name="description" content="Explore their philosophy, investment thesis, and expertise, and tune in to the Wealth Redefined® podcast hosted by Michael Reynolds."><meta property="og:description" content="Explore their philosophy, investment thesis, and expertise, and tune in to the Wealth Redefined® podcast hosted by Michael Reynolds."><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"><meta name="Author" content="Elevation Financial LLC"><meta name="Copyright" content="Copyright (c), Zephyr"><link rel="Shortcut Icon" href="https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/ba6aae3c-9382-4663-9d24-d9a6a82058c8/-/progressive/yes/elevation-favicon.png" type="image/x-icon"><link rel="image_src" href="https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/e7674b2e-8962-48c9-9be0-aecadfbb21b0/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/stretch/off/-/resize/1200x/blog-header-image.jpg"><meta property="og:image" content="https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/e7674b2e-8962-48c9-9be0-aecadfbb21b0/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/stretch/off/-/resize/1200x/blog-header-image.jpg"><title>Elevation Financial | Personal Finance Education &amp; Insights Blog</title><meta property="og:title" content="Elevation Financial | Personal Finance Education &amp; Insights Blog"><meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"><meta property="og:type" content="website"><meta property="og:url" content="https://www.elevationfinancial.com/blog"><meta property="og:site_name" content="Elevation Financial LLC"><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/a7f18d44-d223-43da-a741-b9e731335a55/bootstrap.min.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/230cbaa9-0ade-419e-bcf3-1925d6f2cf1f/magnific.min.css"><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/a0f44379-7132-4d3f-baf5-789c97a8b748/slick.min.css"><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/6.7.2/css/all.min.css"><link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"><link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin><link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Encode+Sans+Condensed:wght@400;700&amp;

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18        </style><div class="interior ha-waypoint"><div class="int-banner"></div><div class="page-title"><div class="container-fluid"><div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12"><h1>Blog</h1></div></div></div><div class="clear"></div></div><article><div class="std-padding"><div class="container-fluid"><div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12"><div class="blog-wrap"><div class="blog-flex"><a href="/how-to-implement-reverse-budgeting" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/8d0bcd0a-9895-4da1-ad88-e2188ad57e85/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/implement-reverse-budgeting-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">

18How to Implement Reverse Budgeting</p><p>The best cash flow system is the one you'll actually keep using. For a lot of people, that system is reverse budgeting.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> September 14, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/how-do-you-know-when-you-re-ready-to-buy-a-house" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/9072b9de-9f9d-4142-ab9e-c33131dba5ad/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/ready-to-buy-a-house-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">How Do You Know When You're Ready to Buy a House?</p><p>It's okay to get excited about the thought of buying a house. It's definitely an emotional experience. But base it on a solid financial foundation and make sure you're ready before making the largest purchase of your life.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> August 31, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/what-to-do-if-you-don-t-have-a-401-k" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/45402ce5-d52b-49eb-aa3b-839ce79ade63/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/what-to-do-without-401-k-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">What to Do If You Don’t Have a 401(k)</p><p>Don't let lack of access to a 401(k) keep you from saving and investing for retirement. You've got plenty of options to fill the gap.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> August 24, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/should-you-buy-life-insurance-before-you-need-it" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/36833e73-68d6-4446-bf37-1366d8c865f7/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/life-insurance-before-you-need-it-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">Should You Buy Life Insurance Before You Need It?</p><p>Some guidelines says you don't need life insurance until someone depends on you financially. That sounds obvious. But there's a real case for buying a policy before anyone relies on your income, and a lot of people never consider it.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> August 17, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/is-it-ok-to-get-a-big-tax-refund" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/82f9002a-2085-45e4-b586-0dd01c53f2ac/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/big-tax-refund-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">Is It OK to Get a Big Tax Refund?</p><p>Planning for a large tax refund can make sense in a lot of cases. Just because it's not financially optimal doesn't make it wrong.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> August 3, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/how-to-build-a-business-you-can-sell" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/ac7d2654-ccb8-40c8-b27d-31be0f212c62/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/build-a-business-you-can-sell-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">How to Build a Business You Can Sell</p><p>Not everyone starts a business planning to sell it. Some of you have no interest in an exit at all, and that's fine. But stick with me, because the work that makes a business sellable is the same work that makes it healthier, calmer, and more profitable to run right now.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> July 27, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/five-ways-to-simplify-your-money-and-how-it-helps" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/2a40ca86-b931-44f9-b5af-9ae6fe93d389/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/simplify-money-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">Five Ways to Simplify Your Money (and How It Helps)</p><p>Many people assume that managing money well requires complexity. More accounts, more spreadsheets, more strategies, more monitoring. The opposite is usually true.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> July 20, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/can-i-afford-a-house-even-if-i-can-t-put-20-down" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/e3966f91-53a3-4394-aafe-995b71da85fa/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/20-percent-down-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">Can I Afford a House Even If I Can't Put 20% Down?</p><p>Understanding where the 20% number comes from, and what your actual options are, can help you make a decision based on your finances instead of someone else's rule of thumb.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> July 13, 2026</p></div></a><a href="/why-we-avoid-looking-at-our-finances-and-what-it-costs" class="blog-link"><div class="blog-image" style="background-image: url( https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/25a50fe0-dbdb-471f-9bac-4720b9a1f233/-/progressive/yes/-/format/jpeg/-/scale_crop/590x700/center/money-avoidance-fb.jpg );"></div><div class="blog-content"><p class="blog-title">Why We Avoid Looking at Our Finances (And What It Costs)</p><p>Financial avoidance is very common, but if you learn to recognize it and manage it, you can get better at overcoming these tendencies.</p><p class="blog-author"><span></span> July 6, 2026</p></div></a></div><div class="pagination"><a class="active" href="?">1</a><a href="?page=2">2</a><a href="?page=3">3</a><a href="?page=4">4</a><a href="?page=5">5</a><a class="next" href="?page=2">Next</a><a title="last" href="?page=20">&gt;</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></article><div class="clear"></div></div></main><footer role="contentinfo" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/WPFooter"><div class="container-fluid"><div class="row"><div class="col-xs-12"><div class="footer-logo"><a href="/"><img src="https://cdn.zephyrcms.com/13cdac6a-f4a2-4246-9948-df408d0005d7/-/progressive/yes/full-color-transparent.png" alt="Logo for Elevation Financial LLC" title="Elevation Financial LLC"></a></div><ul class="social"><li><a aria-label="Instagram" href="https://www.instagram.com/elevationfinancial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i class="fab fa-instagram"></i></a></li><li><a aria-label="YouTube" href="https://www.youtube.com/@elevationfinancial" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i class="fab fa-youtube"></i></a></li><li><a aria-label="linkedIn" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbreyno/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i class="fab fa-linkedin-in"></i></a></li><li><a aria-label="Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057362241822" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i class="fab fa-facebook-f"></i></a></li><li><a aria-label="Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/michaelreynolds" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i class="fa-brands fa-twitter"></i></a></li><li><a aria-label="Bluesky" href="https://bsky.app/profile/michaelrey.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i class="fa-brands fa-bluesky"></i></a></li><li><a aria-label="TikTok" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wealthredefined" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i class="fa-brands fa-tiktok"></i></a></li><li><a aria-label="Substack" href="https://substack.com/@michaelreynoldscfp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <div><svg style="width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.125em;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" zoomAndPan="magnify" viewBox="0 0 30 30" preserveAspectRatio="none" version="1.0"><defs><clipPath id="1cc86e1d05"><path d="M 2.277344 0 L 27.683594 0 L 27.683594 29.03125 L 2.277344 29.03125 Z M 2.277344 0 " clip-rule="nonzero"></path></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#1cc86e1d05)"><path d="M 2.28125 0 L 27.710938 0 L 27.710938 3.566406 L 2.28125 3.566406 Z M 2.28125 13.003906 L 27.710938 13.003906 L 27.710938 29.03125 L 14.996094 21.898438 L 2.28125 29.03125 Z M 2.28125 6.5 L 27.710938 6.5 L 27.710938 10.

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