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Welcome back, friends!

If you’ve been with me for a while, you might remember Episode 83, where I sat down with Melissa Hampton — a Certified Financial Planner, mom, and founder of Hampton Wealth Management. That episode was called “How One Mom Doubled Her Time with Her Kids and Her Income by Redefining Success,” and it quickly became one of our most popular episodes.

The last time we talked, Melissa shared the story of her son’s near-death experience — and it brought me to tears. Her story was both heartwarming and filled with hope for anyone walking through something difficult. It was such a powerful reminder that even when you feel like you’re at the end of your rope, never give up hope. Trust that God is with you, giving you the strength you need to get through. You will come out the other side — and the trial you’re facing right now may be shaping you in ways you can’t yet see. It’s growing your empathy, deepening your faith, and preparing you to one day help someone else who’s walking a similar path.

Today, Melissa is back — and this time, we’re shifting gears to talk about something that can feel overwhelming for many families: money, planning, and preparing for the future.

Now, I want to acknowledge something right off the bat — because if you’re listening and you’re currently in debt, or maybe you’ve been avoiding thinking about retirement or setting up a will, you’re not alone. I get it. It can feel daunting to think about things like what would happen if something ever happened to you or your partner, or to make big decisions like who would take care of your kids or how you’d want your assets distributed.

I’ll be honest — Chris and I don’t have a will set up either. This conversation really lit a fire in me, because it made me realize I’ve been avoiding it too. It’s one of those things that feels heavy and easy to push off — life is busy, the to-do list never ends, and it’s tempting to just say, “I’ll deal with that later.”

But as Melissa reminds us in this episode, anxiety comes from not knowing what to do. And once you have the information — once you know the steps to take — that anxiety starts to ease.

So if you’ve been putting this off or feeling uncertain about how to prepare financially for the future, this conversation is for you. Melissa breaks it all down in such a simple, approachable way. You’ll walk away not only with more clarity, but with a sense of calm — knowing exactly what you can start doing today to better protect and provide for your family.

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Tanya: All right, welcome back to the Momentum Podcast, Melissa Hampton.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: having me.

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Tanya: Thank you so much for coming back and sharing your time. I know it's limited, everybody's time is limited, and I think it's the most valuable asset we have, so thank you so much for sharing your time with us and your…

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Tanya: wisdom, and we're gonna jump right in. So, for listeners who may be just meeting you for the first time, can you share a little bit about who you are, what you do, and who you love helping through your work?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, absolutely. So, I own a wealth management company that specializes in tax-smart retirement and legacy planning.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, mostly I work with high-income earners, simplify their wealth, optimize their income, align their finances with purpose and legacy. So, answering questions like, how much can you spend in retirement.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: What's your retirement timeline? You know, protecting your assets and planning that legacy for your family's future.

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Tanya: Okay.

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Tanya: And many family… families who listen to the episode… to the podcast.

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Tanya: they focus on budgeting and paying off debt, but then they feel stuck wondering what comes after that. So, that's, like, your expertise. So, what are some next-level financial steps that families can take to start off

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Tanya: Truly, like, building their wealth for long-term security.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, absolutely. So, I will start by saying, I've been a financial advisor for almost 8 years.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then, a year ago, received my Certified Financial Planning designation. And so what that really did was allow me to jump into that more complex arena of planning for folks. You know, you can get budgeting advice and emergency savings advice from a lot of people, even free programs out there.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: But my clients, and what I was finding was there's this big gap in what's next, you know, like, what comes after that? And that's where we really look into, you know, if we're looking at the steps, go from bottom to top, you know, you have all your debt paid off.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Then you work on your emergency savings, and then we're really focusing on maximizing that retirement planning. And then, which no one loves to hear this, but then the third step is that, lifestyle spending. So, I can kind of break that down. I used to draw this

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: in circles, in little buckets for my clients, and they would come back to me, and they're like, can we have that yellow sheet of paper with your buckets? And so, we actually just trademarked it. It's called the Hampton Method, and so…

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Tanya: that.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, I can kind of break that down.

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Tanya: Yeah.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: It's, it's a wealth optimization strategy, but it also helps you with that tax planning part, and with what steps to do. So, if you're… if you're thinking of it in three pillars, your first pillar and your first and foremost is your emergency savings, and

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: what I was finding, that people would come to me, you know, maybe they get $200,000 in inheritance, right?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: It's their first time investing. They would come to me, I'd manage their $200,000, it would be invested and growing and fluctuating, and then they would have an emergency. It's like their car would break down, they want to buy a house, and they hadn't saved for, you know, their down payment. So.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: what I started doing was making sure people were following these three steps. So, first step is emergency savings bucket, and that should be, you know, 3 to 6 months of what you need to spend. So, think of it like…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: If… if you are an hourly person, an hourly employee.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And you break your arm. You know, what do you absolutely have to spend to pay for your family and your bills for 3 to 6 months?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: We keep that in an emergency bucket.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: It doesn't matter if you're working or if you're retired, because when you're retired, you will still have things that come up. I want a new car, want to go on vacation, that type of thing. So, emergency savings, my tip for that

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: is that a lot of people just keep that in a savings or a checking account, but it really should be invested in a money market or a high-yield savings account. So, ask your bank, you know, what those options are.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So that's the first bucket.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Then we flow through to, after you have that covered, then you really start maximizing your retirement bucket, which is your long-term savings strategy.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: If, you know, if you're offered retirement through your employer, that's the first place to look. So, one thing I see people and families skipping a lot is that they're not even contributing

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: To their employer retirement enough to have that employer match.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So what that means is, say, you contribute 4%, your employer matches 4%, but if you're only contributing 3%, they're only matching 3%. So it's plan-dependent, but you need to find that out so that you're at least getting that free money from your employer.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: If that makes sense.

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Tanya: Yes.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, to really feel confident in what you're… what you're saving, from the beginning of time, you should think about 12-15% of your income should go to that retirement bucket. And that's from when you first start working. And the problem is.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Most of us don't do that when we're 22, so we're playing catch-up later in life, and that's really where people should reach out to a planner and say, hey, I really need clarity on

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: when can I retire? Like, what do I need to do to retire at age 65? To retire at age 60? So that's where the financial planning and the wealth planning comes into play, to find out how you can maximize that bucket.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And once you have that answer, which, again, people don't like having these steps because they want to buy new things, and they want to spend money and all of this stuff, then you can start saving in that medium-term

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: investment bucket to do those things, so that you can see, hey, here's my vacation bucket, here's my new car bucket, so that you can

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: match those goals to those timelines and stay on track. Does that make sense?

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Tanya: So that's… so that's the third bucket. The first is emergency savings, two is retirement, and three is, like, what you want now. Vacations…

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Tanya: Yep. Okay. Yep. Renovation.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Exactly. What are you going to spend within, like, that 3-5 year window that a lot of us don't plan for? You know, we're just thinking about day-to-day expenses and hopefully retirement, but what about those medium expenses? You know, midterm expenses that come into play

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: That really throw us off of our financial plan.

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Tanya: Yeah, yeah.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Hmm?

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Tanya: Ugh, well… You do…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Oh, no.

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Tanya: I think… well, I just think… I'm just… like, talking about this stuff, and I know I'm… I know I'm not alone, it just… I don't know, it brings so much anxiety. It's all…

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Tanya: so confusing when it's not something that you do, and you're not, like, well-educated on. Yeah. That's why you're here today!

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: I am here! That's what my clients say, too. Yeah, you're right, you're not alone. Okay, so a couple things on that. The anxiety part comes from not knowing the answer, don't you think? Yeah. Like, once you do know the answer to those questions, like, when can I retire? When can we build a second home? Those types of things.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: once you have that answer, then, like, your shoulders drop, and you're like, okay, well, now I know what I need to do in order to reach that goal. But when you're living in this unknown, in this day-to-day, and not knowing where your expenses are, and, you know, people make a lot of money, and they spend a lot of money.

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Tanya: Yeah. Yeah.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And that's just… our human nature. You know, if it's in our checking account, we're gonna spend it.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, I think clarity on those questions helps to relieve that anxiety.

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Tanya: Yeah, yeah, you're right, you're right.

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Tanya: So taxes, moving on to, they can feel confusing and overwhelming, but…

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Tanya: Like you're talking about, smart planning can make a huge difference, like you're saying, so what are some practical and actionable strategies that families can use to reduce their tax burden and keep more of what they earn?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, absolutely. And this really becomes an issue, like, for those higher income earners. You know, now we're really looking at how can we save money in taxes, and, because they're paying, you know, 35% of their income or more back to taxes.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, easy, easy one is utilizing those,

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: pre-tax retirement buckets. So whether that's through your employer or on your own, and an advisor and a planner can help you decipher, you know, where you can… where you're allowed to contribute to retirement. So let's break down, like, a traditional

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: A traditional contribution is pre-tax, so what that means, say you make $100,000, and this year, you can contribute $7,000 to a traditional IRA for 2025.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So that means that right off the top, you've taken your taxable income down to $93,000.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So by doing that pre-tax contribution, you're… you're decreasing what you're claiming for income that will be taxed for that year. So that's a really simple one. You need to look at those pre-tax retirement buckets. Now, if you're in a really low tax bucket.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: bracket, sorry. Then we're talking about a Roth option. So let's use the same scenario. You make $100,000, and you're like, I don't really care, I'm not paying that much in taxes. I want tax, or I want tax-free income later. So now we're contributing to a Roth.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You make 100, you contribute 7, you still are claiming that you made $100,000, you don't get the tax break now.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: But it grows tax-deferred and tax-free when you use it for a qualified distribution later. So that's a way for young families that might not be in a high tax bracket to grow tax-free income later.

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Tanya: And then the third…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, and then the first scenario, obviously, with that traditional contribution is to save money on taxes now.

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Tanya: Okay.

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Tanya: That makes sense.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: That's an easy one.

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Tanya: Anything?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Anything else? Yeah, for sure.

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Tanya: So it helps…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, yeah, health savings account, is a huge strategy. So you have to have a high deductible health plan. You can Google this, you can ask your CPA just to make sure.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: But there's online programs you can go to, and you can open a health savings account if it's not offered through your employer.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And that also is an above-the-line deduction. So this year, for a family, you can contribute $8,550 for 2025 for a family health savings account.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So… If you use that same scenario off of $100,000, you're deducting that $8,550 from your taxable income.

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Tanya: Okay.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So it's a tax deduction now. You can invest it, and it grows tax-free.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: If you use it later for medical expenses.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: If you're not going to, if you… a lot of people have, you know, especially with young kids, they're using up those medical expenses every year. You should still do your contribution, because then you submit your receipts, you get those funds back.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: tax-free, you know, it's a tax deduction for you, so that is really helpful. I mean, that's $8,550, that's not counted for income for the year.

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Tanya: Okay.I think you had already said, but if you could just repeat again, how does…

somebody go about, setting up a health savings account? Is it something they go to their bank to do, or it's… I know… I'm pretty sure we have one through my husband's employer.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yep. Yeah, so if you're doing it on your own, I know some federal credit unions, you know, have those options, or just Google and look at

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: a handful. I don't want to say, like, which ones I recommend, because I'm not, like, associated with any of them, but you'll see right away, like, 2 or 3. Just look through their features, they're super easy to use, they have investment options, and find one that works best for you.

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Tanya: Okay, okay, awesome, thank you.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah.

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Tanya: So, retirement planning.

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Tanya: So, it can feel so far away, especially for young families with little kids when we're kind of, like, in this survival mode. But what are some key things that parents should be doing now to set themselves up for financial freedom later?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, so…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You know, definitely, like, staying true to those goals, and not getting distracted, I would say. So, for example, in our wealth plan, I ask people, like, if they own multiple properties, like, do you want to pay that property off, you know?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Is it a family property that that's a no-go? Do you want to pay for your kids' college? Like, are you going to help with their housing and their weddings?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: That is a huge factor in clients that I work with, like, around age 60. They're still paying for their adult children, and they're still paying for their weddings and everything else. And then what happens is, you're taking care of everyone else.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then we are last-minute retirement planning and trying to do it very quickly. So, you know, a lot of your audience are families, right?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: The sooner you can do that, like, compound interest on contributions is huge. So the sooner you can do that, the better. I think the best thing to do is, you know, go over your income and know exactly what you make.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: go over your expenses, and it's sometimes ripping the band-aid off for that conversation with your spouse and with your family, whether they're children or adult children. Like, have those conversations. This is what we're willing to spend.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then get those numbers ran for you, and complete a financial plan, so that you can start taking those healthy steps.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You know, sometimes people…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: just spend out of convenience, and they actually don't want to, or it's a communication thing, and that's a really easy fix to get you back on track.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Does that answer the question, kind of.

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Tanya: Yeah.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: I think you need to… you need to, like, take accountability and be ready to make changes so that you can get those answers.

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Tanya: Yeah, yeah.

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Tanya: Next, can you talk about legacy planning? Because I know that that's something that's important to you, and just explain what building a legacy really means to you, and why it's important for families to think about this now, instead of waiting until later in life.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, yeah, so absolutely. So we're, like, on part two of, you know, visiting together, and part one was all about my son. And so, you know, I was making life-or-death decisions for him in the ICU, and I realized, like, my plan, which was, hey dad.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: you know what I want, right? And you'll take care of it.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: was not a plan. Like, that is not a plan at all. So I actually called my attorney from the ICU and got my entire estate plan completed, you know, upon returning home. And so what that meant for me was things like

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: if I were to die, who would take care of my children? If I were incapacitated, what are my wishes, you know, and who's going to make those decisions?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then, of course, assets. Like, where are assets going to go? Also, if I'm incapacitated, who's gonna pay my bills? You know, those types of things, and take care of my family.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: A lot of people think that

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: you know, I don't have a lot, I don't have a lot to my name, maybe they don't own a home, whatever else, but those first couple issues, like who's going to take care of your wishes, or what you want to happen, and your children.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: That's still enough for you to go in and get your will or your trust completed.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, like, the difference between a will and trust, people always ask me, and I'm not a CPA, I'm not an attorney, but I sit in on all these appointments with my clients, because it's important for me to know, kind of, what path they're going down, so that I can help them get there.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So a will is just saying, like, who you want your assets to go to. You know, you can designate that and try to avoid probate, which is public and can be expensive. And then a trust is saying, you know, to who, when, and how you want your assets to go to those people.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, for me, you know, my kids are, 10 and 14. Do I want them… let's just say in a wonderful world, they have a $2 million estate right now. They don't, people, but let's just say they do. I don't want a 10-year-old

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: to inherit a million dollars, that's not okay, you know? I don't even want a 20-year-old to inherit that. So, you know, if something were to happen to me, that's set out to age 30. So, yes, a trust is in place, for that to be handled if I were to pass away.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So those are a couple things. You know, across state lines, things differ. If you have family in different states, that's a big issue, because you always think, oh, my sister or my brother will take care of things. You really need to look into that.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then, too, you know, what is your coverage? We do, life insurance planning along with our wealth financial plan, and just making sure that your spouse is covered, your family is covered, and that's just income replacement. You know, that's not…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Legacy planning, where we say.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: okay, I can replace my income, but could I put funds away to, like, double, triple my estate in a life insurance policy? And then, because they have goals, you know, to transfer that amount of legacy to their kids when they pass.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: There's just so many cool things that we can do. So, yeah, creating the legacy, a couple things. I think it starts with financial health with your kids. Like, as a business owner, I pay my kids.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You know, and they have a savings account, they have to do chores, they are on the clock, and I get to deduct it as a business expense. It's another way to save taxes.

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Tanya: So I love that.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, yep, so they were at my workshop, yeah, they were at my workshop last week, you know, handing out folders, and signing people in and giving out the treats and everything.

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Tanya: What a great experience for them, too!

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, yeah, they can do office cleanup, they stamp… stamp all of my, you know, cards and things like that. There's always something that kids can help with. So I think financial health is a legacy that you can start creating now. It doesn't even… it doesn't have to mean

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: that, you know, this million-dollar legacy, multi-million dollar legacy that they're receiving, it could be financial help, you know?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: how are you preparing them to not have student debt and know what that means? Like, how can they start saving in a Roth account through the income you're paying them now? You know, so they have tax-free income someday.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You can get them little life insurance policies, you know, as children, so that then they are coming into a marriage and a relationship with protection already for their future family.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, these are just… there's so many steps that we can take.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: depends on what you want that legacy to look at, or look like. But it can become, like, this just really beautiful picture of financial health and smart wealth transfer and, you know, decisions

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: That the whole family is aware of, and transparency, so that they know what to expect and make those big life transitions more smooth.

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Tanya: Yeah, yeah.

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Tanya: Ugh, that's so helpful.

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Tanya: So many people, they want to enjoy life now, especially, like, this day and age. Everything is so convenient, and we can have anything we want just in the click… with a click of a button.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Oh my god.

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Tanya: But we still want to plan wisely for the future, so it can be kind of tricky. So, what advice do you have for families when it comes to lifestyle spending and then finding that balance between living well today and securing tomorrow?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, that's a great question. I would say that, like, living well doesn't cost money. Like, I…

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Tanya: Right.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: about some of the best memories I have with my kids when they were little, or the crafts that we did, you know.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: kids are not remembering how much you spend on them, they're remembering those moments that you have together. So I think, for one, it's a re-evaluation of your lifestyle. And I can say that because I live in a community,

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: that's pretty simple, and my family's pretty simple. I don't have those external, pressures of keeping up with the Joneses, I just don't feel that.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: But I will say that once you find out what's important to you.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And adjust your spending habits, get your financial plan in place, you'll start to notice that you attract other people that are similar.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: That are doing the same things, that say, like, hey, come over for dinner instead of, you know, going out to eat, or whatever. Simple changes like that, I mean, that's just… that's a very small example, but

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: I just think if your values and what you want your family time to look like, and

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: what you're spending money on, is that truly important? That will help you to kind of balance.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: If that makes sense. So, it's… it's not a good answer. I would say that, like, a lot of young people that I work with

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: it's a hard transition, and usually I am the middle person to say, like.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Hey, we've ran your financial plan.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And we know where we need to be to get to this level, you know? What… what can we do?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: kind of like, what can you sacrifice and what's non-negotiable, because everyone has those. And then we say, okay, it's not negotiable, so we're gonna spend X amount on our budget that will still get us to XYZ for a retirement timeline, you know? And kind of knowing that balance.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: It also changes a lot during life. Like, kids are expensive, so you do have to give yourself some grace, and knowing that, like, you're in a point in life where they're your priority.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: If that continues on to when they're, like, 25 and 30, I will be really firm with you in saying, like, hey, you need to start taking care of yourself.

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Tanya: Yeah.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You know, it's time to… time to cut the wings here and let them fly.

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Tanya: Yeah, well, and they need to learn, too, and they can't if you're always there. They need to…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah.

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Tanya: It's that tough love, because…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yep.

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Tanya: They're not gonna try if they know that they have, like, a security blanket.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Right. Yeah, exactly. So I would say… yeah, go ahead.

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Tanya: No, I was just gonna say, I love that you mentioned, though I just want to highlight that living well does not have to cost a lot of money.

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Tanya: And just questioning why you are doing things, why you're making the choices that you're making. Is it because

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Tanya: This really is meaningful to you, or is it because you're trying to impress

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Tanya: Other people that maybe you don't really even care about.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Right, yeah, and like, you know, a lot of that feels like the scarcity mindset, but it's not. Like, I want families to take vacations. Like, I want them to spend how they want to spend. We just need to know the answer, and that's where the.

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Tanya: Why?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: plan comes into play. Like, you need to get those answers so that you can spend confidently. Like, that's what I want for you.

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Tanya: Yeah. And also, another thing is, I think people just do it just because everybody else is… like, just signing, like, their kids up for all the activities, because the activities, they cost money, like, the uniforms, the equipment…

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Tanya: And I feel like so many…

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Tanya: Parents have their kids sign up for so many different things, and I just…

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Tanya: I don't know, just… just make sure you know why, and that you like your reason why.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Right, yeah, no, absolutely. And if it's, you know, I tell my kids, like, they know if we can afford to do something, or if we can't, and sometimes even if we can, but I don't think we should, it's a good

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You know, like, I let them in on my financial goals and, so that they have a reality of what money is and what things cost.

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Tanya: Yeah.

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Tanya: I was just talking about this with, my daughter had a playdate yesterday, and the mom was talking to me because she has a son who's a junior in high school.

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Tanya: And talking about he's not sure if he wants to go to college, and it's because he's worried about getting into debt, like the…

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Tanya: Student, like, student debt.

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Tanya: student loan debt, and, we were talking about, like, yeah, there's, like, this fine line between… I'm like, I don't even know how to talk about money with my kids. There was…

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Tanya: like, a long time where I just… I didn't want to say, like, oh, I don't… like, you can't get that. And when they asked why, I didn't want to say, well, it's too expensive, or…

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Tanya: you know, I don't want to instill that scarcity mindset, but it's still… I want them to know, like.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, I mean, we don't…

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Tanya: It's like… Money in the backyard.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: I'd like to…

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Tanya: Things do cost money, and it's not, like…

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Tanya: it… it requires work to make money, you don't get something for nothing. It's just…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, I look back, like, my kids used to always know, like, you get things that are outside of what you need for birthdays and Christmas. If there's something that you really want between your birthday and Christmas.

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Tanya: Work for it, right?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: You have to do chores, yep, and if it's something big, and I'm really proud of them for saving, then it's like, okay, you save half, and I'll save half, and help you out on that. But I think even if you don't have to do that for your kids, like, I still think you should. It's just creating that money

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Awareness. Yeah.

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Tanya: Yeah.

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Tanya: So for a family listening today who feels ready to take that next step, but doesn't know where to start, what is one simple thing that they can do this week that feels doable?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah!

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Tanya: right direction.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Good question. Okay. Well, let's say…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Oh gosh, I want to tell them so many things. Let's do a couple simple things, okay?

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Tanya: Okay.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, focus on your emergency savings. So, go look at your checking or savings account and see if it's invested in your high yield or a money market. Okay, super easy call. Just call your bank and ask.

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Tanya: Okay.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So that you get those savings working for you.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Figure out what you can contribute to for retirement, so whether that, you know, means going to your HR. If you're a business owner, visit with your advisor or a planner about what those options are to see how you can start planning for retirement.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then sit down and go over your income and your spending with your spouse.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So I think those are, like, 3 super simple steps, when you're going through that income and spending.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: you know, hopefully you have a cash overflow, and then attach that to a goal, and say, here's what's important to us now. Is it putting that in our retirement bucket? Is it saving it for vacation?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Is that adding it to the college fund? You know, and start attaching your funds to a goal so that you can see them work for you.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Are those 3 good steps?

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Tanya: Yes.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Okay, okay, good.

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Tanya: I love it.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Okay.

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Tanya: So, you have a new program launching in January to help families with these exact steps. Can you share more about that, and what it includes, and who it's designed for?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, absolutely. So this is a financial planning program, which I call an intentional wealth plan, P-L-A-N. It's an 8-week program.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: I do this already with clients and with prospects on a one-on-one. It's still a one-on-one program. We just open it up at certain times of the year, because I only take a handful of people at once, because it is so in-depth together.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, 8 weeks and 4 steps. The first step is P. So, we prepare and evaluate your financial plan, your financial overview. So, what are your assets, income, debt, expenses, what are your goals?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Then L, we learn new processes, new automations that are going to help you reach those goals. So there's some just small tweaks I can make in, like, how you save, how you have your accounts, what we're doing as far as traditional Roth, those things.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: A is act, so then we take action if it's appropriate to consolidate accounts, bring accounts over for me to do investment management for.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then N is Nurture, so we have a…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: software program that you have access to after going through this program, this, wealth plan program, and you link accounts. It's your family's financial hub. So, all of your accounts are linked, your budget is automated through your checking account and spending.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So that we can continue working together, at least for that first year on a quarterly basis.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: To get you on the right track, and off to a good start with that financial plan.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So who this is for?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: It would not be for someone who is trying to pay off debt.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Or start their emergency fund. You know, I… there's a lot of free programs that you should do to work on… work on that with. This is for people who really want clarity in those answers. They have extra cash flow, maybe they're wanting to retire early.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: They have multiple properties, or high-income earner, business owners.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, those are, like, next-level, complex situations where you really need a professional to help you get those answers.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So that's who the program has worked best for. Honestly, in my area, most of the time it's folks within 5 years of retirement, because now they're like, hey, I really want that answer. When can I retire?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And how much can I spend? And sometimes it's like, what budget can I give my wife, right? That's a big one that I hear.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And how to save money on taxes, because, you know, now they're at that point, they're higher up in their career, they're making more, and they're spending more in taxes.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So I would say most of the time it's within that 5-year window of retirement, or right during retirement, where they are just confused on, like, I've always got a paycheck, how do I now…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: separate my assets in that Hampton method, right, to manage risk and distribution, because once you start drawing out those assets, there's going to be… there could be tax consequences that you need help managing.

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Tanya: Okay.

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Tanya: And then how much time… so it's an 8-week program, but how much time… Would they,

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Tanya: Have to set aside, like, week to week.

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Tanya: Yeah, oh, that… I love this question. Are they meeting with you one-on-one? Is it virtual? I'm assuming it is.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, so if it's local, I love seeing people in my office, but, for… for you, and yes, I can help people, you know, across the U.S,

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: It's virtual, and so that would look like Zoom or phone call check-ins, 4 to 5 calls with that final presentation, over that 8-week period. So honestly, we do the heavy lifting. Like we talked about before, you just need to be in a mindset to evaluate what's important to you, and what you need me to find answers to.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So, those types of things, like, I may get into your plan and say, well.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: we could save for half of your college education for your kids, but that may push you back 2 years in retirement. You know, which one do you prefer? So those kind of options as we go, knowing what's most important to you and your family is going to be very helpful.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: So time commitment for them. Sorry, that was a long-winded answer that did not answer what you asked. So…

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Honestly, I do a Zoom, and we link together, and we link all those accounts, get them done and uploaded into the software, on our second call together. So that's really, like, that one-hour call, when we link accounts, is going to be most of their time commitment.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: And then a call every other week where I just check in and give them options. So, I would say more of a mindset readiness versus a time commitment, because it is a white glove service. I mean, I'm not asking you to do a lot during this, it's our heavy lifting and analysis.

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Tanya: Okay. And then the software, that nurture phase, do they have access to that? Is that lifetime access, or is it just, like, for a year?

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Yeah, so that depends on, kind of, who we're working with. We do have asset minimums, for access to the software, or you can pay the $99 a month for, access to that.

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Tanya: Okay.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Depends. It just depends on where they're at and, what we're working on as far as the investment management side as well.

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Tanya: Okay.

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Tanya: Okay, awesome. Well, thank you so much, Melissa, for coming on for a second time.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: Oh, this is great! I just feel like you're a friend, you know? Like, this has been wonderful.

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Tanya: Yeah.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: again.

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Tanya: I… yeah, same here. I just know this is gonna help so many families out there. Just like the last episode did, we were talking before we hit record, and it was one of the most popular episodes, and if you haven't listened to it, you must.

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Melissa Hampton, CFP®: It's episode number 83. It aired June 11th.

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Tanya: Depending on when you're listening to this, it was 2025, and it was titled, How One Mom Doubled Her Time with Her Kids and Her Income by Redefining Success with Melissa Hampton, so go ahead and listen to that.

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Tanya: And thank you for taking the time to listen today.

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Tanya: Melissa and I would both love to hear your takeaways from today's episode, and depending on what podcast directory you are listening from, you should be able to leave us a comment there, or you can reach out to either one of us on social media. You can find me at Tanya Valentine Coaching, and Melissa, she is on Facebook at

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Tanya: Melissa Hampton, CFP.

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Tanya: hyphen Hampton Wealth Management, or you can go to her website at hamptonwm.com.

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Tanya: And I know that was a mouthful, so I will make sure to include that in the episode description, as well as the show notes. But thank you, Melissa, again, thank you so much.

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Tanya: Alright friends, that is a wrap. I want you to know I am rooting for you, and remember, if there's anything you want help with, I am now offering free email coaching. That way, you can get the help that you want on your own time, and you can sign up for that by going to TinyavalentineCoaching.com.

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Tanya: Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Bye!