Coming back from maternity leave after welcoming our daughter this spring has reminded me of what our work at Hill is really about: helping clients use their money as a tool to build lives rich in meaning, not just numbers.

Whether you’re navigating new parenthood, approaching retirement, or somewhere in between, the core questions often remain the same: What matters most? And how can your money support that?

Here are a few reflections that have stayed with me through this milestone.

Time Is Our Most Limited Asset

This season has made it clear: time is precious. As the saying goes, the days are long, but the weeks are short. At Hill, we encourage clients to think of time like any other resource, i.e., something to be used intentionally.

Having a baby sharpened my awareness of how valuable time with all generations can be. We’ve prioritized visits and calls with our parents and grandparents, including Merrill. One visual we often share is Tim Urban’s “Your Life in Weeks,” which maps the average lifespan as a grid of boxes, each one a week. Sam Harris captures the feeling well: “It always is later than you think.”

Experiences That Leave a Lasting Impact

One book that’s prompted meaningful reflection is Die With Zero, which invites readers to think intentionally about how they use time, money, and attention. One key idea is the “memory dividend,” that experiences created now continue to bring joy over time.

During our first family trip with Merrill, we bought matching tracksuits for three generations (thankfully not pictured on the cover of this post!). The laughter that moment created has become part of our family story, which is something we’ll carry forward.

When you “eventize” small moments, making them playful, meaningful, or tradition-worthy, you create experiences that stay with you long after the money is spent.

Freedom Through Planning

Taking the Long View isn’t about deferring joy. It’s about aligning today’s choices with your long-term values. For our family, that included investing in a high-quality caregiver–not only to support our daughter’s development, but to give both Walter and me the capacity to continue doing meaningful work. This single decision had ripple effects across our financial plan and peace of mind.

In our experience, thoughtful planning doesn’t restrict you. Instead it creates more space for the things that matter.

The Time to Act Is Now

Watching our daughter grow has been a reminder that certain windows of opportunity are fleeting. Whether it’s a trip you’ve been considering, a gift you’ve meant to give, or simply time with someone you care about, the moment to act may be now.

At Hill, we aim to help you simplify, clarify, and align your financial life so it supports the life you want to live. With a new rhythm, a deeper commitment to this work, and a fresh perspective, I’m more convinced than ever: the best investments are the ones that help us be present, generous, and fully alive.

It wasn’t that long ago that evidence-based investing was a radical idea that flew in the face of the Wall Street establishment. It started as an underground movement, slowly gaining popularity as select institutions and small firms took the plunge and clients gained trust in a new approach. The foundation of this new trend was based on the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) formulated in 1960 by University of Chicago Booth School of Business professor Eugene Fama. The premise states that because financial markets are very efficient at processing information, breaking news, or data that might affect the value of a company’s stock or bonds, they will quickly incorporate it into the price of those assets.

The price of a stock or bond reflects all public information available to investors at any given time, so it’s not likely to find a truly overvalued or undervalued investment. This is a big shift in thinking from traditional approaches to investing, which touted the undervalued investment as a means to getting rich. But it’s a myth. News that assumes revenues are going to grow is available to everyone. So everyone will act accordingly and make the same purchases, reflecting in the stock price. Essentially, it’s a level playing field because everyone has the same information. “Beating the market” is an outdated concept.

The term efficient market is a bit of a misnomer, as it isn’t perfectly efficient. Once in a while an investment may actually be undervalued for a period of time, so a quick move before the rest of the market catches on may yield some benefit. But it’s highly unlikely that any given investor (professional or amateur) will be able to take advantage of such inefficiencies on a consistent basis. Outguessing the market is risky and investors get it wrong more often then they get it right.

Evidence-based investing has taken the betting out of the process, relying instead on sound strategies that reflect the realities of the market. Investing in funds similar to index funds that target different areas of the market is a way to harness the growth of the global economy. The investor’s unique circumstances and the right mix of small company stocks, large company stocks, international stocks, etc., will help determine the plan. The key is to stick with it and let the financial markets do their job. A lower rate of activity saves money on brokerage fees and taxes, not to mention that it’s less stressful than trying to keep pace with fluctuations and short-term market swings.

Investment trends and theories come and go, but using data to build better portfolios is simply good business. The evidence speaks for itself.