Services
Debt strategy & planning
Aspirean Wealth helps individuals and families decide what to borrow, what to keep, and what to pay down, from our offices in Mill Valley, St. Joseph, and Chesterton. Debt strategy sits under the same team as your investments, your tax strategy, and your estate documents, so a decision about what you owe is made against the rest of what you own.
Where we offer it
Debt Strategy & Planning in three offices.
Debt strategy & planning in Marin County, CA
6 Knoll Lane, Suite BMill Valley, CA 94941
(415) 383-8404
Marin County, CA · Mill Valley, CA · San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Debt strategy & planning in St. Joseph, MI
505 Pleasant St, Suite 401St. Joseph, MI 49085
(844) 687-5342
St. Joseph, MI · Benton Harbor, MI · Southwest Michigan
Debt strategy & planning in Chesterton, IN
160 Rail Rd, Suite 4Chesterton, IN 46304
(844) 687-5342
Chesterton, IN · Valparaiso, IN · Northwest Indiana
Debt strategy
What debt planning covers
Debt is a set of decisions like any other in the plan. These are the ones it most often has to settle.
Meet with usThe mortgage: pay cash, borrow, or pay down
Whether to pay cash for a home or borrow and keep the money invested, whether a refinance is worth its costs, whether extra payments belong on the mortgage or in the portfolio: each turns on the after-tax cost of the loan, what the money could do elsewhere after tax, and how much cash you need within reach. We model the choices side by side, counting only the interest you can actually deduct, and revisit the answer when rates or your income move.
Borrowing against a portfolio
A securities-backed line of credit or a margin loan can provide cash without selling, which may mean not realizing a gain in a year when that would be expensive. For executives holding concentrated company stock, it can look like an easy way to fund a down payment or a tax bill. The risks are real: rates are usually variable, and if the collateral falls the lender can demand more of it or sell holdings for you, at a moment you would not have chosen. We size any line against the plan, not against what the lender will extend.
Business debt you signed for personally
For founders and owners, the company’s credit line and equipment loans are often signed for personally, so they reach the household balance sheet. We map which obligations could land on the family if the business has a hard year, keep enough liquidity outside the company that a covenant test or a renewal does not force a decision, and plan how those personal obligations are carried or released through a sale or succession, alongside your banker and your attorney.
Student loans and family loans
Whether to pay down a student loan early, refinance it, or leave it where it is depends on the rest of the plan, and refinancing a federal loan into a private one can give up the repayment options that came with it. Loans between family members, to help a child buy a home or to bridge a parent, work better written down: we plan the amount and the repayment against both households’ plans, and coordinate the note with your attorney and the interest with your CPA.
Frequently asked questions
The things you’re probably wondering.
Do you have a minimum asset level?
Yes. We best serve individuals with at least $1 million in investable assets, including 401(k) plan assets, or more complex financial situations. Our minimum annual fee is $7,500 for clients below that threshold.
How are you compensated?
We are a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor and a fiduciary, paid via a percentage of the assets we manage.
Do you arrange loans or refinance mortgages?
No. We are a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor: we make no loans, arrange none, and take no compensation from lenders. We work out what your borrowing should look like against the rest of your plan, then coordinate with your banker or mortgage lender, who sets the terms.
Meet with us
Let’s talk.
If you’d like to talk through what you owe and what to do about it, we’d like to hear from you.
Meet with us