Ryan Coburn - Forge Financial

10/10/2025

Fun stuff isn't as fun if you only do fun stuff. It's way more fun AFTER you do hard stuff.

I keep looking for ways to automate my life/business to the point where I only do fun stuff, and don't have to do any of the hard stuff.

In my brain, that would mean:
-Taking my time waking up
-Reading/watching tv with my wife
-Playing golf
-Eating dinner out every night
Etc.

I trick myself into thinking I can build a world where this is all I do and I'm happy.

I wouldn't have to:
-Wake up early before my kid absolutely annihilates the day
-Exercise
-Call/email people and ask them to be clients
-Have uncomfortable conversations & manage a bunch of tasks

Someone (or some robot) would do it for me.

But then, when I live out a week like that, it ain't what it's cracked up to be. I got to play golf 3 times last week (!!!), and only worked 2 days.

It did not feel nearly as good as working hard for 4 days, then playing one, really fun, well deserved round of golf.

10/01/2025

Instead of living a perfectly balanced day, every single day, I try to balance my priorities throughout the year - "seasonally" in a way - to avoid feeling pressure/failure daily when I can't possibly get to everything important in my life.

In any given day, there is a lot I would love to do. Do I want to:

1. Spend time with my wife & daughter? Of course
2. Spend time with my clients? Definitely
3. Do things to keep physically healthy? I have to
4. Do things to keep mentally healthy? Also a must
5. Think creatively about improving my business? Love when I get to
6. Spend time with/visit family? Of course
7. Spend time with/visit friends? As often as possible
8. Go to networking events? Occasionally
9. Catch up with people in the community I value? Often as possible
10. Golf/Bro-out? It beckons to me louder than the gust of a thousand winds

I've seen that trying to fit EVEN THE TOP 4 of this list in a single day IN EQUAL PARTS (that's the kicker), takes often takes value/energy away from making one or two of them the best they can be.

INSTEAD - my focus changes, almost seasonally.
- In Jan-March, I try to start business strong. I also spend more time thinking creatively and trying out new ideas (that's why you see me posting a boatload here out of left field).
- In Spring/Summer, I definitely shift to social mode. Weekends extend to take trips and see friends, golf (and alcohol in the middle of the week) invades my calendar - and I love it, and I spend less time in my office.
- Around the holidays, I'm hunkered down with my family, I'm visiting loved ones, I'm suffering from a new daycare sickness every other week so I spend more time reading next to my wife than I do running or working out.

Some pieces are (almost) constant in every day:
1. I see my wife & daughter, hug them, eat meals together - weekend or weekday.
2. I try to move my body, even if it’s a one-mile walk and nothing else.
3. I keep a pulse on my business, even if I'm golfing, even if I'm away, because I'm accountable for other people, not just me. Although at least one day a week I keep it locked away.

I doubt it's the perfect system, though I doubt a perfect system exists. But maybe it could make you feel like less has to happen in a day, every single day.

09/09/2025

We do lifestyle planning at Forge Financial.

Andrew is my mentor, partner in business, friend--he's shared a lot with me in my career and since joining his firm in Portsmouth. #1 is that money and math behave very differently. Projections look perfect until life throws us curveballs...

So, instead of assuming things will be perfect, we assume our clients are going to follow paths that go in hundreds of different directions, and it's our job to build strategies with them that allow that to happen.

09/04/2025

Everyone, everything, every situation is nuanced.

If you meet with a professional and they tell you your solution without hearing your problem, you're meeting with the wrong professional.

This is an extension of my clip of Bryttnie Gillis last week, but I think it's important. Understanding the drivers behind your emotions is invaluable.

What is your PERCEVIED goal vs. your ACTUAL goal?

Is your goal to get the best interest rate? Or is your goal to find a home that fits your down payment and monthly payment criteria?

Interest rates play a role in the market right now, without question. So do home values, so does time on the market, so does property tax, everything else. Talk with someone who wants to understand what you really want, and don't box yourself out of conversations that move your life forward because of one-size-fits-all topics (like interest rates).

09/02/2025

I have one kid in daycare. It’s the best money we spend—my kid loves being there (win), we get to work and continue living our lives (win). My house is quiet for a few hours a day (biggest win of all time).

It’s also the MOST money we spend (outside of our mortgage) on a consistent basis.

It sucks. But I’m fortunate. We love our kid, it’s part of the process.
I feel like we get behind on our ability to save & invest because of it. But it’s short-lived. She’ll be in school eventually. Then we’ll be saving for her next opportunity.

Some of my annual savings are consistent—steady regardless of how much daycare costs, how my business is growing, the price of eggs, whatever.
Some of my annual savings are variable and dependent on what else is happening around me. I can’t predict the future, and our household requires flexibility, especially with a little kid running around.

Reminder: It’s OK. Everything is going to be OK. And everything changes. All the time.

This is one-part unsolicited advice to all the parents out there, one-part reminder to myself.

Send a message to learn more

08/17/2025

Some background about me--or an update if it's been a while since I've seen you.

I majored in gym.
Had my first adult job at Spartan.
Now I run a financial planning practice and host a podcast.

Life is weird. But the through line: building actual relationships. Showing up every day. Trying to show up today better than yesterday.

Would love to know what you think, and if someone comes to mind while you’re watching, feel free to just send it their way (no tagging required or requested).