Author: Karen Coyne, CFP®
Karen Coyne, CFP®
Karen Coyne, CFP ® , is the founder of Clarity Planning, an independent financial planning practice at Raymond James. She advises professionals who value their time, wellness, and relationships as much as any other asset. Karen serves as a guide and sounding board for her clients, helping them make sense of how their money will best serve their vision and values. She is also a financial author and writer, with articles published by Medical Economics, Physician’s Practice, and DentistryIQ.com. As the podcast host of MONEY WITHOUT MATH, Karen loves to explore the myriad of ways that finances intersect with so many other aspects of our lives. The benefits of basic financial planning were made quite clear to Karen with the tragic loss of her father when he was just 40 years old. Because her parents had taken steps to help prepare for the unexpected, her family was able to avoid compounding an already painful situation. Karen is impassioned about being actionable and making decisions when you have options, before life makes your decisions for you. She brings experience, but also generous doses of humor and perspective. She “deals in the real” and is the antidote to shaming and “shoulding.” Karen is an advocate for women and diversity in financial services. She has spoken at numerous conferences and events on everything from ESG to social media and thriving as your authentic self at RJ Elevate, Women’s Symposium, and most recently the Pride Symposium. She was named to the Investopedia 100 Top Financial Advisors in 2021 and 2022 which recognizes top advisors across the country. Karen previously served on the board of the Community Foundation of Washington County, Maryland and as chair of the Women’s Giving Circle of Washington County. She currently serves on the Raymond James Women’s Advisory Council and the Raymond James Sustainable Investing Advisory Council. She is a USTA tennis captain and an unabashed food and wine enthusiast. Karen grew up outside Chicago; she now lives in Hagerstown, Maryland and has two sons. The Investopedia 100 ranking recognizes financial advisors who make a significant influence across digital publishing and social media platforms and who champion financial literacy and education. The ranking is measured across social media platforms, advisor websites or blogs and content that is in the spirit of financial literacy and education. These areas are measured through a proprietary ranking methodology that was developed by Investopedia. There were several hundred applications with 100 advisors ranked. The ranking may not be representative of any one client's experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of an advisor's future performance. Neither Raymond James nor any of its Financial Advisors pay a fee in exchange for this award/rating. Investopedia is not affiliated with Raymond James. The ranking may not be representative of any one client's experience, is not an endorsement, and is not indicative of an advisor's future performance. No fee is paid in exchange for this award/rating.
The phrase “stranger danger” is usually reserved for children and personal safety, but it has a surprising relevance for adults and their finances. An overlooked danger for many of us is becoming strangers to our own money. How does this happen? We become disengaged from the decisions, documents, and dynamics that shape our financial lives. When that happens, the risks are no longer storied–they can be quite real. This danger is painstakingly illustrated in Belle Burden’s Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage. While technically it’s a memoir, practically it can read like a financial horror story. Without giving away too much,…