The following is an excerpt from our Senior Financial Advisor, Ben Galloway. To read the entire article, check it out here!
June 2023 has been transformational.
As I reflect on this year’s celebration of Pride Month, I am struck with awe and overcome with gratitude. Pride means a lot of things to a lot of people. Some feel more strongly about it than others; some are more vocal, and others more quietly celebrating. Whether it’s parades and public displays of rainbow flags, or the more open conversations we’re having to promote healthy and happy relationships, or it’s simply more visible in the public lexicon both within our community and among our allies, I have felt a great sense of support, unity, and hope. Of course, there is a lot of work to be done in finding common ground and a better understanding of a path forward as we face considerable divisiveness in our country. This reflection speaks to the great progress we’re making.
My own idea of “Pride” has certainly evolved over time. Since coming out about 10 years ago, I’ve done a lot of observing, listening, and forging a path that feels authentic to me. I’ve been comfortable in the Pride camp of quiet celebrators I mentioned above, especially as I learn to better understand the blending of my childhood and adulthood worlds, my professional career and reputation, and the relationships that matter most to me. I’ve never been interested in making a big splash or ruffling feathers, and I feared the moniker – even worse in my mind, the sole identifier – of being gay. It held too many unknowns, and unknowns, to me, were bad. I worried the scale of my value would tilt in the wrong direction if people only knew me as gay rather than someone who is a lot of things, one of which is gay. On the contrary, I thought it might add to my value! As I continued to be supported by those same family, friends, colleagues, and clients who I feared would abandon me or fade away, I knew I needed to be that person for others.
LGBTQ+ people risk losing those they love most at the point they are ready to be most vulnerable. Believe me, I know there are a lot of people out there who feel that way and they are not a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and I recognize we all need to be advocates for those who can’t advocate for themselves. Absolutely. But today, right now, in this post, I’m championing for my own community that has specific needs and specific experiences that are unique to us.
Thankfully, from a financial planning, tax, healthcare, and estate planning perspective, we are so much more unified and on an equal playing field than we used to be. The strategies we might consider employing from a planning perspective may not be all that different anymore. But we are individually nuanced; we have unique considerations that make planning essential, and those pieces make up the beautiful fabric of our diverse nation.
Just like everyone else, LGBTQ+ folks have to think about cash flow, medical bills, if they want to get married or start a family, saving an emergency fund, changing jobs, negotiating salaries, titling assets, and living a life that’s authentic to them. At the same time, we want to feel understood and like we don’t have to hide who we are. As a gay man in finance and wealth management, I want my community to know I am – and Greenspring Advisors is – a safe space for you.
So, as we wrap up Pride month, I am encouraged, I am hopeful, I am inspired by my community and my allies, and most of all, I am thankful. I posted something at the beginning of Pride month, and it kicked off an incredible journey of conversations and new relationships that I never could have foreseen. In sharing a bit of my story, others began sharing theirs. My goal is to learn how to be a better resource and advocate for my own community, and the journey has just begun.
Fear not the unknown because life is too short to worry so much. The leap of faith is worth the world of amazing people who will surprise you, support you, and believe in you.
