Threshold Compass Strategies
Financial Planning for Women Facing Life’s Unexpected Changes
When life changes, you deserve a place to begin.
A marriage ends. Your spouse dies. A parent suddenly needs care. A meeting at work changes the income and future you thought you could count on. Sometimes more than one happens at once.
I’m Teresa McAlpine, founder of Threshold Compass, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® and Behavioral Financial Advisor™. I help women understand their financial lives, evaluate their choices and find their footing through divorce, widowhood, unexpected caregiving and job loss.
You do not need organized files or the right words before we speak.
What changed in your life?
Divorce
Whether you are considering leaving, negotiating a settlement or planning life afterward, we organize the financial picture, compare scenarios and examine how decisions about income, property, debt and retirement may affect your future. We can begin with the information you have.
Widowhood
The paperwork does not wait for grief to become manageable. We bring income, expenses, insurance and accounts into a clearer picture, identify decisions with real deadlines and consider how your resources need to support your life now, including if you were widowed young.
Unexpected caregiving
A diagnosis, a fall or a hospital discharge can change what your money and your time must do. We look at care costs, household resources, changes to work and the effect on your own financial future, because your needs belong in the plan too.
Job loss or career change
The change may not have been your choice. We examine available resources, household expenses, benefit changes and financial runway, then compare what different next steps would mean, whether you are seeking another position or considering a different direction.
Planning
Transitions
I’m not here to fix you.
I’m here to walk beside you until
you feel steady enough to lead yourself.
Clear financial work, shaped around your life
The financial questions arrive before you have had time to understand the change. There are forms to complete, accounts to find and people asking what you intend to do next.
Financial planning during a transition helps you understand where you stand, what choices are available and how those choices may affect your future. Depending on your engagement, our work may include:
- Understanding income, expenses, assets and debts.
- Comparing financial choices and scenarios.
- Identifying deadlines and missing information.
- Preparing questions for other professionals.
- Revisiting savings, retirement and household priorities.
We define the scope and fees before beginning. You will know what we are working on and what the engagement includes.
You can be good with money and still find this hard.
You may be capable, experienced and accustomed to handling things, and still need someone beside you now. Financial decisions can carry more than numbers.
A question about an account may hold years of being excluded from the conversation. A severance letter may unsettle a sense of belonging. Spending money on yourself may feel difficult after years of caring for everyone else.
You do not have to explain away those experiences to receive practical financial help.
My approach is trauma-aware. It makes room for the history without asking you to disclose more than you want to share. We work toward clear explanations, manageable next steps and decisions you understand.
You can ask a question again. You can say that something does not make sense. You can tell me that a recommendation does not fit your life.
That conversation belongs here.
Financial planning can work alongside therapy, grief support and other professional care. It does not replace them.
When more than one thing has changed
You may be divorcing while caring for a parent. Grieving while returning to work. Facing a layoff while managing a spouse’s illness.
A useful financial plan needs to account for what is happening together.
We look at the responsibilities your money is carrying, the decisions already in motion and the resources available to support you.
You do not have to choose one part of your life for us to understand the whole picture.
How we begin
1. Bring the question you have today.
An unopened statement, a proposed agreement or a question about next month’s bills is enough to begin a conversation.
2. Understand the support available.
We discuss whether my services fit your needs. Before any paid work begins, we agree on the scope, fees and responsibilities.
3. Build a clearer picture.
We organize the information, examine choices and identify what needs attention, including questions for your attorney, tax professional or other advisors.
If you would rather read first
You are welcome to take your time getting to know the work.
Explore writing and resources about financial transitions, loss, control, caregiving and the quieter experiences that shape a woman’s relationship with money.
You can go directly to the subject that matters to you. An assessment is available if you find it helpful.
Divorce, Widowhood, Caregiving, Retirement... Difficult Life Transitions that affect the financial footing underneath you.
The Four Thresholds
Working with Me
Private Community
(coming soon)
Common questions
Who does Threshold Compass help?
Threshold Compass helps women navigating the financial consequences of divorce, widowhood, unexpected caregiving, job loss and overlapping life changes. The work combines financial analysis and planning with attention to how stress, history and uncertainty can affect decisions.
What does trauma-aware financial planning mean?
It means approaching financial conversations with awareness that past experiences can affect trust, confidence and decision-making. In this work, the emphasis is on clear explanations, informed choices and respect for your autonomy. It is financial support, not trauma treatment or psychotherapy.
Do I need to understand my finances before contacting you?
No. Understanding your financial position can be part of the work. We can start with what you know and identify the information still needed.
What happens in the first conversation?
We talk about what is happening in your life, the financial questions you have and whether my services fit your needs. You can ask about the process, fees and next steps before deciding whether to proceed.
You do not have to have it all figured out.
You may have spent years being the person who handles things.
You are allowed to have questions. You are allowed to need a clearer explanation. You are allowed to ask someone to sit beside you while you find the next step.
Bring what you know. Bring what you do not know.
We can begin there.
Teresa McAlpine, CDFA®, BFA™
Founder, Threshold Compass Strategies
