Ian Rahilly
📍 Charlotte, NC | Founder & CEO, Toucan Financial, Inc.
Ian Rahilly’s Self-Description
Stereotypical "Friendly Canadian" with a passion for cooking, cocktails and...gaming the (financial) system.
Ian’s Socials | Linkedin
Why Ian?
Ian comes highly recommended by his brother-in-law and one of my best friends, Patrick. Patrick claims that Ian is the Canadian version of the ‘Points Guy’.
**Written in their own words**
📚 Books (2): “The Psychology of Money” & “Setting the Table”
"The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness" by Morgan Housel. A fascinating exploration of money and the weird ways it influences (or warps) our behavior. Finance is anathema to my wife, Reece, and she loved this book, too.
"Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business" by Danny Meyer. If I wasn't a financial advisor, I would have been a chef. Danny Meyer is an icon of mine. He's the founder of Shake Shack and my favorite NYC restaurant (Union Square Cafe) but his lessons for how to treat people well apply to any industry and left a lasting impression.
💻 Website: Mr. Money Mustache
Mr. Money Mustache. I'm a personal finance geek and this guy is a legend in the world of "FIRE" (Financial Independence, Retire Early). His blog can be a bit cheesy, but it tackles the question of how to live an amazing life on a limited budget while saving a ton for retirement.
🛒 Consumer Brands: Proper Cloth & Thursday Boots
Proper Cloth: Great custom shirts at a reasonable price.
Thursday Boots: Founded by a business school friend of mine, Thursday uses a direct-to-consumer model to sell high-quality leather boots for men and women at really great prices. Their Chelsea Boot is my go-to.
📱 Digital Tools (3): YNAB, Dashlane, and 18Birdies
YNAB: The URL says it all: YouNeedABudget.com. If you're using Excel, QuickBooks, or Mint to budget, do yourself a favor and signup for YNAB - it's cheap, intuitive, and dare I say, fun.
Dashlane: Amazing website and app for secure password storage. If you are one of those people who uses the same password for all of your devices, or can never remember your passwords, Dashlane is a game changer.
18Birdies: A cool, free GPS rangefinder app for golfers.
💪Well-Being: Morning Coffee Routine
Every morning, I make a cappuccino for my wife, Reece, and me. It's a daily ritual and a relaxing little indulgence to start the day. I am a coffee nut and have been lugging this big, metal espresso machine around for over a decade, from my flat in London, to my business school dorm, to our tiny NYC apartment, and now to Charlotte. The brand is Londinium, a small British company with outstanding customer service.
For espresso beans, I highly recommend Craft Coffee, the best quality and best value coffee subscription service I've found.
Also... A shout-out to our two-year-old dog, Crouton. Do yourself a favor and get a cockapoo. They're the best. I have yet to find a better stress reliever than giving Crouty a good belly rub.
📺 TV Shows: Letterkenny, The West Wing, and Shantaram.
From Left Field - Letterkenny: This show follows the residents of Letterkenny, a fictional rural community in Ontario, Canada. Episodes open with the text: "There are 5,000 people in Letterkenny. These are their problems."
From The Archives - The West Wing: This rec probably shows my age (it debuted in 1999). It's a political drama created by Aaron Sorkin. Ranked among the best television shows of all time.
More Contemporary - Shantaram (Apple TV): This is my all-time favorite book. I'm hoping Apple TV does it justice.
🍴 Food & Drink: Lang Van & Martini Recipe
Restaurant: Lang Van - An unassuming hole-in-the-wall with the best Vietnamese food I've tasted (and I've been to Vietnam!). It's been around for 35 years, which is saying something. Don't bother trying to figure out the menu, just ask the waitress (most likely, the charming owner) and they'll hook you up.
Recipe: My father-in-law Mark's martini recipe: Glass from the freezer, a rinse of vermouth (then dump it), ice-cold gin of choice (Hendricks is my go-to or Greenhook when in NYC) Garnish with blue cheese olive (me) or a lemon (Mark). You're welcome 😁
💼 Professional: Otter.ai
Since starting my business, I rely on Otter.ai to record meetings and take automated notes. It lets me focus on chatting with my clients, but ensures I have great notes to work from after the fact.
🎁 Gift: Aura
For parents or grandparents, an Aura digital picture frame. Bonus points if they live in a different city from your minions.
I'm big on experiences. A few years ago, I surprised my wife with tickets to see Celine Dion perform in Las Vegas, which was high on her bucket list. I am a huge believer in the points and miles game and was able to fund the entire 48-hour trip for Reece and her sister (round trip flights, a suite on the Vegas strip, and the concert tickets) using a variety of points and miles, and spent nothing out of pocket.
✈ Travel: AwardWallet & Nomatic Backpack
AwardWallet is a great site for tracking credit card, airline, and hotel points and it will remind you when your points are about to expire (occasionally, a lifesaver).
As for a product rec: My brother-in-law, Patrick, gave me a Nomatic backpack a few years ago and it's genius. I spent several months backpacking through Asia in my 20s and wish I had this bag back then.
🔌 Personal Plug: Toucan Financial
After nearly a decade as a financial advisor and private banker in New York City, I recently started my own company, Toucan Financial.
I founded Toucan because I believe in the value of financial planning, no matter the client's means, and the importance of impartial advice. Toucan is fee-only, meaning our only revenue comes from our clients. This eliminates conflicts inherent in many advisory models and allows Toucan to charge a fraction of the fees of traditional advisors.
Many think financial advice is all about investments and if they don't have a lot of money to invest, they have no use for an advisor. That’s simply not true. Toucan can manage your money but, more importantly, we offer comprehensive planning services for everything in your life with a dollar sign next to it.
Thank You Ian! Reminder: you can find all of the previous profiles and their recommendations by visiting this website.
SHOW ME THE DEALS!!!!!! [Insert Jerry Maguire GIF here]
I am putting together a Rambull Black Friday and Cyber Monday gift guide. If you know a business (including your own) that is planning a deal that I should include, reply to this email.
Note - updated the self-description: "Stereotypical "Friendly Canadian" with a passion for cooking, cocktails and...gaming the (financial) system."
Thanks Ian!