Fee-Only Financial Planning Services
Hourly Projects
For specific small projects that don’t fit into one of the project-based financial planning models below, we can customize a service specific to what you need and apply an hourly rate. Examples of small projects include, but not limited to projects such as:
- Goal Setting
- Assistance with cash flow planning
- Understanding your Risk Tolerance
- Investment Strategies
- Social Security optimization
- Pension buy-out vs lifetime annuity analysis
For 2 or more “hourly projects,” it may be cost-effective to consider broad-based financial planning…
Broad-Based Financial Planning
Young to Mid-Career (pre-55)
If you are early to mid-career, a broad-based financial plan may be a good fit for you. It all starts with where you’re at currently and where you want to be in the future. We create a written Financial Plan or “Financial GPS” to help guide you along the path to meet your goals.
In a broad-based financial plan, we emphasize goal setting, saving, insurance protection, investing, college planning, retirement accumulation projections, and estate planning for this age group. For many clients, the one-time financial plan is the most cost-effective approach to understand your current situation and obtain a written Plan to guide you toward your goals. We advise you on the types of financial products available and propose a set of low-cost products specific to your situation and your risk tolerance level. A broad-based plan is priced as a one-time project.
Our written broad-based personal Financial Plan can be customized to your needs, but generally includes the following components:
- Goal Setting
- Assistance with cash flow planning
- College Planning
- Risk Tolerance profile
- Wealth building strategy
- Risk Management (insurance assessment)
- Retirement Projections
- Review Estate Planning documents
Retirement Planning (55+)
Retirement planning is very different as you approach your retirement age. This service offering focuses on the distribution (“de-accumulation”) of wealth with an emphasis on tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, potential Roth Conversions, and our “Bucket Strategy.” We help you identify your assets into 3 buckets: Income, Reserves, and long-term Investments.
Retirement Planning (55+) can be customized to your needs, but generally includes the following components:
- Building a retirement budget
- Income Planning
- Social Security Optimization
- Planning for the unexpected
- Insurance review
- Asset pool restructuring
- Long-Term Care planning
- Tax-efficient withdrawal strategy
- Roth Conversion analysis
- Estate Planning document reviews
See our retirement articles Retirement Planning, Main Pillars of Retirement Planning, and SECURE Act for much more information.
On-Going Financial Planning
The purpose of our On-going Financial Planning service (sometimes referred to in the industry as a “Retainer” or a subscription service) is to serve you long after your Initial Plan has been created. We can help you avoid the angst that many people feel regarding the implementation and staying on track with their Plan.
Using your Broad-based Financial Plan as a starting point, we can help you with the execution and monitoring of your Plan in several different ways. Monthly, quarterly, or yearly reviews can be customized based on your needs and circumstances. Some examples of on-going help that we can provide include:
- Update retirement projections
- Analyze a new goal
- Career transition impact on Plan
- Life changing events
- Inheritance impact on Plan
- Medical issue impact on Plan
- Year-end Tax Planning
- Roth Conversion analysis
- Estate Planning updates
Client Deliverables
A written Plan
All personal financial consulting services are conducted on an hourly or a project fee-only basis by a fiduciary personal finance professional. All our fees are paid for by the client. We do not accept any commissions or referral fees from any 3rd party – providing you with consultative advice without product bias. Read more about our vision at About Us and our Fee Schedule
Software Access
From the convenience of your home 24/7, you will have access to our Planning software where you can view your aggregated account data, perform a monthly budget analysis, track your Plan progress, and perform some limited functionality (On-going clients only).
See more about our Financial Planning Software
A Place for Everything
The final documentation will be provided in a high-quality binder that can be used for years to come. In addition to your financial plan, you can store other pertinent financial and legal documents so that you have everything in one place and stored in the privacy of your home.
Additionally, an electronic version will also be delivered to you via your personal secure encrypted Egnyte electronic vault. All your documents may remain there for your convenient future access.
