What I Do
True Life Financial Planning (TLFP) offers each client comprehensive financial life planning. We guide you through a process that augments the traditional "math and money" financial plan by first helping you uncover your most profound values and richest potentials as an individual and merging them into your daily life. We meld meaning with money.
The Process
During the first few meetings with new clients, I explore your reasons for seeking a financial advisor, both the long-term and the urgent. I get to know more about you and your history with money, and complete a series of exercises designed to build a vision of what an authentically meaningful life - your True Life - might look like. I help you hone in on the most powerful and compelling parts of your vision and then begin examining how we can remove the obstacles, financial or otherwise, that stand in the way of those highest priorities.
Once we have developed a well-defined vision of your True Life, I am able to exercise a deep understanding of traditional financial planning tools, technology and methodologies to help you move forward. I create a Personal Financial Website for each client, which can then be used as a one-stop dashboard to access all of your financial information. I will walk you through the mathematical implications of your True Life, as well as through the impact of various strategies that could be used to achieve it. This area of the process typically covers investment planning, insurance planning, estate planning, tax planning, traditional retirement planning and business planning. The goal is to help you begin to live the most important parts of your True Life within two years.
Once the initial financial planning foundation has been laid, I "walk the path" alongside you to help you implement the strategies that will lead to your success. I am available to work with your other professional advisors to help ensure that all aspects of your financial life are working toward your True Life. I also provide ongoing guidance as your goals and circumstances change from year to year, or as day-to-day financial questions arise. Being there for you when the work really gets done is just one of the strengths of the monthly retainer fee model.
Planning Fees
At TLFP, I take pride in providing transparent pricing with no hidden or hard-to-decipher fees.
For financial life planning, I charge an initial setup fee between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the complexity of your situation. Thereafter, beginning in month two, I charge a monthly retainer of 10% of your setup fee. For example, a client whose asset level and case complexity led them to a $1,750 startup fee when becoming a client in May would pay $1,750 in May, followed by $175 in June, and $175 each month thereafter. This model allows me to work with you beyond simply presenting an initial financial plan because financial planning is a lifelong process. It also allows you to spread the payment for your financial planning "renewals" out over each year, instead of having to pay a large single renewal fee. You can choose to pay your financial life planning fees via credit card or direct bank account debit (ACH).
For those clients who wish to utilize the firm’s asset management services, I charge a maximum of 0.75% for accounts under $1,000,000. Accounts above $1,000,000, but less than $2,000,000 pay 0.60%, and accounts over $2,000,000 pay 0.50%. The fees quoted here are inclusive of the partners who help manage the firm’s investment accounts, so they can be considered the "all-in" fee to the client. The asset management fees are charged quarterly, and are withdrawn directly from the investment accounts by their custodians. I use more than one custodian, based on the needs of each client, so specific breakdowns of fees will be provided on a client by client basis, but what they pay doesn't change, regardless of custodian.
I do NOT receive any commissions for the sale of insurance, investment or other financial products.
