Services

Thank you for wanting to know more about the services I offer.

My service offerings fall into two main categories: those that are comprehensive in nature, and those that are much narrower in nature. If you’re considering working with me, one of the first things we’ll do is talk about which service offering fits you best, and then if you decide to go forward with the work we’ll custom-tailor your chosen offering to further match up with your particular needs.

To truly understand what working together might look like, then, it’s best for us to speak directly. To set the stage for that conversation, here are some of the basics:

The objective of the offerings: helping you have a better financial life
I provide a variety of offerings for you to consider, ranging from come-as-you-are, one-off consultations to tasks-to-do-ahead-of-time, months-long programs, all of which have one goal: helping you make better and better financial decisions, and then putting them into effect.

The main offerings: looking at your entire financial life
Most people come to me seeking help with the entirety of their financial life. For these folks I have three main offerings, at three main price points and three levels of thoroughness, all of which follow a well-honed, quite unique financial planning process I’ve developed over the last dozen years, through which we build up a shared understanding of what your financial life looks like, and then figure out how it can be improved.

The consultations: looking at one part of your financial life
Others come to me seeking help on something with a narrower scope – wanting help, for instance, on a transaction, e.g. buying a home, refinancing a mortgage, negotiating a compensation package with a startup, or settling a dispute – or on a single decision, e.g. whether to change jobs, whether to take time off to rear a child, when to turn on social security payments, or how to more smartly invest.

The deliverables: decisions and a to-do list
The main outputs of both of these offerings is typically a decision (or a series of decisions), coupled with a to-do list which, when completed, will put the decision(s) into effect.

The to-do list services: putting your decisions into effect
Following their initial work with me, most clients use my services to help them check off as done every item on their to-do list. Among those who choose to have my help in this regard, some do virtually all of their own to-do’ing with some help from me here and there, while others wish to have me thoroughly involved.

The long-run services: continuously improving your financial health
Once they’ve implemented their initial set of decisions, most clients use my services on an as-needed, as-desired basis, usually to focus on monitoring, maintaining and continuously improving their overall financial health, but also to respond to opportunities and issues as they arise.

Compensation: clients pay me directly, usually on a flat-fee or hourly-fee basis
Compensation is of the essence in any commercial relationship, and nowhere is this more true than in a relationship in which the goal is to help you have a better financial life, because in this context, if the compensation arrangement isn’t right, it can work against the goal of the work itself. By contrast, if, say, your car repair person charges you inappropriately, you can still have a well-repaired car.

Clients typically pay for my services via either a flat-fee compensation arrangement, or an hourly-fee compensation arrangement. This differs markedly from what most financial planners do, many of whom peg their compensation to the ongoing value of the investment assets they’re managing for you (typically charging something in the neighborhood of 1% of the managed assets per year) and/or earn sales commissions for selling you products and services offered by other companies (such as insurance and mutual funds).

This is a big, important topic, so when we talk about working together, it’ll be among the main topics we discuss.

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If you are needing further info or have some questions on your mind you haven’t seen answered yet, and if you like to read, then please move on to the FAQ page.

Alternatively, if you find yourself wondering how to begin a Getting-to-Know-You process with me, then please move on to the Next Steps page.