Comprehensive Planning: the Process

1. After we sign an Agreement, I prepare a list of documents for you to gather, and send an invoice for the first half of your fee.

2. We get together (usually over Zoom) and discuss your situation. I learn about your most important goals, your risk tolerance, and your lifestyle, hopes, and plans—in addition to your assets, liabilities, investment accounts, income, and expenses. This meeting usually lasts about two hours.

3. We enter your data into my planning software. Some of it you can upload, and the rest you or I will enter manually.

4. Together, we analyze it and discuss the picture that emerges. We consider the ramifications of various decisions, actions, and market conditions. As we go along, I make recommendations about every area where I see room for improvement. 

5. After each meeting, I send you a detailed email with observations, recommendations, and homework assignments. And usually some promises about what I’m going to research or accomplish for you before our next meeting as well. 

6. Often, there’s a second meeting, at which we review progress, update accounts, and continue looking for positive changes to make.

7. After that, I produce a written plan. This includes PDF reports produced through my planning software, with illustrative charts and graphs, and long-term projections. It also includes a written narrative summarizing my advice in all relevant areas. 

I can prepare printed versions of up to three alternative scenarios, modeling whatever future possibilities you want to consider. During this process, I may email you with additional questions as needed.

8. We meet again to review and discuss the plan. 

9. The written plan will serve as a guideline and checkpoint for you over the next year and beyond. It will include some suggestions for immediate implementation, and some for gradual or ongoing action. I hope it will be a useful tool for you, to help you monitor whether your saving and spending is on track, and to help you decide on the best course of action and timing for certain significant events.

10. From the start of our engagement to the delivery of a written plan usually takes 2 to 4 meetings, over the course of about 6 to 8 weeks. When we have completed that work, I will send you an invoice for the second half of your planning fee.

11. If you have questions or changes any time within the six months after the date of our Agreement, you can contact me any time at no additional charge.

Alternative: One-Time Consultation

If you would rather just work together on some specific questions or issues, and don’t want a comprehensive plan at this time, we can do an abbreviated project at a flat rate of $750.

This includes a two-hour meeting, and a follow-up report I provide afterward. 

It assumes that extensive research on my part will not be needed, and that I can complete the report in approximately one hour. Note that this is normally no problem; I mention it only as a caveat in case any very unusual issues arise that require more time.

If you would like to do this, we can make our time together as efficient as possible by having you enter and upload most of your financial data into my software before we meet. 

And later, if you decide you would like to expand to a comprehensive plan, we could apply this cost toward the total fee.