Only Fee-Only

Imagine trading your comfortable desk job for the unpredictable world of finance - that's precisely the leap our guest, Allen Mueller, founder of Seven Saturdays Financial, took. Allen found his calling in the movement of FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), transitioning from engineering to corporate finance, and launching his firm in the midst of a pandemic. He shares the incredible journey he undertook to gain control over his time and carve a path towards financial independence.In the second phase of our chat, Allen gets candid about the initial struggles he faced in growing his business. He recounts the pivotal moment of investing in a sales training course during a business dry spell, which sparked remarkable growth and set a course for future expansion. We also touched on a critical discussion about the role of transparent pricing and reducing conflicts through flat fee models in financial advisory. Strap in for fascinating insights from a man who dared to break the mould, chase financial independence, and navigate the world of financial planning on his terms.https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenrmuellerTwitter: @7Saturdaysaweek

Ever wondered how to grow a financial planning firm from a start-up to an enterprise-level success? Today, we're giving you an exclusive seat at our enlightening chat with James Conole, the founder of Root Financial Planning. Imagine managing over 250 million AUM – James  and his team do just that and he shares the insightful lessons he learned on his journey. We explore the intriguing paths available to entrepreneurs in the fee-only community. James gives us a firsthand account of his innovative strategies: how he leverages his platform, expands into various platforms, and maintains a consistent, reliable, and positive client experience. He unveils the secret of the Sequoia System developed by Root Financial Planning. No stone is left unturned as we discuss the challenges of managing an inflow of prospects, building a successful team, and hiring the right people to support growth. Finally, a discussion with James wouldn't be complete without delving into the vast opportunities available in the financial planning industry. Are you considering a career in this field? Root Financial is hiring. James shares his experiences and offers invaluable advice on finding the right fit and fosters an engaging conversation about the role of the Sequoia System in enhancing a successful client experience. Get ready for an episode packed with expert insights and transformative advice you won't want to miss!Social:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesconole/Twitter: @jamesconoleMusic in this episode was obtained from bensound.

In this Episode Kevin, Peter, and Rodney talk about hybrid asset based long-term care and how it has changed the landscape of the LTC market.Music in this episode was obtained from Bensound.

In this Episode Kevin, Peter, and Rodney talk about traditional long-term care and how the industry has grown and changed over the years.Part 2 next week will cover hybrid / asset based policies and when those can make sense. Music in this episode was obtained from Bensound.

Vrishin's Bio: I am Vrishin Subramaniam (he/him), IAR, CFP® candidate, and Founder of CapitalWeOriginally born and raised in New Delhi, India, I came to the USA when I was 17 to attend college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A little over a decade later, I have worked as a technology consultant, lived in 7 cities, gotten married to my lovely wife Sharanya, and picked up a liking (plus a license!) for Scuba diving. We have been calling the DC area (Arlington, VA) home for just under a year, although we do spend a considerable time in sunny California!I want to make financial planning more accessible to more people (especially people on an H1b or GC) while eschewing the suit and tieIn 2014, I graduated college without a job offer lined up, so I moved to the Bay Area in search of a job. Desperate after a couple months of non-stop job searching, I took the first offer I got, which paid a low salary (by Bay Area standards). I found it challenging to cover bills and rent even while being paid a “coveted” bay area tech salary. In order to make ends meet, I quickly became obsessed with optimizing each dollar and eventually with the FIRE movement (Financial Independence / Retire Early). After speaking with friends, family and colleagues who were all struggling with similar challenges, I realized this is a universal problem.Having learnt about investing, I wanted to find a good advisor who would be able to round out my spreadsheets and was willing to work with young professionals, but found the advisors either had high minimums or were trying to sign me up for sub-par financial products to earn their commissions. I started CapitalWe to relieve financial stress for all young professionals as they transition between various stages of life: school, marriage, home-buying and all other firsts!Social:https://www.linkedin.com/in/vrishin/Twitter: @Vr1sh1n

Devin's Bio:Growing up lower middle-class in Pittsburgh, money was always an issue. But I had two things going for me: my immigrant father instilled in me the hustler mentality and my mother always stressed academics. So in middle school I started mini-businesses to make extra cash, trying my best to stay out of trouble, while making straight A’s. In high school I realized I was too soft to make it in the trades, but knew I had a knack for numbers and people. So I decided to focus on my education. Hello, college.After graduating from Penn State with a finance degree, I went right back to school and studied accounting at Notre Dame. Master’s degree in hand, I kicked off my career at Ernst & Young (auditing), moved over to KPMG (consulting), and eventually jumped to PNC (banking). Over the course of 15 years, I worked with some of the most recognizable names in finance (and logged over 700 Marriott nights).Now, I’m a full-time husband, father, and CFP® with an eclectic (read: weird) set of interests ranging from football, photography, and Frank Lloyd Wright to languages, Latin music and Leonardo da Vinci. I love traveling overseas, reading five books at once, and creating Spotify playlists.Devin's Social:https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinfaddoulcfp/Twitter: @devin_sami

Kevin's Bio:Hello! My name is Kevin Lao. I am first and foremost a family man. My amazing wife, Jessica, and I are blessed with three active boys. Tristan came first, and our twins, Julian and Jackson, a short 16 months later. They are my "why," and I do my best to lead by example and pursue my passions in hopes my boys pursue theirs. After spending my first 12 years in the financial services industry split between two fortune 500 companies, I developed an obsession for helping people plan for retirement. It sounds simple, but many people don't have the systems and processes in place to achieve financial independence. Life gets busy, and all of a sudden you are 10 years away from 60 and unsure if you’re on track. However, I came to realize the conflicts of interests inherent with the "big firm" mentality didn't align with my personal value system. As a result, I launched Imagine Financial Security as a Flat Fee Financial Planner/Fiduciary, and have the ability to work with clients locally in Jacksonville, FL as well as across the United States virtually.I am originally from the suburbs of DC, but have lived in the Jacksonville, FL area for almost 8 years. We are fortunate to have family close by as it takes a village with our crew! When I am not running my business or spending time with my wife and kids, I enjoy "dad-golf," fishing, cooking, reading, researching, writing, teaching and being in the outdoors. Go Gamecocks! Go DC Sports! Kevin's Social:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-lao-cfp%C2%AE-ricp%C2%AE-4181a29/Music in this episode obtained from Bensound.

Will's Bio:EDUCATIONButler UniversityB.S. Finance, International BusinessB.A. FrenchCERTIFICATIONSCertified Financial Planner™INDUSTRY EXPERIENCESince 2014VALEO EXPERIENCESince 2015HOMETOWNCape Girardeau, MORESIDESIndianapolis, INCOMMUNITY INTERESTSLittle Wish FoundationIndianapolis Neighborhood Housing PartnershipLIDS FoundationSocial: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-kinder-cfp%C2%AE-23653483/

Eric's Bio:In 2018, after graduating the U.S. Air Force Academy with an Economics degree, I began my professional career as a hospital administrator in the Air Force. As I was sitting in my apartment in Cheyenne, Wyoming after work every day, I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be a career for me. It was a great first job, but wasn’t ultimately my calling and didn’t get me up out of bed every morning. I was captain of a Division I hockey team in college, and I still have that competitive drive that I need to harness into something. I knew that I needed to start a business, I just didn't know what yet. For the next 9 months, I binged business and entrepreneurship books and researched business ideas. I had a One Note with about 20 different ideas. I was teaching myself to code computer software, trade foreign exchange, and anything else that I could get my hands on. One book in particular called the $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau said that you should find something that people naturally come to you for, something that you are passionate about, and something that people will pay for. This was my lightbulb moment. For me, that thing has always been investing and personal finance. I was always interested in the stock market, and many times found myself in conversations giving people finance pointers. I had also seen what the typical financial advisor did for family and friends, and was very frustrated with the lack of transparency, and lack of value for the fees that are paid.  From there on out, I was dead set on building a fee-only financial planning firm to help families align their money with their values. I began building the groundwork for Baskin Financial Planning in early 2019 while getting my MBA, studying for and passing the CFP exam, then finally launching the business in 2021 all while serving on active duty.Through my time as a financial planner, I have found that the military community is not properly served by one single service and pricing model. Not everyone can afford or needs the help of an ongoing financial planner at all times in their life. To address this problem, I have now gone on to develop specific offerings to best serve the military community and each families’ unique stage in life from younger military members just getting started, to transitioning military members, to Veterans and business owners building life changing wealth.Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikbaskin/\Music in this episode obtained from Bensound.

Andy's Bio:While studying toward a finance degree at the University of Delaware, I decided to work toward a career helping others with their finances. I didn't quite know what that job would look like, but I figured it must exist. I assumed it would involve helping and educatingIn my senior year at Delaware, I interviewed at a few of the large household name financial services companies for roles they called "financial advisor." I assumed those would be the sort of financial planning careers I was thinking of. Unfortunately, I quickly realized those jobs were not about giving financial advice or guidance. Instead, they were just commissioned sales positions to sell the companies' products - life insurance, annuities and mutual funds. I was completely turned off by that and gave up on trying to find a financial planning job. I ended up getting a corporate job at a large insurance companyAfter graduating college in 2000, I spent the next 19 years working for multiple global insurance, banking and brokerage firms. I worked in functions that involved the creation, risk management, trading, portfolio management and financing of many of the insurance and investment products and strategies used throughout the financial services industry. My roles included pension risk management, investment management, securities financing and investment fund analysis and diligenceAlong the way I went back to school - in 2004 I earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Rutgers Business School.  I've also taught multiple semesters as an adjunct lecturer for the finance department of Rutgers Business SchoolIn 2016, I had an experience that reignited my desire to do personal financial planning. My mother was transitioning into retirement and was trying to figure out how best to claim her Social Security benefits. After getting different answers from different people - including different answers from within the Social Security Administration itself - I dug in and helped her research the relevant laws and regulations. We ultimately got to the correct answer and she was able to make the best claiming decision for her and her circumstancesAt that point, the proverbial light went off for me - helping people make decisions about their retirement finances was what I was supposed to be doing with my life. Since that point in 2016, I committed myself to getting educated on all things related to financial planning for retirement. In that journey, I obtained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ ("CFP®") designation, the Retirement Income Certified Professional® ("RICP®") designation and the IRS Enrolled Agent ("EA") licenseIn 2019, I left the institutional investment and banking world to launch Tenon Financial. I also started a separate tax return preparation and filing company, Tenon Tax Preparation. And I remain committed to sharing knowledge and helping educate others- AndyAndy's Social:Twitter: @TenonFinancialLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andypanko/