The strategy session
Thirty minutes, one on one, no obligation and no products in the room.
Process and pricing
How the work runs, and what it costs.
The process starts with Discovery, and Discovery is free. If we keep going, it runs through to a written plan you keep, and you see the fees before anything starts. This page walks through all of it.
The firm's process
MW Financial Blueprint™
Four phases, one written plan
Step one
Discovery, free.
The first meeting is Discovery itself, on Microsoft Teams, at no cost. Thirty minutes, longer when it's useful. Bring questions or bring nothing; you leave knowing what to do first either way.
Step two
You decide, not me.
If that conversation answered it, that's a good outcome and we're done. If you want the whole picture handled, the phases below are what that looks like.
Step three
Fees come before commitment.
We talk through which fee structure fits and the exact numbers before you sign anything. Nothing starts until that part is clear.
The process
Four phases, in writing.
The firm runs planning on the MW Financial Blueprint™. Here's what each phase looks like from your side, with the thing you're holding at the end of it.
1.
Discovery. This one is free.
The meeting you book is Discovery itself: a listening session, not a sales pitch. Every account, every policy, every document, and what you actually want the money to do. I ask most of the questions, and you leave with a full inventory of what you have and your gaps, ranked by urgency.
The inventory · Sample
✓Retirement accountsFound · 3 accounts
✓Brokerage and savingsFound
✓Life insuranceIn force
!Disability coverageGap · ranked #1
!Estate documentsOutdated · ranked #2
Hypothetical sample inventory. Illustrative only, not advice.
2.
Blueprint.
The written plan, built across six coordinated sections with specific numbers and your own timelines. We walk it together, section by section, and you keep it either way.
The written plan · Sample
Your Financial Blueprint
Prepared for you and your family
Retirement income projection01
Tax strategy02
Investment allocation03
Risk and protection04
Estate and legacy05
The action plan06
The firm's six sections. Sample layout, not a client document.
3.
Implementation.
We work the action list in priority order. Accounts, allocations, coverage, documents, beneficiary forms: each step gets done rather than recommended, with your CPA and attorney looped in where they belong. This is the part most plans never reach.
The action list · Sample
✓Beneficiary forms updatedDone
✓Coverage election submittedDone
Account transfer paperworkIn progress
Year-end tax movesBefore Dec 31
Hypothetical sample list. Your plan sets your steps and dates.
4.
Ongoing review.
Four scheduled reviews a year and the portal in between, so the plan updates when your life changes instead of when the calendar says so. A tax planning pass lands before every year end.
A year, scheduled · Sample
JanDec
Scheduled review
Year-end tax pass
The portal, in between →
Illustrative cadence. Reviews are scheduled around your dates.
Discovery is free and carries no obligation. If you don't need an advisor, I'll say so and point you at the right next step.
What to bring to Discovery.
Nothing is required. Documents just make the conversation deeper.
Required
Nothing.
Come empty handed. Questions help, and we'll still get somewhere without a single document.
Helpful, if you have them
- Recent statements 401(k), IRA, brokerage, savings
- Insurance policies life, disability, long-term care
- Estate documents will, trusts, powers of attorney
- Your most recent tax return
- Your employer benefits summary
- Severance agreement or offer letter if you have one
- The questions keeping you up
You don't need all of it. Blanks are fine, and I'll point you to the exact page where each number lives.
The money
How I get paid.
Three ways, depending on what you need. Exact numbers come up in the free session, in plain terms, before any commitment.
Managed assets
A percentage of what I manage.
For ongoing investment management, the fee is a percentage of the assets under my management. It's disclosed in writing before you sign anything.
Monthly
A monthly retainer.
Planning without asset management: a flat monthly amount for the planning relationship, month to month.
Annual
An annual engagement.
The same planning relationship, paid once a year instead of monthly.
The strips show payment cadence over a year, not amounts.
Two more things said plainly. Insurance work, when you need it, pays me by commission, and I tell you that when it comes up, not after. And if the work includes moving an old 401(k) into an account I manage, you see the comparison in writing first, including the option of leaving it where it is.
What costs nothing.
Most of what's on this site is free and stays free, whether or not you ever become a client.
The guide and the tools
The 90-Day Decision Guide and the severance readout, no email wall on either.
+
The community
Tech professionals working through the same decisions, with guest speakers. I host it.
Start with the call.
Thirty minutes on Microsoft Teams. You talk, I listen, and you leave knowing what to do first.
Book a free strategy session No pitch, no obligation.Microsoft Teams · Come empty handed · No products in this session · (512) 960-4900