Keener Financial Planning provides hourly financial planning services. This approach is unusual in financial services. More commonly, financial advisors require that clients purchase a product or turn over the management of their assets to the advisor in order to receive financial advice. When serving as an hourly financial planner, we essentially function as a financial consultant to you.
Offering hourly financial planning services makes our advice more accessible. We are able to serve clients from all walks of life regardless of their income, investment assets, or net worth. We love the broad diversity of clients the hourly approach enables us to support in reaching their financial goals.
Who does hourly financial planning work well for?
The hourly model works really well for the do-it-yourselfer. We’re able to serve individuals who really enjoy the control of directly managing their own portfolio and value expert guidance from a Certified Financial Planner® professional. Even the most astute do-it-yourselfer can benefit from engaging a financial consultant for a second opinion on their portfolio and advice on key financial decisions like retirement, social security filing, pensions, and tax planning for retirement income distributions. Our advice is highly personalized for each individual’s situation — much more specific and actionable than online tools.
Hourly financial planning is also great for those that are just getting started in their financial lives. When you’re making those critical early decisions about how much home to buy, where to send kids to school, and prioritizing between paying down debt or saving for retirement, a financial consultation can set you on the right path for years to come.
We also work with many individuals who have most of their retirement assets in employer retirement plans. You may really want professional advice but are essentially shut out of the assets-under-management model because you’ve accumulated your wealth in an account an advisor can’t manage for you. We are happy to provide advice on your 401k, executive compensation, retirement, insurance, cash flow, tax planning, and all the other areas about which you may be wondering.
What’s the hourly financial planning process?
The hourly financial planning process is straightforward. It starts with a free initial consultation. In this meeting, we discuss your goals, financial situation, and the advice you’re seeking. At the end of the initial consultation, we are usually able to provide a flat-fee quote for the advice to be provided. We are able to discuss the engagement together, answer any question you may have, and decide if it makes sense to work together. Here’s more detail on our financial planning process.
Why a flat fee quote?
The flat fee quote helps you and us not worry about the cost of each minute we’re working together. Instead, it enables us to truly focus on getting you the best possible advice for your situation. Plus, we’ve been doing this awhile and have a pretty good sense of how long most projects will take us. To get an idea in advance, visit our Fee Schedule page.
Will I ever see you again after the financial plan is done?
Many of our hourly financial planning clients come back year after year. We recommend annual reviews for some and reviews every 2-3 years for others. You’re never under any obligation. But clients who make a point to review and update their plans on a regular basis are far more successful in meeting their goals.
If you’re curious about hourly financial planning, we’d welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation and explore whether it’s a good fit for you. Please reach out to us at 817-993-0401 or through our Contact Us page.