Comprehensive Financial Planning

Life isn't static, so your strategy shouldn't be either. We provide the adaptive, ongoing guidance you need to feel confident through every season of your life.

READY TO START?

The Philosophy: Planning in Motion

Most people look for Comprehensive Financial Planning when life gets loud—a career change, a new addition to the family, or a looming retirement. But we believe the most important planning happens when things feel quiet.

At Modern Cents, we’ve moved beyond the "one-and-done" report. We practice Adaptive Financial Planning. This is a permanent partnership designed to stay in flow with your life. Even when everything seems okay, we are behind the scenes, ready to help you pivot, adapt, and optimize so you never lose your momentum.

We believe that financial planning should be accessible, not intimidating! We meet you exactly where you are today—no judgment, no complex jargon, and no "required" starting point. Our goal is to empower you through education, turning "financial stress" into "financial literacy" so you feel like the confident leader of your own wealth.

How it Works: The Adaptive Planning Journey

Our apporach to Comprehensive Financial Planning is built on the reality that change doesn't happen overnight. We've structured our first yera toegther to build a rock-solid foundation through four distinct phases.

Phase 1: Finding Your Foundation

The first 12 months are intensive, collaborative, and deeply educational. We guide you through the six core areas of financial planning, ensuring you understand the why behind every recommendation.

1. Discovery: Clearing the Fog

We start by reviewing your goals, objectives, and personal money biases. This is a judgment-free space to organize your financial world.

The Audit: We provide a snapshot of your current state and identify initial "red flags" in your overall financial health.
Financial Education: We begin by aligning your language with your money, ensuring you feel comfortable and educated as we define the scope of our work together.

2. When All Goes Well: Building the Path

We build the roadmap for your ideal future by optimizing the foundational pillars of your wealth. This stage is about creating clarity and momentum in your day-to-day financial life.

Cash Flow, Savings, and Debt Management: We review your current habits to create recommendations for your day-to-day financial management, ensuring your money is working as hard as you do.
Tax and Savings Planning: We develop appropriate savings plans with tax efficiency in mind, ensuring you are utilizing the right accounts for your specific goals.
Retirement and Investment Planning: We create improved, integrated solutions for your long-term wealth. This includes updated retirement scenario planning that works with your individual needs, and assessing your investments to ensure they are appropriate for your short and long term objectives.

3. Contingency Planning: Safeguarding the Journey

Life is full of surprises. This phase is dedicated to ensuring you and your loved ones are protected when the unexpected happens.

Risk Education: We perform a meticulous analysis of emergency funding and insurance (covering job loss, disability, or illness), helping you understand how to mitigate risk without over-complicating your life.
Estate Intentionality: We ensure your legacy is protected, walking you through estate planning with a focus on peace of mind and family security.

4. Ongoing Implementation: Realizing your Planning

The final phase of our foundational year is about execution at your own pace. We revisit outstanding tasks and remodel scenarios as your life shifts.

Active Support: After each meeting, we assign specific "homework" based on our planning recommendations. Within the portal, you can book meetings, chat with us on specific tasks, and send messages to ensure you are on track with implementing every strategy we have created.
Comprehensive Deliverables: We include detailed meeting notes and all planning deliverables after every call, giving you a clear, permanent record of your financial journey.
The Partnership Launchpad: Most of our clients find that after a year of education and implementation, the partnership is just beginning. They transition seamlessly into our long-term continuity phase.

Phase 2: The Continuity Phase (Year 2 and Beyond)

Once your foundation is set, we shift into a permanent rhythm of stewardship. You don't "finish" a plan; you live it. Your monthly retainer ensures that whenever life shifts—expectedly or unexpectedly—your strategy and your education continue to evolve.

Our partnership is always accessible. Once your comprehensive planning is in motion, we are your first call for any financial question, whether it's a scheduled check-in or a sudden life shift that requires a steady hand.

Investing in Your Long-Term Success

Our pricing structure reflects the depth of our commitment to your financial future. We invest heavily in your foundational year to ensure you have a strategy that lasts a lifetime.

Initial Onboarding Fee: Starting from $3,000*, complexity dependent

Ongoing Monthly Cost: $250-$330/month, complexity dependent

Monthly costs commence 30 days after the start of our engagement.

*Additional costs apply for complexity (rental properties, multiple corporations, etc.)

Unique factors in your financial picture may lead to a broad potential range of complexity.

The Commitment: Real change requires consistency. To ensure your strategies have the time to take root

and produce results, we require a minimum 12-month commitment for all new partnerships.

Initial onboardingIniti

Why does financial planning cost what it costs?

Based on research provided by the illustrious Michael Kitces, the financial planning process takes

approximately 35 hours of a planner's time per year for each client (see graphic below).

At our hourly rate of $250, this would cost $8,750 per year per client.

As we strive to provide a cost effective service for our comprehensive clients, we believe that our pricing is fair
(if not inexpensive!) as a proportion of our time spent on your planning.

As we do provide a high touch service, where we also meet with our clients on average every 8 weeks,
we believe that the study below does not fully represent the one-on-one time that we spend with our clients.