Reasons Not to Work with Me #3: Understanding Financial Planning Fees
Discussing hourly financial planning and fees from Rocky Mountain National Park
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Rocky Mountain National Park. I am on Ute Trail today somewhere over 11,000 feet and just enjoying it up here. It's a little hazy because of the fires but still beautiful.
Why Transparent Fees Matter in Hourly Financial Planning
So today I just want to share with you another reason that you might not want to work with me and that has to do with my fees.
When we work together I am going to send you a bill that outlines exactly what you need to pay me and then you're going to have to write a check or pay me from your ongoing cash flow from your checking or savings account.
Now I know that that's more painful than if I had a system where you just pay me invisibly somehow through a mutual fund or annuity or even from a payment directly from your brokerage account. But here's what my hope is: I'm hoping that by having that information you can make good decisions about whether it's worth the cost.
Helping Clients Understand Costs and Benefits
In everything that I do with you, I'm going to try to help you understand what the costs and the benefits are of what your options are so that you can make good decisions for you personally instead of just on a general basis. And it's the same with this.
For my retainer clients that are paying me every month, I give them a summary each year of what their costs are—both to me and an estimate of what they're paying through their funds for management.
For those that are on a project basis and are paying hourly, each time we meet I give you an update on how many hours I've spent doing it. So at any point in time in that process you can take a look at what you're paying and compare to the advice you're getting and then decide if it's worth your money or not.
Flexibility for Hourly and Retainer Clients
If it's not, there's no cancellation fees. You're welcome to just end the engagement and we can both wish each other well and go on our merry way.
So if that doesn't work for you—to write those checks, if that's too painful to deal with it that way—then we probably wouldn't be a good fit to work together.