About
What do you want your next chapter to make possible?
You funded the 401(k), paid down the house, and kept investing through market scares. Now you’re thinking about what comes next.
Can I afford to make work optional? Where will my paycheck come from? What happens if the market falls early? Which account do I spend first, and what does that do to taxes?
Being told you are "on track" is not enough. You need to know what your money is supposed to do next.
Who I serve
Who I help plan for what comes next
I help people within 10 years of making work optional—or building that freedom sooner—turn their savings into a plan for the years ahead.
Individuals and couples alike. That next chapter might mean nonprofit work, a more fulfilling role, or more time with the people you care about.
I build one coordinated plan covering income, investments, taxes, insurance, and estate planning coordination.
You establish the priorities and participate in the major planning decisions. I provide clear recommendations, explain the relevant alternatives and tradeoffs, and manage your investments and ongoing implementation within the strategy we agree on.
I am not a fit for people primarily looking for stock picks or a market-beating strategy, or for an investment-only service without broader planning. If another type of advisor is a better value, I will tell you on the first call.
Want the details on how we're paid? See our pricing.
Origin
Why I do this
I earned a BS in Business Administration from Colorado State University and entered financial services in 2015 after selling my stake in a tech startup. What pulled me in was not the market. It was the trust people place in you when they share what they built, what concerns them, and what they want life to become.
In 2019, my first marriage ended. Money had been a source of tension for years, and I had tied too much of my worth to what I earned. A therapist helped me see that something needed to change, including the version of myself I was trying to protect.
That experience changed how I plan with people. The first meeting is not about your portfolio. It is about what your money needs to make possible and what could get in the way.
Philosophy
What I believe about money
Built to win by losing less.
Limit the big losses and you have less ground to make up. Accessible cash can cover near-term needs, which can help avoid selling growth investments at the wrong time. A 30% loss at 45 is painful. The same loss in the first year of retirement can change the rest of the plan. This approach does not eliminate market risk or guarantee against loss.
Every dollar should have a job.
Cash for near-term needs. Income to support your spending. Growth for later years. A written job for each dollar makes it easier to know what you can spend.
A dependable income floor is worth exploring, not assuming.
Social Security, pensions, and annuities can help cover essential expenses for those who want that tradeoff. It's a preference to explore together, with the choice always yours.
Investment selection is only one part of the plan.
Picking funds matters less than coordinating income, taxes, spending, and risk.
Estate planning is coordination; your attorney drafts and interprets documents and gives legal advice.
I keep titles, beneficiaries, and documents aligned with your wishes and coordinate with your attorney, who prepares the legal documents.
A story from home
An attractive strategy still has to fit your life.
A few years ago, Hayley and I looked seriously at buying a short-term rental. On paper, it penciled out. Then we looked past the numbers: coordinating guests, staying on top of maintenance, overseeing a property manager we'd need to trust from a distance.
It would have eaten into the family time we value most. So we chose other ways to invest, and we've never regretted it.
I'm not against real estate — plenty of people make it work well. The point is that a good strategy on paper still has to fit the life you actually want to live. That’s the same question I bring to financial planning: does this strategy fit your life?
Proof
Credentials, and what they're worth
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®). As an investment adviser representative, I act as a fiduciary when providing investment advice to advisory clients. I'm also a licensed insurance agent: insurance and annuity products are offered through Annuity Strategy Center, and when I recommend them I act as an insurance agent and may receive commissions, which is a conflict of interest described on our Pricing page. Those commissions are separate from and do not reduce or offset advisory fees. Applicable advisory fees, other costs, and commissions are disclosed before engagement or implementation, as applicable. You're never required to buy insurance through me. Financial Thinking Partner® Wealth Advisors is a registered investment adviser in the State of Colorado.
Registration doesn't imply skill, and neither do the letters after my name. What they mean is that I'm accountable to a standard and you can check my work. Form ADV Part 2 is at adviserinfo.sec.gov. My CFP® certification can be verified at my verified CFP® profile My financial-services background is available through FINRA BrokerCheck.
If you want to see the thinking applied, walk through the case study. It's a hypothetical retirement plan where every dollar gets a written job.
Prefer a practical overview first? Read The 10 Problems That Can Derail Your Retirement.
Personal
The rest of it
I'm remarried. Before Hayley and I merged anything, we each wrote out our own values separately, then found where they overlapped. That experience informs how I approach discovery with individuals and couples: make room to name what matters before deciding what the money should do.
Hayley and I live in Parker, Colorado with our four kids. Family life keeps us active and keeps the purpose behind financial decisions close at hand.
Outside work, I enjoy skiing, hiking, and pickleball. I also spend time learning about longevity, health, and meditation.
If any of that sounded like your situation
Book a complimentary 30-minute introductory call about making work optional. Bring the question on your mind; no preparation is needed.
Or reach out to Doug directly by sending him an email at doug@financialthinkingpartner.com.