Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is meant by hourly-only planning?
We do not sell investment products; therefore, we do not receive commissions from the sale of investment products. We also do not require you to move funds to our firm to manage for a set percentage. We work by the hour. In the beginning, we may provide you with a set fixed fee or a range of hours to work on an initial project. Or perhaps you simply want an hour of time to ask questions. Most clients, after an initial project, will come back as needed for a review annually, but there are no requirements.
As an hourly-only financial planning service, conflicts of interest resulting from the sale or management of financial products are removed. We represent you and you alone.
2. What are some financial issues that you address?
At Family First Financial Planning, we work with clients on a variety of needs. A list of some of the financial topics explored at Family First is as follows:
- Retirement planning
- Investment review and advice
- Need for wills, trusts, power of attorneys
- College funding
- Insurance needs – health, life, disability, long-term care
- Tax Planning
- Emergency fund planning
- Budgeting
- Debt consolidation/New loans
3. Do you only provide a comprehensive plan or could you simply address one financial topic?
We work with clients on their specific areas of financial concern. Therefore, if you just need help in one area, such as retirement planning, college funding, or investments, we can work on that one need. Some clients may have several pressing needs and we can discuss all the needs in one engagement, or break it up into several engagements over the year. However, in order to serve you best, we will need to obtain information on your total financial picture.
4. What will be involved in preparing a financial plan?
The first step is to understand where you are financially as well as your goals. This is accomplished through questionnaires, copies of statements, and discussions. We can then help you prioritize and determine ways to assist you in meeting your unique financial goals.
Your financial situation has many aspects (assets, income, insurance, taxes, business interests, wills, etc.) which will benefit from the careful scrutiny of a trained professional, who will analyze them in light of your goals and the current legal, tax, and economic environment.
Through this process, we will identify weaknesses and recommend improvements to help you get the most use out of every dollar.
Finally, we will help you coordinate the implementation of your plan if desired and included in the engagement.
5. What is the cost of your financial planning service?
The cost is based on your particular financial situation and cannot be pre-determined without a meeting with a planner. Once we understand your goals and personal situation, we will provide you a fee quote, fixed fee, or hourly range, as described more fully in the Fee Schedule 2024 Updated.pdf.
6. Do you sell investment or insurance products?
We do provide investment advice and specific recommendations. But we do not sell any investment or insurance products. We also do not require you to move your investments to us to manage for an annual fee. We do not believe that you need to pay a fee annually for your funds to grow. In fact, by removing the management fee, more of your money can grow.
We can work with your existing investment provider, or we can recommend a low cost provider.
7. Do you meet in person or virtually? How do I get started?
We love to meet in person when possible. We have various locations in Martin and Palm Beach County in Florida and we also can meet with you in Northeast Georgia out of our Cornelia home office. We can also meet at your home/office or another location when needed. We also offer both Zoom and Teams video chat meetings for those who we cannot meet in person or prefer to meet virtually.
Click here to schedule an appointment. We look forward to helping you guide your family to plan smart and live well.