Fee-only FIRE-savy Financial Planner / Tax Professional

[EDSMedS]

36 yr old couple of analysts here with net worth ~$1.1M looking at RE in the next ~18 months.  I'm a budget analyst so I HAVE SPREADSHEETS (!) that show us our numbers work, but I'm interested in a second look and some discussion/confirmation on some of our assumptions (e.g. capital gains tax vs. income tax) with a empathetic, fee-only, FIRE-savy, financial professional.

Any recommendations?

[KungfuRabbit]

If you are looking specifically for tax advise, there are boat loads of good CPAs out there, just find any tax person (and don't go during tax season..) and they will happily go over your tax efficiency plans for a very reasonable fee. 

That is a VERY different question than a financial planner though.  A standard fee-based financial planner charging 1% on your portfolio would make $10,000 / year having you as a client (doing VERY little work once you are set up), and if I had to guess I'd say you are looking to pay <$1,000 for one time advise instead.  They know that there is more money to be made charging that percentage fee, and as long as there are people willing to pay it (...there are...) they will keep going that route.  I looked once in my area for a fee only and never found one. 

Another option is some of the robo-advisor firms.  Betterment has appointments with a personal financial planner for a few hundred $$s, though obviously it is geared towards joining their service. 

Honestly though, your first stop and likely best bet would be forums like this one.  There are a lot of really smart here, and a lot of people that spend a lot of time looking over case studies and give good advise. 

[reeshau]

There are CFP's who will work a financial plan on an hourly or fixed-fee basis.  Check with the Garrett Planning Network.  I did one when my son was born for $1,200.  And if I had had ongoing questions, I could get hourly research on specific questions or get an updated plan for $800 within 3 years, I think.

Some planners on Garrett will be "fee only," but work more on the basis that @KungfuRabbit describes.  There is also the XY Network, which typically wants a monthly flat fee. (basically, a retainer)  These type of planners do not "run your money," so there is no asset basis for fees.  They give you ideas what to do, and It's your responsibility to execute.

As for FIRE-savvy, I can't say.  I'm no spring chicken, but I had in mind retirement by 50, and my planner didn't bat an eye.  In fact, in the 3nd he said we could accelerate things if we wanted to.

[Metalcat]

What advice are you actually looking for? That's really the most important question.

What is your plan? Have you built in mitigation for SORR? Are you clear on your withdrawal strategy? Do you understand your taxes moving forward?

Where are the gaps in your knowledge, once we know that, we can better advise you either in terms of direct advice, pointing you to self-learninh resources, or directing you to professionals.

The things with directing you to professionals though is that they're only as helpful as you are knowledgeable. You need to know what you are trying to do in order for them to help you do it.

[yachi]

I'm fairly close to you in money, age and goals, but I have 4 kids, so my perspective, and needs are a little different.  My main concern is health insurance, which can be expensive, but also very different from having it provided as part of employment.  Have you priced health insurance and are you comfortable with the range of possible health care costs?  In my projections I look at numbers where healthcare costs are 30%, 22%, and 6% of my budget.

Are you familiar with Roof of Good?  He offers a personal early retirement consultation session https://rootofgood.com/early-retirement-consulting/  I don't see how it could be better than the collective wisdom of everyone on these forums bouncing ideas off each other while reviewing your case study, but sometimes some people need a paid opinion to feel comfortable with FIRE.

[MDM]

...some discussion/confirmation on some of our assumptions (e.g. capital gains tax vs. income tax)....

Have you used tax software to check those assumptions?

Tools such as the case study spreadsheet can probably provide "close enough for your purposes" tax calculations, but if you have access to commercial software, then....

[EDSMedS]

Thanks, all!

I created a post in the case studies section titled "36yr couple look at age ~38 - Are we missing something?"

I'll plug in the #s to the case study spreadsheet ASAP.  I'll also discuss the rootofgood with my wife!  All we really need is an informed sounding-board, I think.

Regarding healthcare, that is definitely the biggest variable, but from what I understand, it seems that if your income is low that the ACA subsidies are pretty helpful.  And if income is only derived by dividends on post-tax investments, then income can stay pretty low... (more on that in my case study post).

Thanks again for your input!