We want our clients to achieve their wildest dreams and feel supported while doing so.
Meet our clients
Our clients are ambitious self-starters. They want freedom to live their life on their own terms and need help getting there. Many are self-employed, planning for early retirement, or looking to change careers. There is no set of rules for how they live and that shows in how we plan. No two plans are the same, but seeing how we’ve helped others can inspire you.
These profiles are not real clients. They are composites of work we have done with clients in the past. The case study provided is for educational and illustrative purposes only and does not represent any specific recommendation. The strategies and financial products discussed may not be suitable for all investors, and the hypothetical results shown do not guarantee future performance.
Jay recently started their own private practice but was overwhelmed by their finances. They knew their income was going to increase drastically, but they knew that also came with tax payments and increased expenses. Jay wanted to ensure that their personal goals and finances didn’t fall by the wayside.
Jay’s main goals in our first year of working together was to save for travel, continue retirement savings, and start planning for mid term goals such as a wedding and buying a home. Further down the line they wanted to ensure their student loans were paid off and there was a budget for charitable giving.
Our recommendations:
- We first set Jay up with a cash flow system that separated business and personal spending. This also helped proactively save for taxes and retirement.
- Jay wanted to continue saving for retirement so we opened a solo 401(k) for them and worked with their CPA to determine how much they could contribute annually.
- Because travel is important to Jay, the first goal we saved for was a PTO fund. We needed to plan for not just travel expenses, but pad their fund so that they didn’t have to overwork before or after vacation.
- Finally, we also set up savings for the mid-term goals. Jay wanted to save for multiple goals at once so they could see the progress towards each goal.
- As their business has grown we have increased Jay’s savings plan and added in a charitable giving fund.
After we started working together Jay was able to breathe. They had a blueprint to follow for their income, expenses and savings. Jay was able to consistently save for travel as well as the mid term goals like a wedding. They finally felt like they were on the right track!
As a creative director for 5 years in the same role Sasha was feeling stuck. She enjoyed her job but wanted more freedom, working with who she wanted and when. Sasha knew this would take careful planning and wasn’t sure it was a realistic goal. She wanted peace of mind that this would work!
When we started working together Sasha wanted to start freelancing within the next 2-3 years. She had credit card debt, equity compensation at her current company, and was saving consistently into her retirement plan. Sasha had a lot of moving parts and had no idea where to start, or how.
Our recommendations:
- First, we actually looked at Sasha’s stock options at her current employer. We were able to use some vested shares to pay down some of her credit cards. We then created a plan on how to sell the remaining shares over the next few years before she left her job.
- We created a plan for Sasha to pay down the rest of her credit card debt by the time she started freelance. Having high fixed expenses when you are just starting freelance is a risk that we try to avoid.
- Once we had a good structure for her current spending and savings we started to plan for the transition to freelance: How much would she need to make per year? What would her expenses be? How should she save for taxes and retirement?
- Although the first year of our work together there were a lot of changes, Sasha was able to get on track quickly. She also was able to pay down her debt about 8 months sooner than estimated.
The focus of our work was getting a plan into place for her transition to freelance, but Sasha had other goals she wanted to accomplish first. We were able to give her that peace of mind she was looking for and walk her step by step through what needed to be done.
Meet the founder
I’m Danielle, the founder of Sole Financial! Finances can be a really taboo topic. A lot of people, even myself, have felt ashamed or embarrassed about their financial situation. Because of this, we’re less likely to seek out help, but that only hurts us in the long run. That is why I got into financial planning, I wanted to empower clients to take control of their finances and help them achieve their goals.
I’ve been a financial advisor since 2017 and focused my career on working with a broad range of clients who didn’t fit into the “traditional” financial advisor demographic. My goal has been to make financial planning more accessible, not just on the fee side, but with personalization as well. I focus my work on educating clients so that they understand the why behind our recommendations.
I have seen a huge shift over the last few years of clients wanting more freedom and flexibility with their lives. Many have taken sabbaticals, started planning for early retirement, or transitioned to self-employment. That is why I started Sole Financial, to partner with clients so they can focus on their lives. We’re here to support you and give you real human advice, without judgement, so you can dream big.
On a personal note:
- I was born and raised in NJ
- I love to crochet
- First job: Mascot at a water park, my name was Slider. (photo below)
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