What is Life First?
Life First Wealth approaches personal financial planning differently. We want to help engineering families enjoy their wealth throughout their lives and “win” not just by an arbitrary amount in an account, but life. We are focused on integrating all aspects of your financial life and pointing it toward your unique life goals. We leverage technology and full suite of digital tools to make things as easy as possible on you and us to get there.
What does Fee-Only mean?
As a Fee-Only Advisor, we are compensated only by the transparent fees that we agree to upfront; no commissions or kickbacks from any outside sources. This keeps our best interests squarely aligned with yours.
What sets your approach apart from other financial advisors?
There are a lot of great advisors out there. And finding the right fit for you is paramount. We focus on the unique challenges and opportunities engineers and tech professionals have over their careers. Our approach to put Life First through our agile planning framework allows each client to make the most of their live’s time and resources.
Can you help me navigate major life events such as buying a home, making a career change, or sending a kid off to college?
Absolutely. We specialize in helping navigate these kinds of big changes by providing a clear roadmap along the way.
How often do you review and update our financial plan?
We believe in the importance of an ongoing, agile approach to your financial plan. There are no straight lines in life, so a financial plan that assumes such just doesn’t make much sense. Rather we look to continually iterate and update based on your circumstances and your changing direction. (How many of us wanted the same direction for our lives at 25 as we did at 35 or 55? Things change to say the least!)
Do I need a minimum amount of assets to work with you?
No, we know that people need help regardless of the amount of AUM they trust us to manage. We have opportunities for hourly project-based work for those don't have large enough assets yet or just want to manage them themselves, as well as our Expedition Wealth Planning option that does have a minimum of $200,000 of investable assets. Be sure to look at our Services & Fees page to see what is the best fit for you.
What’s the difference between Financial Planning and an Investment Portfolio?
A lot actually. Investments is a (very important) piece of Financial Planning. Financial planning takes a holistic, big picture approach to your financial life that looks to integrate everything from your income, savings strategies, risk management, proactive tax planing, estate planning, and investments. On top of that, what really makes things happen is digging into your goals and aspirations that your finances can support.
What is Tax Planning?
Tax planning is about being proactive to help you keep more of what you earn (legally!) in the big picture. Many times, by thinking beyond just this year, you can save yourself a lot of money on taxes down the road.
What is Risk Management in Financial Planning?
The same concept of risk management in engineering extends into your financial life. What could happen over the course of the “plan” that would significantly derail your ability to meet your objectives? Health events, an unfortunate early passing of a spouse, a natural disaster, losing a job. We work with you to think through the consequences and probability of these kinds of events and develop mitigation strategies for each over time.
What is Estate Planning?
This is something that we all like to avoid, but is part of a solid plan. It’s about thinking through and having a documented plan for what you want to happen to your assets after your pass away. The right estate plan can range from simple to complex (and too often made overly complex). One of the key perspectives on estate planning is that it’s not about you per se, but really about how you can help those loved ones that you leave behind.
Do I need to live in Alabama to work with you?
Not at all. We are a virtual firm enabling us to work with clients from all over the country. We want to work with you wherever your journey takes you.
How do we get started?
Getting started is easy. Simply reach out to us to schedule an initial conversation at the Contact Us page or start your Free Financial Assessment. We’ll see if we are a good fit. From there, we’ll work together to develop a path forward for your needs.