3 Secrets to Building Generational Wealth and Everything You Want To Know About Working With a Financial Planner

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I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand.

It's time for some money rehab.

Today, I'm tackling one of the most important, but often most intimidating, questions in personal finance.

Should I have a financial planner?

If the answer is yes, and let's be honest, it probably is, well, that sets off a whole domino effect of other questions.

Like, when when I'm looking for a financial planner, what questions do I ask?

Do I have to be rich to get started?

What can a financial planner actually do to help me?

So let me rephrase, not only am I answering the question of whether you should have a financial planner, I'm teaming up with Domain Money to answer all of your financial planner questions and more.

And I know that these conversations can feel kind of intimidating.

And when it comes to an intimidating or awkward conversation, I am always game to go first.

So that's what I do today.

You'll be a fly on the wall in my conversation with Adriana Adams, head of financial planning at Domain Money, where I ask for her guidance on my number one financial goal right now, how to set my daughter up for success.

This topic is actually so important to me that mid-conversation with Adriana, I called in my husband, Jared, into the studio.

You'll hear me literally pause the interview and call him into the studio so he could get in on the conversation too.

You'll hear that moment in the episode, but if you want to watch it all unfold, you can check out the full video on YouTube.

And if you want to have your own conversation about money goals, I'll tell you how at the end of the episode.

But for now, here's Adriana.

Adriana Adams, welcome to Money Rehab.

Thank you, Nicole.

I'm so excited to be here.

We are very protective of our money rehabbers, so we only bring on the best of the best.

Tell me a success story from one of your clients to get us hyped, please.

Of course.

Success to me means turning anxiety or uncertainty into confidence and clarity.

So I've worked with over a thousand clients now.

Let me give you an example from last week, actually.

Cool.

So for the sake of keeping it anonymous, we'll call her Jamie.

I was meeting with Jamie.

Jamie came to me a handful of months ago and was really confused about the strategy she should be using because she had tried several different online calculators and they all gave her a different answer and she couldn't figure out which one was the right answer for her.

So after taking her through her entire financial plan and really understanding what her goals were, we we put a strategy in place that she fully understood and felt confident implementing.

So last week, I was meeting with her for her coaching session and we were actually pushing the buttons and doing the things.

And I could just tell by looking at her, she was excited to implement it and she felt so confident.

I didn't see any more anxiety that I saw when she originally came to domain money.

And I also love that she's just on her free time playing with online financial calculators.

I know.

A girl

after my own heart.

Jinx.

So doctors need doctors, trainers need trainers, financial experts need financial experts.

There is so much that I know, of course, and so much that I implement of my own advice.

But sometimes there are stressful financial situations that even the best of us might need a little help.

So I wanted to ask you for myself.

I just had a baby.

She's seven months old.

And I her the most.

And I want to make sure that she has so much of a better financial future than I did.

And I think I'm doing everything,

but also I'm so stressed.

And I feel like I haven't, well, I did shower today for you, but

did not wash my hair for the last week.

Babies are stressful,

but want to do everything right in the midst of it.

So can we, can we talk about it?

Let's talk about it.

Actually, my husband, I would love to pull him in for this.

Oh my God.

Let's do it.

okay hold on one sec okay perfect

a little all right Jesus

welcome to money rehab This is your money rehab debut.

It's a big deal.

Big deal.

So happy to be here.

I want to thank God for putting me in this position.

I want to thank my team.

And your wife.

And my wife.

Yeah.

Who made a beautiful daughter?

So we were talking about finances for helping a daughter such as ours be wealthy, be better off than we were.

And we've done a lot, but we also have a baby.

And so maybe there are some blind spots

for us.

Maybe there are some blind spots.

So I wanted you to hear this advice.

Okay, please.

So Adriana, this is Jared.

Jared.

My baby daddy.

So nice to me.

Generally, what do you tell couples who just had a baby and want to make her a rich baby?

I love it.

So there's three things that I would prioritize.

The first one is saving for your own future, because the best gift you can give her is to not be a burden later in life.

And the second thing.

is life insurance, which I know sounds morbid and is not fun.

I'm a huge fan of cheap term life insurance.

Really, we just want to replace your income in case something happens to you guys so that she is taken care of.

And the third thing is estate planning.

And believe it or not, everybody has an estate plan.

It just depends on if you created it or the government created it for you.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Like a prenup.

Yeah.

Same thing with a prenup.

Wait, say more.

What do you mean?

Like, there's

it already exists, even if you don't do anything?

Every state kind of has a default of what will happen to your money and your house and everything if you didn't direct it in your own specific documents.

They go through probate and probate's expensive, and you probably aren't going to like what they end up doing with your money.

So, the retirement portion is really important because that's like the put your oxygen mask on first before helping others, even your own child.

So, how should we think about balancing what we're doing for our own retirement with what we're doing for her?

I love that analogy.

That is one I use all the time with my clients because it's so relatable.

I'm going to get on my flight home to Cleveland tonight and I guarantee that flight attendant is going to tell me to put my oxygen mask on first before everyone else.

So love the analogy.

And what I would say is we need to take a look at your bookend goals, which is short-term liquidity and retirement or financial independence, whatever that long-term goal is for you too, and see what you're on track for for from that perspective, and then see what's left over.

And if we're not happy with the amount that's left over and we want to save more, then let's revisit your goals.

It's not like we have to, you know, stick with that, but really, we do want to make sure that your long-term saving strategy is set up and you're comfortable with that plan before we start allocating your dollars elsewhere.

So, max out our 401k, our IRAs, all that stuff before putting into her 529.

So, she has a 529.

I love it.

We put some money in.

Her grandparents put some money in.

Anyone can put money in, yeah.

And so that's set up.

Before we put more into that every year, then we just need to make sure that we're maxing our own accounts out so that we're not poor and have to go live with her when we're old.

Agreed.

Yes.

I will say though, Depends on how much you already have.

There's two ways to fund your goals.

And I think this is really important.

Money already on your balance sheet and future savings.

This year, you could each do 23,500 into a 401k, and so that's 47,000 between the two of you.

You might only need to do 40,000 to reach your goals.

So, I would really sit down and figure out like how many dollars.

Not, I wouldn't overly focus on hitting those limits and contributions.

Although I do think it's important and I love the idea of maxing it out, but let's make sure it's custom to you.

I love that idea of it being personalized, right?

Exactly.

We think education is super important.

So, we we want to invest more in our baby's future education.

Exactly.

But also, we're not sure if college will be around by the time she honestly

won't.

We're not sure.

It's unclear.

Yeah.

It is.

Is it going to be AI school?

We don't know.

We don't know.

But also, there are new rules for 529s that

can allow us to use that money for a private school, which we're generally not into, but who knows?

Who knows?

Or she can roll it over into her own IRA if she decides to not go to college or there isn't college or it's robots college.

We don't know.

And worst case, you can take it out.

There is a penalty and tax, but it's not the end of the world.

But what I do really like to focus on is how much flexibility do both of you want?

Because there are other types of accounts.

And Nicole, you've talked about this a lot.

The new Trump accounts, I think, is actually the formal term.

You missed the $1,000 seed from the government, but you didn't miss out on actually having the account.

So you could still use this.

Wait, so there's more money for us, right?

No, no, no.

Like the

money.

The basket is available to us.

Okay.

The wrapper.

Yes,

the account type is available.

And if you have another baby, I know this might be topic of conversation by the end of 2028, then there is some money on the table for you.

So keep that in mind.

So it's a thousand dollar seed for babies born between 2025, right, and 2028.

And then after that, it's kind of up to parents to fund it.

And what are the advantages of that compared to a 529?

Great question.

And there is a contribution limit.

So I want to touch on that really quick.

It's $5,000 per year.

And it doesn't have to just be parents.

Actually, employers can contribute to these accounts.

So I would love to see people negotiating this into their contracts or their employment agreements because it's like a 401k match, but it doesn't have to be a match, but it could be extra money for your child's future that comes.

Can you negotiate that?

How does that work?

You can negotiate any employment contract.

I'll take it a step further.

You should negotiate any employment contract you're getting into.

It feels like most people sort of receive their employment contract and they're like, okay, I gotta sign here.

And like, they don't realize there's an opportunity to negotiate it.

Yes.

There's a $5,000 a year contribution limit.

So how does that differ from the 529?

Or can you do both?

Or a Coverdell, which is the smaller contribution limit?

You could do all three.

I will say 529s tend to be the elite savings option if you know you want it to go towards college and that is your primary goal and you are overly confident that college will still be there because of the tax benefits and the tax-free growth.

So with the new accounts, the money grows tax deferred, but it doesn't grow tax-free.

But you have more flexibility.

It really is

actually at its core meant to be more of a retirement account, but they've added in flexibility for education payments as well as first-time home buyer, which is in a lot of other types of accounts like IRAs and 401ks too.

So, you could pull $10,000 out for a down payment on your first home.

There are some flexibilities associated with it.

I think it boils down to what your goals are and what you want to plan for.

And then we can figure out which account is the best or which combination of accounts is the best for your strategy.

And for 529s, or is this the same for the Trump accounts?

That

the person who contributes technically still owns that account?

If she decides to get married to some crazy dude and run around the country and not go to college, we can just be like, psych, you don't get this way.

So the 529s, you can change the beneficiary.

My understanding, and there's more to come on the Trump accounts because they are coming out in 2026.

So there will be a lot more details to talk about then, is that it would be based on the child.

So I'm not sure you would have the ability to take that money away.

So if you want that ability, then we need to make sure that the money stays in your name.

And two accounts that come to mind for that is just an investment account that's in your name that you mentally have earmarked for your daughter and the 529 plan.

Because custodial accounts, we've also talked about custodial accounts before with saving for children.

That money is theirs outright.

Like depending on the state you live in, there's a different age of majority, but 18, 21, max, 25, they get the money, no questions asked, and you officially lose control.

Those are Ugma or Utma accounts.

Exactly.

Yep.

I don't know any of those words, but it sounds good.

All of that soup stuff.

But basically, there's no turning back.

Like they get it.

One of them is age of majority, and then one is the age that you decide they get that money.

So what would be the difference between a brokerage account that we just made separate and earmarked for her versus a custodial one.

So there's one very distinct tax difference.

If it's a brokerage account in your name, it's taxed to you just like your other brokerage accounts in your name.

So if you have capital gains or income, it flows through to your tax return and you pay taxes on that.

If you have a custodial account, there is something called the kiddie tax.

So the first like $2,000 is taxed at a kiddie tax rate, but any income over that actually will end up being taxed at your tax rate as well.

So there's a little bit of a tax break for using returns.

Do we know why it's called kitty tax?

Is this because it's like a tiny little tax?

That is a really good question.

It is

officially nicknamed that in the tax code.

That is like the official nickname of the code.

Let's make something really boring very fun.

Yes.

It's a kitty tax.

Yeah, got it.

Hold onto your wallets.

Money rehab will be right back.

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Chime checking account required and now for some more money rehab.

Are there contribution limits for 529 that we should think about?

The one that I would keep in mind is the gift tax limit.

And that is how much you can gift to really anybody in a given year.

With 529s, they let you actually front load it by five years.

So this year, the limit is $19,000.

So if we do some quick math.

100 grand.

Yes, like 100 grand, but you could each do 19.

So you could essentially put 200K into the 529 today

and front load it and not go over that annual gift tax limit.

But then

we can't contribute after that.

You can always add more.

You would just, this will be a whole nother episode.

You won't actually pay tax today.

It will eat into your lifetime tax exemption.

I don't shouldn't.

Why?

Why?

Why?

It really shouldn't.

But the lifetime is like $20 million or something.

Yes, right now.

But it changes depending on the tax law.

Like it was set to sunset in 2026.

And actually, with the new tax law, they've extended it.

So it is still a lot.

But it was set to sunset back to like $6 million.

So it was going to affect a lot more people at that point.

Let's go.

Let's go.

She's seven months old.

It's time to start earning her keep.

For life insurance, this is something something that we're actively talking about.

You say term life insurance is the best way to go.

We've worked with some brokers to bid out some options for us.

How should we be thinking about the ones that came back?

So you want to make sure that the policy you go with is through a insurance company that is rated well because essentially

they're on the line for paying it out if something happens to you guys.

So you want to make sure that the company is longstanding and has a good credit rating because that will hopefully make sure that that money is there if needed to pay out.

Once you've kind of boiled it down to some of the top rated, it really is a pricing situation.

So if you get rated better by one company over the other, if it's as simple as the term policies, then you can go with the lowest premium.

I want to caveat the term life insurance is it's the most applicable, I would say, for new parents, but there are other insurance products that sometimes make sense for other people, but that's another can of worms as well.

Totally.

So 30-year term, like we have to do health stuff to make sure that we're good at all, all of that, which we need to do before.

Right.

Okay.

Okay.

So the plan is don't die.

Don't die.

Exactly.

That's the cheapest way.

And one more caveat for you is that you cannot get.

life insurance while you're pregnant.

So if you

know, remember?

Okay, I said that.

We tried that, actually.

We were like, we were supposed to get life insurance now.

And you're like, oh, your wife is nine months pregnant?

Like, why are we having this conversation?

Oh, got it.

Yeah, didn't know.

We tried to get ahead of it, then our house burnt down.

And so now we're getting back into it.

But we started with great intentions to get in front of this topic.

So we're on the life insurance.

For a trust and a will,

we know that every state is going to have basically

a will in place for you, even if you don't go go through with it yourself.

What should we generally be thinking about?

We have a trust in place that has a will as part of it.

We did it, I think, two days before I gave birth, right?

Yeah,

the clock was ticking down for sure.

I see.

But we got it in.

You did.

Just in time.

In time.

Nothing motivates like a deadline.

That's right.

And she came on her due date.

So that was really hard.

Oh my gosh.

How often does that happen?

I feel like that's

special.

I love it.

So, what should we be thinking about now that we do have a child in the world with the trust for a will?

So it is very important to make sure that you revisit these documents every couple of years to make sure that they're still relevant and primarily that the people you've listed in the documents are still relevant.

I would make sure every couple years you're checking who you have named as the guardian.

If you're not here, make sure that that person still maybe lives locally if you want your daughter to stay local things like that.

The other thing I would check, especially if you're considering expanding your family, is that the documents have language that will apply to future children too, not just one of the children that's named because they were born at that time.

But it sounds like if you did it two days before she was born, I would assume that's in there, but definitely double check and make sure.

Okay, I don't even know if her name was in there because she didn't have a name.

I don't think we decided until she popped out.

I was like, was it?

Okay, so go back and check.

And then, yeah, all of the questions that they asked about, you know, if one of you dies, if both of you dies, who gets custody, that type of stuff.

Every few years, make sure we still like those people.

Exactly.

Custodial wrath IRAs is something that we've been talking about quite a bit.

Our accountant said it's a little dicey to put her on payroll starting now because she doesn't have that many marketable skills.

We disagree.

Blue Ivy was sampled on Jay-Z's album.

Remember when she was two days old?

Yep.

Yep.

Jared runs an AI company.

I run a media company.

Maybe not the exact same, or teach her to code.

Yeah, okay.

As soon as she can talk, she'll vibe code for sure.

I love it.

So how should we be thinking about potentially putting her on payroll for a media and or an AI company and when?

I love this question.

And I think you hit the nail on the hat already, Nicole.

There's probably a much better opportunity to get her involved in your business because she can contribute to your content.

I will say it's probably a tough argument to say that a seven-month-old wrote any of the code that is in your news.

I'm just saying, the models are really good.

The models, GPT-5 just dropped.

Honestly, she even touches a phone.

It's so crazy that like she swipes it or does anything with it.

But yes.

She can clean up your email inbox, maybe.

Yes, totally.

But I do think that there's a real opportunity there in the media company.

And I mean, think of mom talk, right?

Are you guys, do you guys follow mom talk?

I know.

Should we do it?

Yeah.

What is this?

It's mostly for entertainment purposes, but it is a group of moms that have created mom talk.

And it's like mom TikTok.

Does that make more sense?

So they call themselves mom talk.

Okay.

Got it.

Okay.

Get in there.

Is there dad talk too?

Yeah.

Actually, I think they were starting dad talk.

They did start a dad talk.

I don't know how successful it is.

If they didn't, I would do it, but it sounds like no one cares he has a group chat that's called data dads which are a bunch of oh my god i love that who are it's my nerdiest dad friends that's amazing so maybe i could put her giggle or her

you know cry not that she cries because she's perfect angel like in one of our intros or something like that if it makes sense if it makes sense as long as it is legitimately an effort from her that is used in your media.

So she, you're right.

It doesn't have to be her face.

She doesn't have to physically be in the video, but it could be an audio element.

The one thing that I do recommend checking on this is the labor laws in every state because that can get a little dicey depending on, but they're usually pretty generous.

Like, are they 15 days old and in good health?

Okay, we're good.

So keep that in mind.

And obviously, depending on what state you live in, that's something to look into.

But if they are contributing to the content, then let's get them on the payroll and get their custodial Roth IRA opened.

Because that's an important part to keep in mind with custodial Roth IRAs that they actually have to make the money themselves.

Yes, they have to have earned income.

And if you, let's say you don't have a legitimate reason to put them on the payroll, the Trump accounts, you do not have to have earned income.

That is the one caveat that makes it nice in contrast to the custodial Roth IRA is that they don't have to have earned income and you can still contribute to it.

So that might be another option.

If we can't get her into the coding, then we can look back at the Trump account.

Or if somebody doesn't have their own business, then they can do legitimate kid-friendly things, lemonade stand, you know, whatever.

Babysitting.

Yeah.

Basically, she needs to get

a job.

Get a job.

Okay.

And of all of these things, what...

Can a financial advisor help us with?

Because we're exhausted and have so much on our plates right now.

So

what of this can you

do for us?

Literally everything.

So we will handhold our clients through everything.

Now, the way that we operate at domain money is we will not actually take custody of your assets.

So they still remain in your control, but we will help you every step of the way, whether it's placing a trade or opening a new account, which I do believe is very important because I think nobody is going to care more about your money and the financial well-being of you two than you, right?

So, I think it's important to understand those pieces, but we will do all of the number crunching and understand your situation and then present to you the strategy that makes the most sense.

So, you can kind of take the mental gymnastics out of it of trying to figure out what you should be doing.

You just need to implement it and we'll help you.

We will help you implement it.

So, like, we would jump on a Zoom and screen share, and you would be like, Here's what to do with how to direct the 529 investment options and things like that.

Exactly, but we would push the button.

Yeah, sounds great.

Show me where to push.

Any other questions,

no?

I have no other questions.

All right, go back to work.

All right, thank you.

We need those 529 contributions.

All right,

hold on to your wallets.

Money rehab will be right back.

And now for some more money rehab.

Thank you so much for being part of my husband's debut on Money Rehab.

Of course.

Couple rehab.

It's a new offshoot of the show.

Surprise.

I love Inspired by You.

So now that we understand

what you can help new parents with, any client with, how do we actually secure?

a financial advisor that we get along with because truth be told financial advisors generally do a lot of the same type of stuff and so the relationship and the rapport really matters.

I think that's the biggest piece of feeling confident in the advice too, is having a good relationship with that person so that you wholeheartedly trust what they're telling you and advising you to do.

So I couldn't agree more.

You are super skilled and you have access to all the information, but you know, a lot of that is out there too.

And the blocking and tackling is relatively similar.

So I think the first thing is being able talk to a financial advisor, not just about the hard numbers, but, you know, are you thinking about getting married?

Are you thinking about getting divorced?

Like, you know, those types of conversations, having another child feel vulnerable.

And yet those are really important topics that affect your financial life.

So being comfortable to talk about that.

Absolutely.

And I will say there is one distinction that I want to make between financial planning and investment management.

Yes, please.

So, some financial advisors are more lean more towards portfolio management or investment management.

And some financial advisors, which is, it's just a broad term, right?

Financial advisors are more of the financial planning and they will actually get to know you and your life and understand what you're trying to achieve rather than just managing the money.

So, I think the first thing people need to understand is: what are you looking for?

Are you looking for a coach and somebody to provide guidance and help you make everyday life decisions?

Or are you just looking for somebody to manage the money?

Because those are two very different jobs.

Explain to me how

people with those different jobs get paid.

Typically, if you're managing money, there's an assets under management fee, which is a percentage of the whole shipping.

And if you're an advisor, oftentimes there's some sort of flat fee structure.

But there are different terms for both of these two categories, right?

So I think that's where some people get confused as well.

Wealth manager, investment advisor, there are many, many terms for the same thing.

There really are.

I think what we want to focus on is what fee structure is going to align with your goals and what you're looking for.

So you mentioned with assets under management, it is based on how much money they're managing for you.

Where I have seen a misalignment in the industry with that is just because you have more money doesn't mean your situation is more complicated or you want to talk about more planning topics and things like that.

So, I really appreciate the flat fee structure for being able to tailor it to what you are really looking for.

And then being super transparent, because that's another thing.

Sometimes assets under management isn't quite as transparent or clear-cut.

Where in a flat fee, usually, you know, I'm paying exactly $3,200.

Like, that is what I'm signing up for.

With assets under management, it can vary, it can fluctuate.

And so, I think the transparency is really important there.

And just to double-click on that to be clear, it can vary and fluctuate because the amount of money you have can go up or down.

Exactly.

The market can be on a tear like it is right now, or it can crash, God forbid, but then you'll have less assets.

So you'll pay less based on the fee.

So typically it's 1% of assets under management, right?

So $100,000 of assets under management, you're spending about $1,000 a year.

Exactly.

But those are for investment advisors, wealth managers.

Tell me some of the terms that might be the same thing.

Portfolio manager, wealth advisor.

Sometimes it's as generic as financial advisor, investment manager.

I would say those are the most common ones that represent that role.

Then on the other side would be financial planner.

Exactly.

The most broadly used term will be financial planner, but some financial advisors will also do financial planning.

So that one is a little bit of a gray area.

But what I would really look for in a financial planner is a certified financial planner.

We love our acronyms in this industry.

It's a CFP.

So if you hear the term CFP or someone you're interviewing to be a financial planner has their CFP, that is the gold standard of the financial planning industry.

And I'll just say from my own personal experience, because I've taken these tests too, the CFP is just the hardest one, I think.

It is, there's so much that it covers.

Yeah.

Estate planning, income taxation, all the fun things.

I will say it was the hardest one that I took as well.

See there.

So look for a CFP potentially, but you want to ask if you're a fiduciary.

We have a lot of episodes doing a little bit of role playing, which I would love to do if you're down as well.

Let's do it.

For how to interview a potential financial planner.

Should we go with that?

Let's do it.

Okay.

Ring, ring, ring, Adrienne.

I love it.

Hello.

Hey, so I'm thinking about getting a financial advisor slash planner slash friend.

How can you help me?

Let's start with you, Nicole.

What are your goals and what are you looking for out of your finances and just your life?

So many things.

I need help budgeting.

I need help

with taxes.

I need help with thinking about investment accounts.

A lot of help.

We can help with all of that.

Tell me a little bit more about what your long-term goal is.

So like where do you envision yourself 10, 15 years from now?

Because that'll help me get a better understanding of how I can actually help.

Just so rich.

Okay.

I just want all of my accounts maxed out and I want a great system to make sure that it's set it and forget it vibes.

Perfect.

So let's circle back then to the budgeting piece of it.

And I actually prefer to call this a spending plan.

Me too.

Okay.

Amazing.

Yeah.

People don't like the term budgeting, so I kind of like to ditch that one.

Spending plan.

So do you have a clear understanding today of where your money's going or should we start there?

Let's start at the beginning.

Okay.

Then I think what would make the most sense is for us to dig into your actual money habits and where that money's going.

And then we can figure out how much money you need to feel rich.

Because right now, like, what does rich mean?

Is that $5 million?

Is that $100,000?

Is that $1 billion?

We need to define that.

Yes, that's totally true.

I have a lot of dreams and I understand that they have price tags.

So let's figure out the life I want first.

But before that,

I don't want to give you so much money that it somehow sacrifices my own rich future life.

So, how do you get paid?

That is a really good question.

So, at Domain Money, we have a flat fee schedule.

So, you will pay a set dollar amount for your membership.

It ranges from $3,200 to $7,800, depending on what topics you need help with and what we're going to be looking at.

A year.

Yes, a year.

Yep.

That's for the annual membership.

And from there, though, how I get paid, all of our certified financial planners at Domain Money are salaried.

So there is no incentive to sell a product or give you any certain type of advice because our advisors are actually paid as a salary, which is a little bit different than some other firms in the industry where they would be inclined to sell you something specific or a specific type of plan.

So we get paid on a flat fee as a company, but your certified financial planner would just be paid on a salary and it isn't tied to your exact membership.

And I know that assets under management is a different fee structure.

You sound amazing, but I am dating around to find the best long-term fit for a financial planner that I can put a ring on.

Is it a red flag if I see others have an assets under management fee structure?

So I came from that world, asset under management world.

I will say there's a time and place for everything,

but there's also a reason that I now work in the flat fee space and I will leave it at that.

Sounds like there's some tea.

Okay, so flat fee, I know what to expect, but I pay that every single year.

What if I'm going through a hard time and I can't afford that one year?

So, the way that domain money has it set up is it's an annual membership.

So, you can cancel at any time.

You don't have to stay in the membership.

There's other structures that are similar to that.

So, the flat fee, it's not like you're locked in for life.

And I think the beauty of the flat fee planning too is that it doesn't require you to move your money anywhere.

So, it is easier for you to figure out what works for you at the certain time.

And that might be going up to a higher tier of the membership.

It might be a lower tier because your situation has changed.

So there is flexibility there.

And I think it really does depend on your situation and what you need help with that year.

But I do recommend that you update your financial plan and strategy once a year.

Not only is your life going to change, but we saw it this year, the tax code's going to change.

And so you want to make sure that your strategy stays up to date.

And we also have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

So if you do not feel like you've gotten the confidence you needed out of this or the value of your financial plan, 100% satisfaction back guarantee, right?

So

seriously.

There's really no risk.

Yes.

Seriously.

Does anyone take you up on that?

Rarely.

The percentage is very low.

And is it negotiable?

I listen to Money Rehab and I hear that everything is negotiable.

So can I ask for a lower fee or can I ask for a different timeline for the fees that I pay?

I love the tactic here.

Unfortunately, our fees are not negotiable, but we did just launch a referral program.

So you can get $1,000 back for referring your friend who wants to get rich as well.

And they will get $500 off of their plan or their membership as well.

So there is a little bit of an incentive there.

And is there a minimum that I need to have in order to sign up?

Nope.

We have clients with a negative net worth and we have clients with a a net worth north of 20 million.

It truly does not matter.

We are here to help provide financial planning to anybody who needs financial planning.

If somebody has a negative net worth, then how do they pay the fit?

We always start with a free strategy session with every prospect or someone who is interested in working with our financial planners.

So we will first learn more about you on that session and really make sure that we are a good fit because I think there's nothing in finance that's for everybody, right?

So while we want to be for everybody, we understand that you have to be looking for what we are helping with to be a good fit.

And we need to make sure that we can also provide you that value.

So there have been prospective clients that it didn't make sense to work with just yet.

And we would give them some tips on how to get their budget in order and cash flow and some apps to use or some free resources.

And then say, when you're ready and you've tackled this step, come back and we will help you get the rest of your strategy in place.

Very transparent.

We are in the business of making you more confident in your money and making sure that you have a strategy.

If hiring a financial planner is going to put you more in the hole, then we want to make sure you have that core piece of your finances set up and that we can actually help you move forward.

But I think there's nothing to lose to have the free call, even if you think you can't afford it at this point.

There's nothing to lose.

I don't know if you can have more than one free sample like at the ice cream shop as you're going through your financial journey.

Yes, nothing.

We want to make sure that our clients are extremely comfortable with the process and what they're going to get out of our process before they put down a deposit.

So we are more than happy to work with you and make sure that you truly understand what we are offering and what you're getting yourself into before you have to put any money on the table.

And I heard that it's really important to ask if you are a fiduciary.

Are you a fiduciary?

And also just remind me of what that means.

Of course.

So a fiduciary just in layman's terms means that I have to act in your best interest.

And all of our financial planners are certified financial planners.

And by being a certified financial planner, you are a fiduciary.

So yes, every certified financial planner at domain money is a fiduciary.

And every certified financial planner is a fiduciary as well.

But you don't have to be a certified financial planner to be a fiduciary.

Don't have to be a certified financial planner to be a fiduciary.

In other words, you could have a Series 65, you could have other types of licenses or designations.

Exactly.

Okay.

So it is important to ask if you're a fiduciary.

But it would be

in contrast to somebody that would be like a broker dealer who's selling you securities or selling you investments because their loyalty would more lie on their own commissions versus your loyalty is with what's in the best interest for me, not in what's going to make you more money to suggest to me.

Yes.

So there are two main buckets, I would say.

There is the fiduciary bucket, have to act in your best interest like we talked about.

And then there's the suitability bucket.

And suitability essentially just means that advisor or person has to give you a recommendation that fits your situation.

There could be three strategies that fit your situation and there could be one clear winner, but as long as they present one of those three, that's suitable for you.

So, that's how I would think about the difference there.

I talk about this in one of my books: the suitability standard is just something who would, like, who would want the suitability standard, right?

We don't accept suitable sushi, no, suitable sex, or suitable coffee.

That sounds terrible, right?

Exactly.

You want the best, and I want something that works for me and not just generally what my demo is.

Exactly.

Got it.

So, how do I know if our work together is working?

I would say the biggest sign is that you feel more confident in making financial decisions.

We are also going to look at ways to help you make more money and achieve your dreams, maybe save money on taxes, and everything will be optimized.

But in the end of the day,

your financial plan is working if you feel really confident in the direction you're going.

And how often can I call you?

So you can call me at any time.

You can email me at any time.

We do have a structure to the membership that we've built based on real client experience.

And so the initial onboarding to your membership is the initial financial plan.

And so getting to know you, understanding your goals, documenting your goals, and mapping out the strategy that we recommend.

From there, depending on the membership tier, you have two to four coaching sessions throughout the year that are like your designated time online, on Zoom, with your certified financial planner.

You can always add on more coaching sessions.

So that's always available too.

But then you can text an email, like, we're here to answer all of your questions.

It's a partnership.

We're your money friend, like you mentioned earlier, right?

Like, call us anytime.

And the end of the year session is generally to talk about tax loss harvesting.

I hear that a lot.

That's a way that I can potentially save money before I put my taxes in.

You're not filing my taxes, but you're helping me save the most I possibly can.

So we have a sneak peek, I guess.

This is a great segue.

We are launching tax filing for our strategic and comprehensive membership tiers.

So we could file your taxes, but there's a distinction here.

There's tax planning and there's tax filing.

Moving forward, once our program launches, we will be doing the tax planning and the tax filing for you in the strategic and comprehensive tier.

But you made a really good point that you want to look at tax planning before the end of the year because there are a lot of deadlines with December 31st.

So, before the end of the year, of course, taxes aren't due on December 31st, but any moves that you're going to make that will affect your taxes need to happen by then.

I have historically been at FedEx like the day before to try and make a contribution or do something right at the deadline.

So, how should I think about something like tax loss harvesting before the end of the year?

I always suggest starting your year-end planning in November before the holidays and everything gets busy because of that December 31st deadline.

It's interesting because tax loss harvesting does need to be done by December 31st to lock in, but there's two times that I would recommend looking for tax loss harvesting opportunities throughout the course of the year.

Anytime there's a significant downturn in the market, because that's probably going to provide you the most opportunity to lock in some of those tax losses.

So, basically, it would be if I had one stock or one index fund that fell quite a bit, I could sell that, take the loss, and use it to offset something I sold at a gain, but I couldn't buy the exact same thing.

So, sometimes an example used would be if my Nestle stock fell, I could sell it to offset some sweet gains that I got with Nvidia.

But if I really felt like I needed exposure in the chocolate market, I could buy Mondelez,

which would be a similar type of mover and lock that loss in that I got from Nestle against any gains.

So I wouldn't have capital gains tax when I do file my taxes.

Exactly.

Adriana, we end, as you know, all of our episodes by asking our guests for a tip that listeners can take straight to the bank.

What is one that we did not touch on?

Because we touched on so many.

We did touch on a lot, but in summary, I would say the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.

The next best time is today.

The same goes for financial planning.

The best time to start financial planning was 20 years ago.

The next best time is today.

It's never too late.

You're never as young as you are today.

And today is as good a day as any.

And no one has ever in the history of the world said, I'm so glad I didn't invest earlier.

Exactly.

Okay.

So how do we do this thing?

Head to domainmoney.com and book your free strategy session.

There's literally nothing to lose.

You can also find us on social, domainmoney on Instagram, advice with Adriana on Instagram if you're looking for some more content to consume.

Yes, please.

And what if I want to specifically book with you?

Because we're obsessed with you.

I love it.

Head to domainmoney.com.

And if you find my page on Meet Our Advisors, click book a free strategy session and you'll be on my calendar the second you pick a date and time.

Love it.

Because you are the queen of the

advisors.

You teach all of them, right?

I do.

So I have personally trained and onboarded all of the certified financial planners on our team.

They are all amazing.

I think what's most important is finding someone who is the right fit for you.

So we've got several amazing financial planners that are ready to help.

And I would love to do your free strategy session and help you figure out who is the right fit because I know them all so well.

So, we can make sure that you get a financial planner that is perfect for you.

I am not a real client of domain money.

Via Money Rehab, I receive compensation and have an incentive to promote domain money.

See important disclosures at dmnmny.co/slash X.

Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network.

I'm your host, Nicole Lappin.

Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Lavoy.

Our researcher is Emily Holmes.

Do you need some money rehab?

And let's be honest, we all do.

So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com, to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me.

And follow us on Instagram at MoneyNews and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content.

And lastly, thank you.

No, seriously, thank you.

Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.