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I know I'm going to get ripped for this but....
Old 02-24-2015, 09:03 AM   #1
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I know I'm going to get ripped for this but....

I'm in Houston. I'd like to find a CFP to run early retirment models for me so I can have a second opinion on the numbers I've been running with *****, etc. If anyone knows a good FP in the Houston area, please let me know. Preferably fee-only.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:13 AM   #2
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This is a good place to start your search:

Fee-Only Financial Advisors Home - NAPFA - The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

You can search by location.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:24 AM   #3
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Don't be surprised, though, that MOST FOFP's in NAPFA price on AUM, which tends to raise the ire of most of us. You'll need to shop pretty hard (at least I had to) to find one that will do a one-time hourly number crunch for you. Oh, I tried, but never got one to do my one-time crunch.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:27 AM   #4
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I have heard this is a good place to find fee only planners. I have no personal experience with it, and I do not know anybody who has. I heard it from a reasonably reliable consumer advocate podcast. Take what you wish and leave the rest.

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Old 02-24-2015, 09:31 AM   #5
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If you have a Vanguard account, they will do a low cost plan for you that includes looking over your retirement funding. If you are at Flagship level, it's free.

Don't expect too much from any CFP. They can't see the future any better than FireCalc, *****, i-ORP and ESPlanner can. Having 50 pages of glossy guessing isn't worth $2,000 IMHO.

I hate to tell you this but there is no magic bullet that will guarantee retirement success or eliminate our fears.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:54 AM   #6
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If you have a Vanguard account, they will do a low cost plan for you that includes looking over your retirement funding. If you are at Flagship level, it's free.

Don't expect too much from any CFP. They can't see the future any better than FireCalc, *****, i-ORP and ESPlanner can. Having 50 pages of glossy guessing isn't worth $2,000 IMHO.

I hate to tell you this but there is no magic bullet that will guarantee retirement success or eliminate our fears.
I agree with that. Just want someone to do a one-time number cruch for me.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:19 AM   #7
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Fidelity did one for us for free. We have 401K accounts there. I don't know what their criteria is for free or if there is one.

They just use the RIP and told us a bunch of stuff that is often the opposite of what you will hear on this or other ER forums - TIPS are a bad investment for every portfolio (bad for them as there is no commission), we would need 80% of our pre-retirement income (not true for households already saving more than 20% now, have kids that will leave the nest, will pay less in taxes, no longer have commute and job costs, etc.), our expenses will go up because we will travel much more and have more expensive hobbies (gee that didn't happen), we need stocks for growth (we actually don't - their own planner tool showed that), and more ideas along those lines that seemed self serving.

Free means no cash outlay but their advice is still geared towards considerations that maximize their profits.

What it did show was that my own spreadsheet numbers were reasonable and showed us how to use the RIP for ourselves after that. But I don't think the personal consultation added anything to our personal retirement knowledge base.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:21 AM   #8
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I agree with that. Just want someone to do a one-time number cruch for me.
That's a reasonable request. But you'll still end up with a crunch that has assumptions similar to the tools you've been using.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:24 AM   #9
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I agree with that. Just want someone to do a one-time number cruch for me.
Vanguard will be cheaper than anyone you find locally.

When I had my plan done, I was asked to specify an after tax retirement spending budget that would also increase with inflation. I threw out a high end number from FireCalc that gave me a 95.6% result (estimated taxes included) and got a 93% success rate from Vanguard.

Other than that the recommendation was to effectively move to Total Stock Market, Total International Stock Market and Total Bond Index. I've stayed with my original AA including small cap and REIT funds with CDs as my fixed income.

The secret to success is being willing to reduce spending if the market goes significantly against you especially in the early years. There is no absolute guarantee no matter what you'd like to believe in. Annuity sales people feed off this insecurity but I believe their products make most retirees less secure.

You can also plan on spending less as you age. It's a rare 80+ year old that's chasing around the world on fancy vacations or spending at the same level they were in their 50's. Most CFPs don't put that into their plans but FireCalc has the Bernicke option and iORP has the "Spend While You Can" feature.

I commented on your other thread. You need to decide whether you want to retire or go OMY (or more) to create a greater illusion of safety. Spending money on a CFP won't really tell you anything you don't already know.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:26 AM   #10
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That's a reasonable request. But you'll still end up with a crunch that has assumptions similar to the tools you've been using.

Actually, I would in fact give them the exact same assumptions I'm using so I can compare the numbers they get to what I get using my early retirement software. Using EarlyRetire Pro mostly but also the free on-line calculators too.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:27 AM   #11
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Vanguard will be cheaper than anyone you find locally.

When I had my plan done, I was asked to specify an after tax retirement spending budget that would also increase with inflation. I threw out a high end number from FireCalc that gave me a 95.6% result (estimated taxes included) and got a 93% success rate from Vanguard.

Other than that the recommendation was to effectively move to Total Stock Market, Total International Stock Market and Total Bond Index. I've stayed with my including small cap and REIT funds.

The secret to success is being willing to reduce spending if the market goes significantly against you especially in the early years. There is no absolute guarantee no matter what you'd like to believe in. Annuity sales people feed off this insecurity but I believe their products make most retirees less secure.

You can also plan on spending less as you age. It's a rare 80+ year old that's chasing around the world on fancy vacations or spending at the same level they were in their 50's. Most CFPs don't put that into their plans but FireCalc has the Bernicke option and iORP has the "Spend While You Can" feature.

I commented on your other thread. You need to decide whether you want to retire or go OMY (or more) to create a greater illusion of safety.

Thanks. Yeah, I need to decide but getting someone to check my numbers is part of my decision process.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:34 AM   #12
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Thanks. Yeah, I need to decide but getting someone to check my numbers is part of my decision process.
Go for it. After getting your numbers looked at here, I am confident you won't get any great insight that hasn't already been mentioned.

With your budget and assets, you will be told you are marginal. To be totally confident of success you need to have several really good stock market years, be willing to reduce spending if necessary or die early. That's my plan except for the last option. I'd like to avoid that.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:40 AM   #13
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I'm totally confident that there are dozens of people here that I would trust looking at my numbers as much as or more than some random person who has some letters after his name (CFP).
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:44 AM   #14
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Actually, I would in fact give them the exact same assumptions I'm using so I can compare the numbers they get to what I get using my early retirement software. Using EarlyRetire Pro mostly but also the free on-line calculators too.
Understood. I was referring to assumptions in their model. It's a good topic, too.

Have you seen this list?

The Best Retirement Calculators - Can I Retire Yet?
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:48 AM   #15
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Don't be surprised, though, that MOST FOFP's in NAPFA price on AUM, which tends to raise the ire of most of us. You'll need to shop pretty hard (at least I had to) to find one that will do a one-time hourly number crunch for you. Oh, I tried, but never got one to do my one-time crunch.
Not to sidetrack the thread, but this is something I was truly surprised at.
A few years ago, I had a similar thought and looked at all the reasonably local planners from NAPFA. Not a single one would work on an hourly basis -- they all had some sort of "percent of AUM" formula (although some were quite creative about how they worded it). One of them even made a point of insisting that it be my total net worth, not just the amount they managed.

So after a couple of weeks of this I too gave up and went back to my DIY methods (which have been just fine and probably will remain so).
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Old 02-24-2015, 11:13 AM   #16
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Go for it. After getting your numbers looked at here, I am confident you won't get any great insight that hasn't already been mentioned.

With your budget and assets, you will be told you are marginal. ....
And then, after paying someone for this 'insight', you will be even more marginal!

Seriously, if you have made good estimates and put them in a calculator like FIRECalc (using the historical analysis, not some assumptions on returns and inflation), and have double-checked things with people here on the forum, what is someone else going to be able to tell you?

-ERD50
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Old 02-24-2015, 11:40 AM   #17
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Insecurity is a great seller.

I have wondered at times do I have enough to ER ?
I used the basic 4% rule, and saw I can easily live off 4% of investments. Then I did some other online calculators and since all of them said I was fine. I took the plunge.

I never thought of using a CFP for an insight, probably because I knew one who was a nice guy, but a slime at getting his hands on peoples money, so he could "win" free trips.

Good Luck.
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Old 02-24-2015, 12:00 PM   #18
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I think it was Twain that said that an expert is someone that lives at least 50 miles away. Cast your net wide.
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Old 02-24-2015, 12:13 PM   #19
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I wouldn't expect you to be criticized for this; after all it is your money, your comfort, and your choice.


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Old 02-24-2015, 12:35 PM   #20
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Bulbar - I did the same thing early last year. I used a planner from the Garrett Planning network. They are truly "hourly only." Here is a link to their site:Find An Advisor

It gave me piece of mind to have someone confirm my numbers. Gave me some decent advice on portfolio allocation and choosing cheaper funds as well. The downside is that these professionals tend to be extremely conservative and thought I was craze that I could manage my expenses so that I could retire as early as I plan to. In the end, she confirmed my plan, but I think I will probably be in a position to retire early than she thinks!
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