Hourly Financial Planning for DIY Investors

An advice-only financial planner provides guidance and recommendations without managing your money or selling any products. You retain full control of your investments and accounts — the planner simply helps you make better decisions. It's financial planning in its purest form: just advice, nothing else.

A fiduciary is legally and ethically required to act in your best interest at all times — not their own. Not all financial advisors are fiduciaries; some are only required to recommend products that are "suitable," which is a much lower standard. Working with a fiduciary means the advice you receive is not influenced by what pays the advisor more.

Croft Financial Planning charges $350 per hour. Before any work begins you will receive a firm quote for the proposed work. You only pay for the time you use — there are no ongoing fees, no retainers, and no minimum account balances required. This makes professional financial advice accessible even if you don't have a large portfolio.

Yes — that's one of the key advantages of the hourly advice-only model. You can hire a planner for a single session to review a 401(k) allocation, evaluate a pension decision, or create a retirement income strategy. There's no obligation to continue, no contract, and no long-term commitment required.

An advice-only planner can help with retirement planning, tax strategy, investment portfolio review, insurance analysis, college savings, estate planning, and major financial decisions like buying a home or preparing for and managing a liquidity event. They provide the same breadth of guidance as a traditional advisor — without taking over management of your money.

A robo-advisor automates investment management using algorithms, but it can't answer nuanced questions about your specific situation, taxes, or life goals. An advice-only planner is a real person who listens, asks questions, and gives you personalized guidance. They're complementary — many clients use a robo-advisor to manage their portfolio and an advice-only planner for strategic decisions.

Yes — most advice-only planners work virtually with clients anywhere, conducting meetings by video call. This means you can access a highly qualified, conflict-free planner regardless of where you live, rather than being limited to whoever is nearby. Virtual planning also tends to keep costs lower.

Traditional wealth managers typically charge 1% of assets under management annually — on a $1,000,000 portfolio, that's $10,000 per year, every year, regardless of how much help you actually need. An advice-only planner charges only for the time and guidance you actually use, which is often far less expensive and better suited to confident, engaged investors who want to stay in control of their own money.

Once your plan is finished, you own it completely — there's no obligation to continue working together. Most clients implement the recommendations themselves using their existing brokerage accounts, 401(k) plans, or low-cost platforms like Fidelity, or Vanguard. You're left with a clear roadmap and the knowledge to execute it confidently on your own.

You do — and that's intentional. An advice-only planner helps you build an investment strategy, select appropriate funds, and understand your asset allocation, but you remain in the driver's seat. Most clients find this straightforward once they have a clear plan, especially when investing in simple, low-cost index funds. If you ever feel uncertain, you can always come back for another session.

You can return as often or as infrequently as you like — there's no contract required and no penalty for taking a break. Many clients check in once a year for an annual review, or reach out when a major life event happens like a job change, inheritance, divorce, or approaching retirement. You get the continuity of a trusted advisor relationship without paying a recurring fee during the years when nothing much changes.

The recommendations are always tailored to your specific situation, goals, and timeline — but the guidance is generally grounded in low-cost, diversified index funds from providers like Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab. There's no incentive to recommend any particular product because there are no commissions or referral fees involved. The goal is always the simplest, most cost-effective strategy that fits your life, not the most complex or profitable one for the advisor.

Yes — private investments can be discussed as part of your overall financial picture. While an advice-only planner won't source deals or manage private holdings for you, they can help you assess whether private investments make sense given your goals, liquidity needs, tax situation, and overall portfolio. This is especially valuable for private investments, where the complexity is high and the stakes are significant, but traditional advisors often won't engage because there's no commission involved.

The ideal client is a confident, engaged DIY investor who wants expert guidance without handing over control of their money. This tends to attract engineers, scientists, physicians, business owners, and busy professionals — people who are analytical by nature, comfortable making their own decisions, and skeptical of advisors who profit from sales or managing their assets. What they have in common is that they're capable of executing a financial plan themselves; they just want a trusted, conflict-free expert in their corner to make sure they're thinking about everything correctly and not making costly mistakes.