Financial planning
A single written plan that ties together cash flow, debt, savings targets and timelines — with a short list of what to do first.
Independent & fee-only
Clear financial decisions,
made with confidence.
Personal and small-business financial consulting for people who want a plan they actually understand — not a product pitch. We map where you stand, what you want, and the shortest honest route between the two.
No commissions. No products sold. No obligation after the first call.
15+
Years advising
400+
Households guided
100%
Fee-only, no commissions
48h
Typical response time
What we do
Advice built around your situation, not a product shelf.
Engagements are scoped up front with a flat fee, so you know the cost before any work begins.
Investment review
An independent look at what you already hold: real costs, overlap, tax drag and whether the risk you carry matches the risk you meant to take.
Retirement & income
Modelling the transition from earning to drawing down: withdrawal order, timing decisions, and what changes if the plan meets a bad year early.
Small business finance
For owners: separating personal and business money, pricing that actually covers overhead, and planning for the tax bill before it arrives.
How it works
Three steps. No long onboarding.
Most clients go from first call to a finished plan inside three weeks.
01 / DISCOVER
The free call
Thirty minutes to hear what's going on and what you want to change. If there's no good reason to work together, that's what you'll be told.
02 / ANALYSE
The deep review
We collect the documents, build the picture, and stress-test it. You get a written plan with a ranked action list — not a 60-page binder nobody reads.
03 / EXECUTE
Ongoing or one-and-done
Take the plan and run with it, or keep a quarterly check-in to stay on track as things change. Entirely your call.
Steven Young
Principal & Lead Consultant
CFP® · Fee-only fiduciary
Who you'd be working with
Straight advice from someone with nothing to sell you.
I'm Steven Young, and I've spent more than fifteen years helping households and small business owners make decisions about money — most of that time convincing people that the right answer is usually simpler than the industry makes it look.
I started this practice in 2014 after a decade inside larger firms, where the advice you got depended too often on what the adviser was paid to recommend. Here there's no commission attached to anything I suggest. That single fact changes what advice looks like.
“A plan you understand and follow beats a clever one you abandon in March.”
- Certified Financial Planner™
- Fiduciary at all times
- Flat-fee engagements
- Independent & privately owned
Client words
What people say afterwards.
We came in expecting a sales pitch and left with a two-page action list. Six months on we've cleared the high-interest debt and we're finally saving.
R. AlvarezHousehold client
The fee audit alone paid for the engagement several times over. I had no idea what my old portfolio was actually costing me each year.
J. WhitfieldInvestment review
Finally someone who explained business cash flow in a way I could act on. Our pricing changed the week after and the runway problem went away.
M. SørensenStudio owner, 9 staff
Before you book
Questions worth asking.
How do you get paid?
A flat fee, agreed before any work starts, paid by you. No commissions, no revenue share with fund companies, no referral kickbacks. If a recommendation costs you money, it's because it's the right recommendation.
Do I need a certain amount of money to work with you?
No. Engagements are priced on the complexity of the work, not the size of your portfolio — which means people early in the process are welcome rather than turned away.
What should I bring to the first call?
Nothing. The first conversation is about your situation and what you want to change. Documents only come into it if we decide to move forward together.
Will you manage my investments for me?
This is an advice-only practice. You keep control of your accounts; you get an independent second opinion on what's in them and what to do next.
How long does an engagement take?
A standard plan takes about three weeks from the first call to the finished document, depending on how quickly paperwork comes back.
Start here
Book the free 30-minute call.
Bring one question or bring all of them. You'll leave the call knowing what to do next, whether or not you hire anyone.
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Email[email protected]
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Phone(312) 448-7190
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HoursMon – Fri, 9:00 – 5:00 CT