An Extremely Detailed Description of What Financial Planning Actually Looks Like (for Couples)

What it actually looks like to go through the full planning process as a couple—from your first spreadsheet to your custom blueprint for a more aligned financial life.

If you’re a couple who’s never worked with a financial planner—or are hoping this experience feels different—this post walks through exactly what to expect from the three core meetings in my planning process. It’s not just about numbers; it’s about clarity, connection, and building a shared map forward.

If you’re here, maybe you’ve already booked an intro call—or maybe you’re still hovering over the button, wondering what this is really going to be like.

Maybe you’ve never worked with a financial planner before. Or maybe you have, but you’re hoping this will feel different.

This post is for couples curious about what it actually looks like to go through the financial planning process with me. It’s detailed because you deserve transparency. And it’s focused on couples because planning together can be both deeply clarifying and occasionally overwhelming. I want you to know what to expect.

Here’s how it typically works: once you decide to move forward, we’ll schedule three core meetings—Get Organized, Explore Possibilities, and Plan Delivery—spaced out over about 4–6 weeks.

Let’s walk through each one.

Meeting One: Get Organized 🗂️

This is where planning really begins. Not when I upload projections or deliver a thick PDF—but here, when we start putting everything on the table together.

Before this meeting, I’ll ask you to complete a few prep items: upload key statements, complete a short values exercise, and (if possible) fill in a shared expense tracker or spreadsheet. That said—if things are a mess, that’s okay. You don’t need to have it all figured out. This is the meeting where we start creating clarity.

In Get Organized, we:

1. Log into accounts together if needed, identify all the moving parts—banking, debt, savings, credit cards, retirement accounts, student loans, equity comp, etc.

2. Start sorting through your current cash flow system: how money comes in, how it moves around, and what it’s supporting

3. Look for any leaks or bottlenecks—places where stress builds or money just disappears

4. Surface the emotional dynamics too: who’s more involved day-to-day? What feels unfair or unclear? What do each of you worry about—or avoid?

This session is less about giving answers and more about beginning to see the full picture—together. It’s where we stop defaulting to vague stress and start naming what’s actually going on.

Clients often walk out of Get Organized saying, “I already feel better.” That’s not because we’ve solved everything—but because we’ve started telling the truth about it.

Meeting Two: Exploring Possibilities 🗺️

With the messy stuff mapped out, this second meeting is where we shift from what is to what if.

Between Get Organized and this meeting, I’ll build draft scenarios for your retirement (or as I like to call it, your "work-optional" future), run simulations in RightCapital, and note any tension points: excess cash, underutilized accounts, debt questions, inconsistent income, major transitions ahead.

When we meet, we’ll walk through a few things:

1. Preliminary retirement modeling based on your real-life numbers and lifestyle

2. What’s working well in your current setup—and what might benefit from a reset

3. Potential tax strategies, investment tweaks, or account changes

4. Goals you’ve named—like buying a house, starting a business, supporting family, or taking a sabbatical—and what it would take to make those feel viable

5. Values-based tradeoffs: Should we give more? Work less? Save more? Travel more? Support our communities?

We also talk about the emotional reality of what you’re seeing. It’s normal to feel vulnerable or uncertain here. This meeting is about letting your financial story breathe a little—seeing it in motion.

Sometimes, one partner is really excited to dive in and the other is feeling nervous, skeptical, or overwhelmed. That’s okay. I meet you both where you are. This isn’t about perfection or performance—it’s about building a shared understanding and creating space for both of your voices.

Meeting Three: Plan Delivery 📊

This is the meeting that most people imagine when they hear "financial planning"—but by the time we get here, it’s informed by everything we’ve already uncovered together.

In Plan Delivery, we walk through the formal written plan that includes:

1. Cash flow recommendations and a structure for guilt-free, purposeful spending

2. A personalized retirement outlook, including potential adjustments if you want to work less, earn less, or retire early

3. Investment strategy recommendations—no jargon, no judgment, just clear guidance rooted in your goals

4. Insurance, estate planning, student loans, equity comp, and other key planning topics, as needed

5. A summary of action items and a shared timeline for tackling them

But let’s be clear: this is a blueprint, not a build. We are not opening accounts together in this stage, or initiating trades, or transferring money (though I’ll explain how to do those things clearly and thoughtfully). Some clients do begin implementing during this window—but it’s not the expectation, and it's not the core purpose. The planning process is about building the roadmap, not walking every mile of it in real time.

You’ll leave with a written plan, yes. But more importantly, you’ll leave with a way forward. A sense of: Okay. We can do this.

You’ll also get access to my recommendations in RightCapital, plus a set of video walkthroughs you can revisit at your own pace.

We’ll schedule a follow-up about a month later (and you can always reach out sooner). From there, some couples continue with ongoing support—either through a monthly subscription or occasional check-ins. Others go off and implement on their own.

A Note About Ongoing Support

I offer a monthly subscription for clients who want help putting their plan into action and adapting it over time. This includes regular check-ins, hands-on implementation, and continued support as life shifts and priorities evolve.

You don’t have to commit to that ongoing service when you start the planning process. If you’re on the fence—because you want to see what working with me is like first, or because you’ve never worked with a financial planner before—that’s totally okay. Many clients come in just wanting the plan, and then decide whether ongoing help makes sense later.

But I’ll say this clearly: if you already know there’s no way in hell you’ll do ongoing support, then you probably shouldn’t hire me for the planning process either.

That’s not because I require a subscription. I don’t. But it’s because this process is meant to create a blueprint, not magically solve everything in three meetings. Unless you have extraordinary discipline, time, and expertise, implementing a financial plan on your own can be overwhelming—and without follow-through, even the best plan won’t change your life.

So if you're absolutely certain you’ll never want help after the plan, I’d suggest holding off. I want you to get the most out of this work—and I think that means being open to support that continues beyond the plan itself.

What Makes This Process Different

There are plenty of financial planners out there. So what’s different about this?

1. We start with your real life—not just your net worth.

You don’t need a certain amount of assets to work with me. I don’t sell products. I charge flat fees, and I work with people who care more about clarity and alignment than “beating the market.”

2. We talk about money like real people.

You don’t need to know the lingo. I’ll explain things clearly and without condescension. We’ll talk about your stress and your spreadsheets. Your guilt and your goals. All of it belongs.

3. We make room for your values.

This isn’t about optimizing your life into a machine. It’s about figuring out what really matters to you—and helping your money support that.

4. We build connection, not isolation.

Money shouldn’t cut you off from your community or your partner. It should help you show up more fully—for your kids (if you have them), your work, your people, and yourself.

A Final Word

This process isn’t magic. It won’t solve everything in three meetings. But it will give you a solid foundation—a shared map, a common language, and a rhythm to build on.

If you're a couple who’s been trying to make sense of money together—maybe for months, maybe for years—this process is designed to support both of you. It’s structured but flexible. Clear but human.

And if that sounds like the kind of help you’ve been looking for, I’d love to talk.