As a kid, I spent most of my time in the dirt, building cities for my Matchbox cars. This probably explains why my first career was as a civil engineer.   It was during this time that the seed to create a “different” type of financial planning firm was planted. During an annual visit from our 401(k) advisor, I experienced what many others have when hiring a financial advisor; hidden fees, obnoxious sales tactics, over-promising, under-delivering, and the pursuit of an agenda that served no relevance to my own goals.  I received a recommendation to switch from one mutual fund to another. Given my engineering training, I didn’t take the recommendation at face value and decided to research the funds.  I determined the two funds were practically identical except for the fees.  On my existing holding, I’d pay a fee to get out of it and on the new fund, I’d pay a fee to get into it.  Both of the fees went into the advisor’s pocket.  Unfortunately, I never received a good rationale as to why the trades were necessary.  This experience set a ball in motion that ultimately led to the creation of OLIO Financial Planning.

After months of self-reflection and being led by my curiosity and enthusiasm, only one thing captivated my attention and it wasn’t drawing lines all day. I was hooked on learning and understanding the good, bad, and ugly of the financial services industry.  I took a new job at JSW Financial and enrolled in Virginia Tech’s CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ program.  Upon graduation, I moved to Washington, DC, and worked as a financial planner for six years at a firm that served high-net-worth clients.  Still not satisfied with how clients paid for financial planning advice, I started OLIO Financial Planning in 2015.

Since then, I’ve strived to build a company that only charges fees that are easy to understand. The kind that creates wealth rather than drag. I focus on having conversations that inspire, and most importantly, work with my clients on anything related to personal finance, not just investments.

While I no longer work in engineering, I spend most of my free time remodeling my house by watching YouTube videos and building furniture.  I also enjoy surfing whenever I can make it to the Outer Banks.  Truth to be told, I’ve dedicated much of the last ten years of my life to financial planning.  K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Ray Charles, and Sam & Dave have been constant companions along the way as well as my dogs.