Honestly? I watched my dad lose most of his retirement savings in 2008 because nobody had warned him about sequence-of-returns risk. He was 61, planning to retire in two years, and suddenly had to work another seven. That hit me hard. I'd been in accounting for a decade, and I thought — I can actually help people avoid that. Not with fancy products, but just by being the person who explains things plainly and actually cares what happens to them.

My favorite client is someone like Marcus — a guy in his early 50s, corporate career, does well financially but genuinely has no idea if he's on track. He asks real questions, doesn't pretend to know everything, and actually implements what I tell him. He trusts me, but he also holds me accountable. When we talk, it feels like a real conversation, not a sales pitch from either side. I like people who are ready to actually do something.

I explain sequence-of-returns risk like this: imagine two retirees with the same average return over 20 years. One had great returns early, bad ones late. The other had bad returns early, great ones late. The first person runs out of money. The second doesn't. Same average return, completely different outcome — because in retirement, the ORDER of returns matters as much as the returns themselves. That's why we build a buffer of cash and bonds for the first few years. It's not about being conservative. It's about timing.

A client — I'll call her Linda — came to me after her husband passed. She'd let him handle everything and had no idea what they actually had. She was terrified. We spent the first two meetings just taking inventory. No selling, no plans. Just: here's what you have. When I finally showed her she had enough to be fine, she cried. That's the work. Not the fancy strategies — just being the person who helps someone see clearly when everything feels like fog.

The stock photo thing kills me. Smiling family on a beach. Empty chair in front of a sunset. It's all the same imagery, the same platitudes — "we help you plan for what matters most." What does that even mean? And everyone says they're a fiduciary now, like that's a personality. Nobody talks about what they actually do differently, or who they actually serve, or what they honestly believe about money. It feels like the industry has a template and everyone just fills it in. I refuse to do that.