Professional Background

With the plans to become a financial planner, I attended Eastern Illinois University to study finance and participate in their financial planning program. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in 2010. By 2014, I had completed all of the requirements to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional.

My career began as a financial planner with a national life insurance firm, but I realized very quickly it would not be a good long-term fit.

In 2011 I was hired by a local community bank in Edwardsville. In 2018 I was recognized by Forbes as one of the top 1,000 financial planners of the next generation. Shortly after that, our bank sold to another bank, and I decided it was time to move on and start a mission I had always envisioned by launching my own firm. My goal was to work with a smaller group of clients more closely, and reduce fees to a more equitable model.

Personal Background

My wife, Rebecca, and I are both from Collinsville, Illinois. We reside in O’Fallon, Illinois now with our two children, Sawyer and Cecilia, as well as our Jack Russell Terrier, Oliver.

Why I chose this career

As soon as I learned about it, I was fascinated with the power of compounding interest and how saving just a little money systematically could grow to a very large amount over many years. It was a thrill to me to see how much I could build up by not spending the money I earned mowing grass or working at the farm.

My father helped guide me to books to learn more about saving and investing. Economics and finance have always been my primary areas of interest. In the 5th grade I decided to do my science project where I compared a short-term trading strategy versus a buy and hold performance comparison.

As life went on I realized most people do not share my interest in finance, and that there are many other areas of personal finance that people need help with besides investing.