Password managers are the Fairy Godmother you never knew you needed. We REQUIRE our clients to use a password manager as there are going to be a lot of logins throughout the financial planning process. Some options include Dashlane, 1Password, or another similar tool. A Google Sheet or notebook won’t cut it!
Step 1: Billing via AdvicePay
Set up monthly billing via AdvicePay. You should have an invitation in your inbox. You'll add a credit card or connect your bank account where you'll authorize AdvicePay to charge our planning fee monthly.
Step 2: Right Capital
Link your bank, investment, loan, and credit card accounts to Right Capital. This is the dynamic financial planning software we use to build your financial plan. A one-way data feed will populate the plan with fresh data every day once you enter your credentials. Neat. 💻
Watch this video to learn how to use Right Capital.
Link all your accounts on the Net Worth tab and label them as “Name - Type of Account - Institution.” i.e. Bruce - Roth IRA - Vanguard
Please note: not every bank or institution will allow this type of connection so some accounts will need to be added manually. We will review together in our Get Organized meeting.
Foreign banks and custodians generally will NOT allow a direct link so those accounts will have to be added manually in US dollars.
529 College savings (the New York plan is a little tricky to find, type in “NY 529”)
Categorize your transactions for the past three months and “Unhide” your transactions by navigating to the ⚙ gear icon in the top right > Security > Permissions and uncheck the “Hide my bank and credit card transactions from my advisor” button. This may feel tedious but it’s essential that we get an accurate picture of your spending to do our financial independence projections. If you prefer to share your own budgeting spreadsheet or prefer that Brooklyn FI does not view your transactions, that’s fine.
A quick note: Right Capital utilizes a one-way data feed from a secure aggregator called Yodlee. Once you link the accounts with your user name and password, we’ll be able to see updated balances and transactions. The links WILL break as banks update their security (sometimes weekly) so we may ask you to refresh before a meeting. There may be two-factor set up for additional security so watch out for that as you link.
Step 3: Get Organized Form
Upload your important financial documents to the Get Organized form below. The form is dynamic! If there are two of you, have a quick chat about how you want to complete it. You can sit down and complete it together or you can each complete it on your own as an individual. You can save your progress anytime and a link will be emailed to you to pick back up again.
OTHER BONUS STEP: BOOKMARK US (and all the other stuff you’ll need)
We love a good bookmark - you know those handy icons at the top of your browser window to all your favorite websites. Instead of saving every login and website, we’ve created a pre-populated bookmarks folder FOR YOU. All you have to do is download the special file below and add it to Chrome. Don’t use Chrome? We highly recommend it! Safari users click here. Firefox users click here.
We’ll almost always book our next meeting together so you’ll always know the next time you’re going to see us. You'll book all your meetings via an online scheduling tool called Calendly. Please note that Calendly will automatically add our meetings to your calendar as well as send reminders a few days before. Make sure you have the correct settings turned on to create calendar events from emails. Your assigned planner will share their Calendly link with you so you can book time as needed.
I have an urgent issue, can we skip the goal setting and get right into the investment or tax plan?
You're probably here because something is weighing on you. Maybe it's a general feeling about wanting to get your complex financial life in order, or maybe it's a looming sale of your company and you're looking for a trusted advisor to help you through the process. Whatever is on your mind is probably taking up a lot of space and is something you're looking to get handled straight away. If something is TRULY urgent or has a deadline, rest assured we will handle it with you but we believe that really good financial planning takes time and careful exploration.
How do I reschedule a meeting?
Please keep in mind that hours of preparation go into each of our meetings so rescheduling at the last minute throws off our whole day. If an emergency does come up, you can find a unique link to reschedule within the invitation on your calendar OR in the email reminder you received from Calendly.
Who is my main point of contact?
Every client has a main financial planner - this person will shepherd you through the financial planning process and will provide recommendations to help you reach financial independence. We also have an awesome dedicated client service team that you can reach anytime at clients@brooklynfi.com.
In addition to your planner, our tax team will be working behind the scenes to prepare and file your tax return. At Brooklyn FI we have lots of specialists (in tax, business planning, equity compensation, investments, etc.) that may reach out to you - anyone with a Brooklyn FI email address is here to help!
We’ll have 2-3 meetings to “develop” the initial financial plan. Usually, those meetings take about two months to complete. After that, we have two regularly scheduled meetings on the books each year. If something urgent comes up between those meetings, reach out and we’ll get an ad-hoc meeting scheduled quickly.
How often should I log into Right Capital?
Our most successful clients log in about twice a month. What we mean by successful: the clients that notice a positive change in their spending and savings habits. We need your help to keep Right Capital accurate so do pop in monthly to refresh any bank connections that have dropped. Please make sure you download the Right Capital app where you can categorize your expenses easily. All of our recommendations will live as “Tasks” in Right Capital so you’ll know when you need to take action.
