I found Taylor Schulte through his Live Wealthy podcast which I can highly recommend! When we learned their team was accepting new clients, we quickly got in touch to see if they may be a good fit for us. We had just recently retired and we felt that our "traditional financial planner" was not meeting our needs. We met with Taylor and Tyler, and to say we were BLOWN AWAY is not strong enough! These guys have Retirement Planning dialed in!! They were very thorough, asked the right questions and came through with a complete financial plan that was easy to understand and covered many things we had yet to think about. They showed us how Roth conversions could make a huge difference in our lifetime tax bill. They uncovered the (often mysterious ) fees we were paying within our various accounts and helped us simplify the assets to make them more manageable. For MANY years we paid our advisor but did not feel we were receiving what we needed. We couldn't articulate what we were missing because you don't know what you don't know!! Taylor and Tyler turned the lights on for us and we are very grateful. I also must mention that their office manager, Karen, is WONDERFUL too! She is professional, kind, proactive, and wonderful at detail and follow-up - she plays a critical part! These are ALL-STARS, and if you are seeking a team for your financial planning needs - look no further!! read more

Working with Taylor, Jon and the Define Financial team has been amazing and we couldn't have asked for a better partner for our finances. We love the fact that they're a fee-only fiduciary and are always looking out for what's best for us. They truly go above and beyond to make sure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to minimizing investment costs/taxes, reducing stress + complexity and maximizing returns. Before we ever decided to work together, Taylor and Jon met with us on multiple occasions to educate us on their philosophy and make sure we were aligned on a long-term, low-cost, diversified investment approach. We found it incredibly helpful to understand the "why" before getting caught up in the specifics of any individual investment decisions. Taylor and Jon are tech-savvy, data-driven and very well researched when it comes to modern advances in portfolio theory. Their investment philosophy is grounded in timeless fundamentals and is a no-nonsense approach that avoids so many of the common pitfalls with investing. They provide each client with a custom portal to manage all of your finances and also regularly provide action items to work on. Over the past 6 months of working together, we've made huge strides on so many big projects from investments to insurance and so much more. They've also helped introduce us to a wonderful new accountant, a great estate planning attorney, and have made multiple connections within their network of highly qualified experts. Above all, they're just really good people who are a joy to work with. It's clear from every interaction that they care deeply about each and every one of their clients. We're looking forward to working with Taylor & Jon for many years to come and are grateful to have them as part of our team. read more

Everything was great. The workers were good very polite. Everything was explained extremely well. I would recommend this business to everyone. read more

My wife and I have been working with Taylor and Jon to get our first retirement account setup through our business. It is something I've wanted to do for a while but have put off because I always got a strange vibe from advisors. I work very hard for every dollar and want to watch it grow over time in a way that I can trust. When Taylor spoke about his philosophy and strategy it made perfect sense. We came in for a meeting where they laid out the ratio and potential funds we were going to invest in and we could see everything perfectly on their screen. Everything I was concerned with, they had an answer for. And now everything is setup to run automatically. The biggest takeaway - how comfortable they made us feel and how trustworthy they have been. read more

Taking the dive to work with Jon and Taylor has felt like one of the best investments I've ever made. The patient financial advice and relevant resources they provided were hugely educational and worth every penny. They helped me demystify investing, develop a realistic budget, properly insure all aspects of my life, and more. They really went above and beyond my expectations. I feel a lot more confident and secure heading into the future after working with Define. read more

So for my friends that have asked me if working with a Financial Advisor was worth the money, my response is this: You pay for good health insurance to avoid the financial repercussions of a medical emergency, so why wouldn't you pay for good financial advice to avoid the repercussions of a financial emergency? Do you even know how much money you should be saving in order to do that, or even just to retire on time? What if you want to retire early? Do you know if you can really afford to have a baby, or another baby? Or do you know how much insurance coverage you should have, or even what kinds of insurance is worth having? Do you know how to best allocate your cash or investments, or your 401k? Do you understand the different types of IRAs and what you have them invested in? Do you even know what an IRA is? Or are you too busy or overwhelmed to figure out the answers to all that stuff? I've thought for a while now that perhaps we could use some financial guidance, but never pulled the trigger because it was just too overwhelming to think about, let alone research and choose a Financial Advisor to help me. Even when you narrow it down to just Certified Financial Planners (which you definitely should), there are still a lot out there. So when San Diego Magazine did a piece on Taylor Schulte and Define Financial, I thought it was a good place to start. Turns out that was a great decision, and we should have gone to them sooner, because these guys are smart! They've been more helpful than we could've imagined and we are in a much better place, with a much better understanding of our finances, than before we started. And most importantly, they uphold the Fiduciary standard....that means they will always put their client's interests above their own. Since you're paying them a fee, not a commission, they are not in any way tempted to sell you things or give you advice that could make them more money (Ex: Convince you to buy some fund or annuity that might pay a commission to the broker who sells it). Our relationship started with a meeting to really get to know us and understand our situation, what we were hoping to get out of their services, what our goals were, and help us understand what services they could provide. I think this is a really important piece, because if your advisor doesn't really know you or what you want/need, how could they recommend what's best for you? Our conversations were very detailed and resulted in a full analysis of our financial situation, with a very in-depth report from them explaining our current status, strengths and opportunities in our financial life. You can choose a one-time detailed report that will help you get on the right track and give you a series of "action items" to take to meet your goals, or you can continue to engage with them on an ongoing basis. We decided to do both, so not only did they give us a laundry list of really helpful recommendations and changes to make, but going forward they will help manage our money and investments, help us determine what's the best way to save any extra money, and give us ongoing advice whenever we have a new question about finances. What's great about Define is that you don't need to have millions in the bank to get their attention or feel like a respected client. You'll have their full support, and ability to easily talk with them if/when you have questions or issues. Never underestimate the value of having a financial expert to talk to! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them and would say that if you're not 100% confident in your financial situation and future, they're definitely worth contacting. read more

Lets be honest, most finance blogs are downright boring. Define Financial's blog has made reading and learning about investment strategies fun! Being new to the world of finance, I am easily overwhelmed and confused by its complexities. D.F.'s blog simplifies things into layman's terms so idiots like me can understand it. They're kind of like that cool math teacher you had in middle school. We need more of them. read more

I'm so glad I listened to my Son & invested with Taylor Schulte at Define Financial. Previously I was with Smith Barney which was then bought out by Morgan Stanley. It was so discouraging to find so many fees on my account, I could have been doing much better had I found Define Financial sooner.Now I am so comfortable with how DF manages my investments it's night & day compared to Morgan & other money managers I've had in the past. Taylor & his employees are so attentive to my needs & prompt to respond to my correspondence. I highly recommend contacting Taylor or John to see if they may be a fit for you financial needs. read more

As a young professional, Define Financial has been a friendly ally to me in the world of investing. Their blog is informative and is filled with very relative advise, regardless of what stage of life you are in. Mr. Schulte has been a steady hand of guidance as I begin to plan for my financial future. For the first time in my life I can see a path to financial freedom. Thank you Define Financial!!! read more

Taylor and John were great! They gave easy to follow recommendations and explained everything in a very clear and understandable manner. They did not make me feel pressured at all, and their suggestions showed that they were looking out for my best interests. read more

Define Financial is definitely the financial service you would want to go to if your interested finding peace of mind regarding your financial future. First of all they are a fiduciary and fee only which every expert will tell you to use. This means any advise they give you will only be in your best interest, not theirs. We interviewed other larger giants in the industry and did not feel that they would do this. Taylor Schulte met with us and without any pressure explained to us how he operated and what he would do to either develop a financial plan, which he said was essential, and manage our portfolio if we choose him to. We did both. He collected every detail regarding our wishes and desires which included a spending budget and any anticipated decisions we might make in the future. After much evaluation and study on his part he advised us and explained every step exactly why he advised us what he did. He took a tremendous burden off our backs and now we don't have to worry about our future. He saved us money from hidden fees in various investments and charges a very fair fee himself. I recommend you do your homework and interview a few options but definitely make Define Financial one of them. read more

Ok, not knowing ANYTHING about financial planning, Taylor made it S I M P L E!! Define Financial is thorough and knowledgeable about what it takes to secure your financial future. Couldn't be happier!! If I have any questions- it's a phone call away for the answers. I have recommended Define financial to many friends and will continue to. I'd give them 10 stars if I could. The BEST part, NO PRESSURE! You tell them what your financial goals are and they give you options to best fit your needs. THANK YOU DEFINE FINANCIAL! read more