I met with Benjamin because I had a specific tax planning question and was exploring the idea of working with an advisor. He took the time to ask questions and understand my situation and my needs He basically said "you don't need me, but go talk to my accountant." No sales pitch, just straightforward advice. None of that gut feeling you get when someone is trying to sell you something that you don't understand or don't think you need but you go along with anyway because they're the "expert." Benjamin will be my first call whenever I do need a financial planner. read more

Seriously, it is time to fire your financial advisor if they are charging a percentage of your assets. You deserve a fiduciary who is focused on your needs, not their ongoing cut. I started working with Benjamin after a major life setback and felt completely lost. He grabbed my hand and helped me take the financial steps I needed to regain control of my future. He is kind, compassionate, and truly encouraging. He helped me make important adjustments to my finances that I should have made years ago. What I appreciate most is that he does not overcomplicate things to make you feel dependent on him. His goal is to educate his clients so they can take the reins themselves. read more

It's actually been a while since I worked with Benjamin, but these days every time I peek at my retirement accounts and do nothing but smile and throw money into them, I send him a mental thank you for my unwavering peace of mind. I didn't have much of a financial education from the well-meaning people who raised me, and he's the only financial advisor I've had, so it isn't an understatement to say he changed my life. Unfortunately for him, he did it so well that my finances are on autopilot. If anything changes, though, good or bad, I'm calling him first thing. read more

I spoke with Benjamin today. Full disclaimer: we mutually agreed that working together wouldn't be the right fit. So why the five stars? Because this conversation was completely different from every other interaction I've had with financial advisors. Instead of trying to convince me why I should choose him, Benjamin focused on doing proper discovery to determine whether he could actually help with our current situation. It was refreshingly direct and honest, not a sales pitch, just a straightforward yes-or-no evaluation. That level of transparency is rare and honestly a breath of fresh air. Even though we didn't move forward, the integrity and no-BS approach he showed made it clear why he'd be great to work with for the right client. read more

i really dislike finances. i've never been good about attending to my money because i don't like the financial world and never wanted to get involved. at a certain point years ago, it became impossible to ignore and not simply unwise for me to get a handle on my money, so i sought an advisor. when i came across the lula website, i found the tenor of the freebies (how not to die poor, how jews buy cars) an absolute revelation; i had not expected to find smart and funny people in the industry. i then had the very good fortune of meeting with amie. in addition to being a wonderful and interesting human being, she was kind and patient, navigating me through a whole host of decisions and solutions that i didn't want to even talk about in the first place. she helped me clean up the disparate threads of my finances, helped me understand my financial state, and set me up to feel significantly more at ease with things going forward. her advice has been lucrative and her assistance has been a real gift. i have recommended her to many of my friends and now i am recommending her to you. she is the best. read more

I worked with Benjamin for a few years on my financial planning and he was great. He helped me determine the best 401B option for my retirement and moved another stagnant retirement plan into a growing one. He is friendly, but also stern when you don't do your homework (which is always for your own good). I felt comfortable in his hands, and the flat monthly fee enables a level of trust that I have not had with other advisors. I always felt that he was working on my behalf and that he actually had a genuine interest in my future. Looking towards my retirement, I feel good and safe about my finances and that's the peace of mind that's priceless. Thank you Benjamin. read more

I highly recommend Benjamin at Lula financial. He saved me during a very stressful time when I was in a bind with my mortgage while in escrow on my first home. He's smart, thoughtful, works quickly, thinks outside the box, and does it all with a sense of humor! I've spoken with a few financial advisors throughout the homebuying process and none of them even came close to the help that Benjamin was able to provide. read more

My wife and I have had the pleasure of working with Benjamin for the past two years. My father passed away and left me with some money that, if managed correctly, could assure my family a comfortable, while relatively modest, life that also sets us up nicely for retirement. To say that about living in San Francisco is a win in my book. Benjamin helped us get our financial house in order which gave us the confidence that we are on a financially sustainable path. And we really appreciated Benjamin's somewhat dry sense of humor. read more

I worked with Amie earlier this year effectively to get a second opinion on how my financial savings had been going over the past 10 years, and get opinions on what I could / should adjust. I would consider myself... "well versed"?... on retirement planning, 401Ks, index funds, etc etc etc having read a bunch on the topic and trying out what I had read. Even with that background, I still got quite A LOT of value from my meeting with Amie! The attention she (and assuredly all of Lula Financial) put into my personal plan (and probably yours too! assuming you go that far) really helped simplify what I already had, informed me of options I didn't know, and altogether instilled in me more confidence with a far less unnecessarily complicated portfolio. I'll also very importantly add that Amie was very down to earth / relatable / conversational, which made the experience so much more enjoyable, too. (for reference, we talked about skiing at some point) If you, like me, are somebody who already *does* have something but wants a detailed second opinion without breaking the bank, absolutely recommend getting a session with Lula Financial. read more

Ben is the financial advisor you want, but he's also the one you need! He's been a great partner to me in my family's financial journey. Ben's advice is simple, meaningful, and easy to understand, and we've made some great decisions because of his counsel. We have 100% trust that he's on our side and has our best interest at heart. Also - as other people have noted - Ben is hilarious. Most people don't go into a financial advisory process expecting to actually *enjoy* it, but with Ben, it's a good shot that you will. Highly recommend you give him a call if you want to get your financial life in order. read more

Benjamin Packard has been an incredible financial advisor for us. He has a way of making us feel confident about the financial decisions we make, ensuring we always feel informed without ever talking down to us. There's a light, positive energy in our meetings, which is rare when it comes to discussing money. We actually look forward to our sessions! Benjamin has given us solid advice so far, and even sends helpful tips throughout the year. We're glad to have him on our side and definitely recommend his services. read more

We worked with Lula Financial for a couple of years and had a great experience. Benjamin's approach to educating and motivating clients worked really well for us and we're in a way better situation as a result. I appreciated that he really works to build a plan around the kind of life you want to live and the things that make you happy, not solely trying to maximize the highest possible financial return if that's not your primary goal. He supports his clients with a nice balance of emotional intelligence and clear information. In the end, this gave us the confidence to check off some big bucket list goals while also building our retirement savings and putting us in better control of our situation. Highly recommended! read more

I'm a mom with two older teens in the early years of college, living at home. They can't support themselves yet & I'm having to borrow from the bank to keep afloat. Amie Shapiro gave me a clear plan for saving money on everyday things like our phones and our food and gave me options on where to put some of the borrowed money in a high yield savings account or money market. This plan will help me stay alright for the next critical years while I hold on for retirement. I'm so grateful for Amie! read more

I split up with my partner of 20 years, who'd always managed our finances, and had to quickly teach myself how to handle my share of the money we'd saved up. I got myself situated and then reached out to Benjamin for a sanity-check. He was able to point out a few significant places where my money could grow and he was a huge support during a crazy life transition, even talking me through buying my first place to live. This isn't a shortcut - you're going to have to do the work here. But you couldn't ask for a better coach as you Konmari the shit out of those old bank accounts and 401(k)s and finally make a budget. Benjamin is encouraging and funny and completely understands that some parts of finance are more emotional than rational. I thought this process would be boring and tedious and I'm delighted to say it was neither. read more

A year after working with Lula and our advisor Amie we've made or saved thousands of dollars based on taking action on her recommendations. This is a no-brainer investment. I also appreciated her efficient approach and light touch in terms of upselling read more

Echoing what everyone else has said - thank you for steering us right! I've never even looked at budgeting before, let alone financial planning, and Benjamin made it as fun and non-threatening as possible. We did an initial phone consult so he could determine our goals and whether we would be a good fit, and once he did, we set the free consultation up. Benjamin sent a comprehensive list of things to prepare for this meeting, and just getting this stuff together was an empowering education for me. The meeting itself was incredibly edifying and low-key but professional and thorough. We decided not to move forward with the second meeting and retaining his services at this time, but are hoping to reach out to him next year when we feel our finances will be in a more stable place. I can't emphasize enough how empowering this entire experience as been. His motto is financial planning for people who hate it, and that's what he delivers - I no longer feel a vague fear and ignorance about my finances; instead I feel excited and optimistic. I would highly recommend contacting Benjamin if you are in a similar place. It's never too late or too early to get started on this journey, and Benjamin is a great advisor. read more

My husband and I were looking for a financial planner and Lula Financial gave us exactly what we were looking for. We shopped around and appreciated the way Amie explained financial concepts in a really easy way. They are also flat fee, non-custodial advisors, so they give you the tools to manage and invest your money on your own. The financial plan cost us $2,000 and then ongoing financial advising is $100 per month. Amie gave us a comprehensive financial plan based on our current finances and long term goals. She gave us clear steps to follow and implement the plan. We considered doing the ongoing advising, but decided not to when Amie told us that Fidelity (which we already used) does great long term retirement advising. I felt like I trusted the advice that we got with them really looking out for our best interests. Also, my husband and I haven't always been on the same page financially and Amie really helped bring us together to be on a unified financial front. This service was well worth it! I would highly recommend Amie and Lula Financial. read more

I've had it on my list of to-do's (for about 2 years) to talk to a financial advisor about my finances. I guess secretly, I didn't want to find out I was doing something wrong or was somehow behind in life. Anyways, I finally got around to contacting Benjamin after a recommendation from a friend and was quickly comforted by the fact that there was someone as patient, kind, and knowledgeable as Benjamin. I received a free 30 minute consultation and was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him about my finances. I didn't feel shy or embarrassed to ask him all my questions and talk candidly about myself. He has an amazing ability to simplify the most complicated concepts into layman's terms. He also sincerely wants to help you...you can tell by how excited he gets to talk about the nerdiest topics and he loves explaining them to you because he genuinely wants you to learn. The best part of the consultation was that he gave me very tangible "homework" to do to fix some mistakes/opportunities I had and clear instructions on how to do so. Benjamin is literally a financial therapist and life coach. After our 30 minute consultation, I was left hungry to learn more and I feel more confident to take action. Will definitely be scheduling a follow up session! read more

I didn't think a financial advisor could be useful for me. But I was wrong. Benjamin helped me unlock some tax-advantaged ways to save for retirement (beyond the typical IRA) that I didn't know about, and helped me size how much to invest. He explains concepts clearly and using simple analogies to help understand and retain them. He's also a reasonable guy and won't give you a hard time for things like investing a bit of money in bitcoin. I'd recommend him to anyone. read more

Benjamin was an excellent financial planner for my needs at this point in my life. I'm about to move in with my partner and wanted his advice on how to make this transition as financially productive as possible with regards to saving up for a home purchase and how to share expenses for the first time. Benjamin gave clear and concise advice that didn't belittle what I didn't know or judge my personal financial situation at all, and instead he was very supportive of my progress up until now and of my personal aspirations. In addition to being very competent and supportive, he asks stimulating questions that got me thinking about my future self and what would not only be best for me today, but in the next few years and beyond. Thank you Benjamin! read more

Benjamin is DIFFERENT in the BEST WAY possible. Calling him a financial advisor is almost a disservice, because he is the opposite of all the bad stereotypes of financial advisors. From the first meeting Benjamin put us at ease about our finances. He is real and practical. He breaks things down. He realizes that money is not just about numbers, it's about people and helping us be happy and reaching our goals. There are a lot of financial advisors out there that try to make things sound complicated and cause anxiety. Benjamin is refreshingly transparent about his interests and how he gets paid. He's a fee-only advisor, which means he's not like other advisors that are trying to sell you something they benefit from. I should know because my family was burned by one of those. Benjamin is *humble*. He is clearly super knowledgeable, but when he doesn't know something he will tell you. And he'll look it up. No bull from him. He's organized and diligent, which you're really looking for when you feel like you're losing control of your finances. Just in our first call he had some killer tips for problems that had been hounding us. Benjamin is the real deal. See for yourself, get in touch and get a consultation with him. Nothing to loose and so much to gain! read more

I have some major life changes going on simultaneously, a new full time job, adoption, saving to buy a house. Benjamin has been nothing short of amazing!! I now have immediate and long term financial plans and see my way through the madness. He presented me with several alternative paths. Was patient an knowledgeable. Make an appointment!! read more

I recently started a new job and wanted to get a professional's opinion on how to optimize my 401K investments. After reaching out to Benjamin, he came to my house for a 30 min 1:1 meeting where we talked through why investing in 401K is important, and how to maximize and optimize my investments given my personal financial situation. He was able to explain things in a way that were not only comprehensive, but also easy to understand. After our meeting, I left feeling much better about my financial health, and with a plan of next steps on what I needed to do to move forward. I will definitely reach out to Benjamin again with other financial-health related questions that no doubt will come up in the future. read more

I cannot say enough good things about Benjamin and Lula financial. My husband and I came to Benjamin in a bit of a financial crisis. We didn't have a lot of wealth to manage (actually, we were basically broke), so rather than walking us through his normal program, Benjamin pivoted to meet us where we were. He was brutally honest about the fact that our current financial situation was unsustainable (even though we were somewhat in denial), but he was also kind and encouraging, and adamant that we were capable of making the changes we needed to make. He basically planted a seed that grew into a complete paradigm shift for my husband and I, and we are deeply grateful. Benjamin is great at what he does, and we will definitely continue to seek out his guidance in the future. read more

Benjamin is the best! I met with him last week to discuss my retirement accounts. He started by reviewing investment strategies in a very clear and concise way. I felt completely at ease. He asked detailed questions, made clear suggestions and at the end concluded that I may not actually need his ongoing help. If I don't feel comfortable managing things on my own his ongoing rates are very reasonable and I may still opt to do that. I very highly recommend Lula Financial and have already referred him to other members of my family! read more

This is the first time I have used a Financial Advisor, and I must say, it was a much more pleasant experience than I anticipated! Money has always been a source of anxiety for me individually, and now that I am married, for my husband and I. Benjamin was quick to respond to my inquiry and was able to set up a consultation within a few days time (working around my schedule). Since Benjamin is located in Northern California, and me in Southern California, I requested a phone meeting. I found myself drawn into not only the great and realistic advice Benjamin gave me, but also enjoyed the way he helped me to understand things I never quite grasped, such as: IRA's, 401k's, 403b's, and even how a mortgage would work (we don't yet own our own house, but plan to soon). Benjamin used analogies to not only explain these things for me, but also to make our time entertaining and enjoyable. I found this the most surprising aspect of all, since I have a pavlovian response of anxiety when someone brings up the topic of my personal finances. Benjamin put me at ease and worked with me to begin specific, insightful planning that is not only realistic, but measurable and attainable. He not only alleviated some of my concerns with his expertise and insight, but also with his humor and magnetic personality. I have no doubt that Benjamin would work well with many different types of personalities in order to provide the best advice and planning possible and will bring an unparalleled sense of positivity and humor to the situation. read more

Benjamin is a hero! He has been tremendously helpful to me, especially during some critical times. He has a knack for making daunting and stressful situations more palatable and plan-oriented. Also, he is hilarious. He keeps it real and witty, while simultaneously providing serious and sound advice. Thank you to Benjamin and thank you to my friend who recommended him in the first place. read more

Benjamin is an incredible financial adviser! He genuinely cares for his client's well being and is an overall good person. He has helped my wife and I navigate subjects like student debt, investing, and tailored a unique financial strategy that fits the context of our lives as individuals and as a married couple. Benjamin is warm, witty, funny, and incredibly welcoming. We feel very lucky to have his services. read more

Benjamin proves that not all financial advisors are blood sucking leeches. He gives straight advice that you can actually work with. I've known him for ten years since business school and he's a solid guy who is admired and trusted by many. He'll show you sound fundamentals and help you be disciplined to stick to a good plan. His fee structure protects you from the kind of duplicitous nonsense that's woven into many financial planners' products. If you're thinking about being serious with your money, do that first appointment with Benjamin. read more

Benjamin was clear, concise, and understanding during our consultation. His no nonsense advice was easy to understand and actionable. Highly recommended! read more

If you are looking for someone that actually cares about you, Benjamin is your person. I reached out to Benjamin because I wanted some help with my finances. He helped set up some time to chat (for free) where we talked about my goals and how he could help. During this, he was fully honest and transparent that for my situation, another advisor might be better suited for what I was looking for and even referred me. In the end, he was right. The other advisor was better suited for me and I would have never known unless Benjamin told me. He had no incentive to provide me with this information (I was going to buy his package otherwise), but he did because it was the best option for me and he's a great person with your best interest in mind. I'd highly recommend having a conversation with Benjamin to see if he can help! read more

After many years of thinking about the importance of financial planning, I bit the bullet and selected Lula Financial as a partner in the process. Amie was just what I wanted in a financial planner - responsive, understanding and able to communicate in an effective manner. She tutored me on the ins and outs of budgeting, investing, and planning for retirement. After several joint sessions, Amie developed a financial plan that will not only help me achieve my retirement goals but also give me the ability to make smart investments in property and to continue to travel (my passion). Amie was also patient with my many questions and to top it off has a great sense of humor - which is must for processes like this which can create a bit of anxiety. I highly recommend Amie as a go-to financial advisor for anyone wanting to develop their personalized financial plan. read more

Benjamin is a down-to-earth, no-nonsense, financial advisor. He gives clear directions to take all the burden off of you. He is kind, patient, explains things well, and responds extremely quickly to all requests/questions. He is our go-to person and we wouldn't go anywhere else! read more

So empowering and a breath of fresh air in the financial planning space. I just couldn't stomach sitting across a big desk from somebody who doesn't understand me, helping me do something as personal as financial planning. Benjamin and the Lula team are smart, easy to work with, on point and so straightforward. I feel so much better having a plan and regular check-ins to keep me on track. I still have some work to do and nothing is ever perfect but Benjamin really helped me get on the right track and gave me good tools. read more

I didn't know how to start thinking about the way I structure my finances, and I wanted to talk to someone I could trust to just give me information without a vested interest in selling me something. Speaking to Benjamin saved me an enormous amount of time. He spelled things out for me when I needed them spelled out, and gave me an overview of decisions I could make and perspectives I could take about how to manage my money. We talked about my financial goals, and the risks and opportunities I could face in my field. Benjamin's is clearly very knowledgeable and thoughtful about financial planning, he listened to my needs, and spoke to me at my level. He was personable, funny, and a good listener. I could feel myself becoming more confident in my decisions as I spoke with Benjamin. I AM SO GLAD I DID. read more

I spoke with Benjamin on the phone. He was very informative and patient. Had really good information. I have not decided yet if I will hire him, but I definitely recommend him! read more

Benjamin Packard is an excellent financial advisor! Since I am a novice investor, I thought it would be helpful to meet with an expert before investing in the market. After doing some research on Yelp, I noticed Benjamin's glowing reviews and decided to contact him for a meeting. Benjamin provides two free meetings: an initial phone consultation followed by an in-person appointment. I was pleasantly surprised by Benjamin's non-judgmental attitude toward my personal finances and by his willingness to recommend specific investment books for my financial education. Benjamin will even tell you which banks are good to do business with. Although I declined a follow-up financial plan, his financial advice is priceless. I will recommend him to others. Thank you Benjamin! read more

What a great guy! A few minutes into our exploratory call on business finance advice, Benjamin let me know that he couldn't help me as a financial advisor. But! He then proceeded to give me 10 free minutes of personal advise on starting a small business. He was personable, sweet, and encouraging. I'll definitely use Lula financial in the future for personal finance management. read more

My wife and I were looking for a financial advisor who made investing and savings decisions less intimidating and Benjamin did just that. He tailors his advice to your personal goals and arms you with carefully portioned "homework" that is easily achievable before your next check in and enables you to make steady progress. He is also funny and genuinely enjoyable to get to know, couldn't recommend highly enough! read more

Benjamin is a wealth of knowledge on the history and concepts surrounding financial planning. From just one session with him, I learned a ton of useful info that my 65 year-old self will be infinitely grateful for. He's a natural storyteller which makes digesting complex financial concepts a lot easier and enjoyable than I've ever experienced. I highly recommend you give him a call. read more