Nicholas Gookin

How much can we safely spend? When should we take Social Security? How do we minimize taxes on everything we've saved? If questions like these keep you up at night, you're not alone. You've spent decades building wealth—now you need a plan to turn it into income that lasts. I specialize in tax-smart retirement income planning for families in-or-near retirement: Roth conversions, Social Security timing, pension decisions, and investing built for distribution—because retirement requires a different playbook than accumulation. How would we work together? It starts with a free Retirement Clarity Call where we dig into your situation and confirm we're a good fit. From there, we'll schedule a Blueprint Meeting where I'll walk you through your key challenges, opportunities, and a recommended strategy tailored to your retirement goals. You'll walk away with real clarity on how to lower your taxes, optimize your income, and retire with confidence—whether we end up working together or not. Tell me about your flat-fee membership model? Most advisors charge 1% of your assets—on a $2M portfolio, that's $20,000/year. I charge a flat $400/month for comprehensive planning, plus an optional 0.49% if you'd like us to manage investments. We start with planning first, and there is no requirement to move your assets to begin working together. No pressure. No hard sell. We're looking for long-term relationships, not transactions. If we're not the right fit, I'll gladly point you toward someone who is.

I was a college professor for many years and now I teach fellow professors how to manage their finances with confidence. I teach early-career professors how to create an effective financial plan and teach seasoned professors how to adjust their plans as retirement approaches. As a professor, I prepare for the first day of class. As a money mentor, I help professors prepare for their first day of retirement. As a professor, I help students develop an academic plan to meet their career goals. As a money mentor, I help professors develop a financial plan to achieve their life goals. Unlike most financial professionals, I work with you as a fee-only fiduciary planner. This means I am paid directly by you for objective advice without sales commissions, hidden fees, or conflicts of interests. My earliest money memory is saving my allowance and birthday money to pay for a toy when I was seven years old. I went to the sales counter with my piggy bank and dumped out coins and crumpled dollar bills. To this day, I value the ability to save for future goals. And yes, I still own the ceramic piggy bank! Investments are important, but so are income taxes, insurance, education funding, daily spending habits, estate planning and our relationship with money. I look forward to helping you achieve clarity and confidence with all aspects of a comprehensive financial plan.