Michelle Vargas, Certified Financial Planner™ is the President of Waymaker Financial Planning, a Fee-Only firm that provides transparent and accessible financial guidance. She enjoys helping clients navigate and plan all aspects of their financial life so that they will worry less about their future and free up more time to spend doing what they love. After earning a degree in Finance from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1990, she moved to Florida and started her career with Harcourt Brace Publishing. Her journey into personal finance began when she signed up for her 401K and wanted to learn about additional options to plan for retirement. This eventually led to working as a financial advisor and completing the extensive education requirements for becoming a CFP® in 1998. She believes her experience as a young professional searching for unbiased advice enables her to better serve Gen XY professionals because she remembers what it was like being in their shoes. As a former homeschool parent and the wife of a federal employee, she is passionate about helping women, homeschool families, and federal workers plan wisely for a comfortable financial future. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in Colorado, barbecuing with family, and working in her garden.

Professional Background In 2006, I began working in the financial services industry and in 2008 I moved into the wealth management side of the business between two firms over the next 5 years. In 2013, I joined Fidelity Investments to help companies administer their retirement plans where I left as a Vice President of Relationship Management overseeing roughly $8 billion of retirement plan assets. And in 2022, I started Chisholm Wealth Management to offer truly independent fiduciary advice and the highest level of service to my clients. Personal Background I’m married to my wife, Dr. Christina Sandra. We met at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I took classes for a few semesters. She finished her masters in Christian education and went on to obtain her doctorate from there as well in educational ministry, concentrating in executive leadership. She serves in our local church where she focuses on building the next generation of ministry workers, both professionals and lay leaders. We have a daughter (who, for some reason, enjoys listening to financial planning podcasts on the way to school) and an English Lab. While a variety of hobbies exist in my life, I particularly enjoy triathlons, cycling, being outdoors, and serving at Christ Chapel Bible Church. Education and Certifications I have a Masters of Science in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University and a Bachelors in Business Administration, majoring in Finance, from the University of Central Oklahoma. I’m a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and a Certified Kingdom Advisor. I am a member of the, National Association of Personal Financial Planners, and XY Planning Network. What about the firm name? My whole life has been lived on the Chisholm Trail. From my home town, to college, to today in Fort Worth I’ve always resided on it. It’s just a name that I’ve seen my whole life!

Ben is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® PROFESSIONAL specializing in helping (pre)retirees preserve their wealth over the long-term. Brenda is the Operations Manager and specializes in making things happen at the firm. Together, we’ve made it our life’s work to help (pre)retirees enjoy and preserve the payoff from their life’s work. We save our clients time, money, and stress as they mitigate retirement risks and answer THE critical retirement income question. We're going beyond the financial industry's traditional framing of "wealth preservation" with a straightforward approach to your retirement income plan and long-term investing.