Welcome To

Emanciparé Financial Planning

(ee-mon-sip-ar-ay) – it means ‘to liberate’!

Your Path To Financial Freedom Begins Here…

We build your lifetime financial roadmap (plan) cooperatively, with you, using inexpensive tools you can use! See our sample plan here.
Our rates are right here, clear and transparent, no BS. If they don’t sound affordable for you, please talk to us; we’ll work with you.
Are you struggling financially? We also do financial coaching and counseling! See our Total Financial Makeover service on the services/rates page.
Advice-Only. Flat-Fee. Fee-Only. Fiduciary. Honest. Ethical. Transparent. Inexpensive.
We answer your phone/email/text-even on nights and weekends! We’re there for you, always.
Click here to watch our video interview with personal finance podcaster Rob Berger!

We’re different – very different! We formed our small personal service company to help those who are tired of getting bled out by high fees and confusing/losing portfolios, or want an early exit from the hamster wheel (FIRE), or need to make up for lost time in preparing for retirement, their children’s education, and other life goals. WE’RE ANOTHER PAIR OF EYES FOR YOU DIYs!

Who else has transparent, up-front and understandable pricing? We don’t bleed you out on hidden AUM rate-table fees from your investment account!

We are veteran-owned! See the common questions/answers on this page, our FAQ page, and our Rates page for further detail. We look forward to working with you!

**You’ll love us if…**

You want a clear, personalized roadmap for financial independence or retirement, not a rough metric
You want to know the actual date you can safely retire or be financially independent
You want the best retirement possible
You feel you’re under water financially and want help getting to a better place
You want to understand more about personal finances, so you don’t have to always pay someone for advice
You want someone that will always answer the phone, texts, or emails promptly, even on evenings, weekends, and holidays!
You’re in your 30s-50s and don’t want to work until you’re 65 (or maybe even 55!)
You’re in your 60s and up and want to optimize your quality of life going forward
You think you’ll have to work until you die
You want a mentor to help understand your fees and investments (do you, currently?)
You want inexpensive, comprehensive, year-round financial guidance, mentoring, and advice

Answers to a few questions

We’ll answer your most common questions below. For any we don’t address, head to our FAQ page or use the fields at the bottom of this page to reach out.

What's with the name?

Emanciparé is Italian/Latin/Spanish, meaning to emancipate, liberate, or free (it’s also a spell to release bindings in the Harry Potter series). It’s pronounced Ee-mon-chip-ar-ee, but you can say it however you like. It aligns nicely with our goal – to free everyday folks from financial stress, from jobs they don’t like, and to be free and enjoy the one life we’re given.

How can I never miss a financial opportunity?

When you hire us as your year-round financial mentor and concierge, we’re there for you every day of the year. We keep track of all the important dates and opportunities to make sure you never miss one. That’s a service that’s bound to pay for itself, often in just one opportunity that’s not missed! Head to our Services/Rates page and look at everything that’s included. What an incredible value. The catch? We only do this for a limited number of clients each year, so we can truly be available to them in an on-demand fashion and for regular monthly meetings. The number of current slots available is shown on our home page.

What is advice-only, flat-fee, fee-only, fiduciary?

Advice-Only: We only get paid for our advice. No biased hidden agenda with commissions or extra hidden fees, or by trying to get you to give us your assets to manage (and charge even more extra fees!). We only give you our unbiased, objective, personalized expert advice.

Flat-Fee: Most advisors use a complicated algorithm to calculate your charges, and it usually means the more you have, the more you pay. It’s not fair to charge you more just because you have more. They shouldn’t need a calculator to determine your fees, and they shouldn’t change every day based on market conditions or your growing wealth. We charge a simple-to-understand inexpensive flat fee for our services.

Fee-Only: Don’t be confused by similar but misleading terms like “Fee-Based” or “Fee-Offset.” Those mean there are likely commissions involved, which mean someone is working for themselves, not you. Fee-Only means we don’t earn our money any other way but through the clear pricing on our website.

Fiduciary: Fiduciary means that we’re obligated by law to always put your interests first. Be careful though, it’s a term that’s unfortunately been co-opted and not always true.

What are your creds?

Our credentials are below, and please read this blog post for more detail. Take note, we’re coming from a place of true altruism – helping people out of dire financial circumstances, and then to build wealth. So, we started out with the areas of study, experience, and credentials in those areas. It means we can guide you from zero to hero, from dire to aspire, from down in the dumps to a maybe a deluxe apartment in the sky!

Licensed/Registered Investment Advisor Representative
Financial Planner
Ramsey Master Financial Coach
Author of Plan Your Money Path, Kiss Your Money Hello (and Financial Stress Goodbye) and Show and Sell 2023: Selling Your Home Today

Also, be aware that folks who aren’t actual licensed and registered financial advisors may have titles that “sound” like they are – investment counselor, coach, associate, etc. But really they’re not state or SEC vetted and registered. Some are insurance salespeople. They’ll to sell you things that “sound” like investments, but are actually very expensive, complex, and risky insurance products like deferred/variable/indexed annuities, QLACs, whole/universal/indexed/variable life insurance, and so forth. A real investment advisor is required to provide you with their Form ADV, which is approved by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission and/or state regulators.

If you're so smart, why aren't you retired?

Actually, we’re financially independent, and don’t need to work. We get up every day and live life on our own terms—doing things we love and enjoy. That’s what ‘retirement’ should be like for everyone, and our strongest desire to make it happen for you, whether you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s or beyond. Everyone should spend every day on their own terms, doing things they enjoy. Imagine that utopia! We are granted but one short life, as far as we know. For us, this is what we love—helping people achieve financial freedom and independence—setting them free, emancipation—Emanciparé!

Where are you located?

Bill is based in Bethlehem, PA, USA and Grady is in the Houston, Texas area. We’re also available throughout the United States via video conferencing, telephone, text, and email.

How can you be so inexpensive?

We practice financial discipline, carrying no debt and very little overhead. We have no fancy offices or expensive vehicles for you to help pay for. We align ourselves with partners who have a similar altruistic strategy, and use the latest technology to streamline our operations.

How much does it cost?

Don’t you hate it when businesses are evasive about their fees? We aren’t! Cost is dependent on the type of services you may need. In addition to investment planning and management services, we offer workshops and hourly rates for special projects. See our Rates page for details.

How does this work?

It’s just a few simple steps to your financial goals!

1. Receive and review the ADV informational form for 48 hours.
2. Fill out the short ‘hello’ questionnaire.
3. Sign the digital agreement, if we’re a good fit and you decide to work with us.
4. Receive and pay the invoice for your requested plan.
5. We work together, live and cooperatively, to input the info the tool needs, analyze the results.
6. We perform your services and review together.

What's the catch?

The catch is that we’re a small firm and we pride ourselves in personal, white-glove, concierge type attention to our clients. We always answer your calls, emails, texts promptly, even on nights and weekends. We can only take on so many clients before we start a waiting list and you get left out, so join us today!

Books by Bill Hines

Paperback, hardcover, eBook, and audiobooks! Available directly (no middle person, less expensive, signed/inscribed paperbacks), or at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Spotify, Audible, and other favorite retailers!

personal finance book money investing budget debt

buying selling homes book show and sell fsbo flat-fee mls listing

The Emanciparé Difference

We are an inexpensive, ethical, honest, flat-fee, fee-only fiduciary financial advisory. Please review the table below that compares us to typical advisors. See our Services and Rates page for more details, and to get started.

Emancipare ⇒	Others
Advice-Only, Flat-Fee, Fee-Only, Fiduciary	Conflicts of interest? Complex AUM fees? Commissions? Loads?
$1,950 Life/Retirement/FIRE financial plan ($650/month x 3)	$2,500-$6,000 financial plan
$399/month ($4,788/year) One-Year Comprehensive Financial Guidance (meetings every month)	Few meetings, big start-up fee, $6k-$10k/year cost, complex, high fees 1% of assets and up example: $500,000 @ 1% fee = ~$417/month! $1m = ~$834/month!
$299 private personal finance/investing courses	They don’t teach, it would put them out of a job!
$199 hourly fee (no meter, includes prep and up to 1 hour meeting)	$250+ hourly fee
Simple, understandable, passive investing recommendations	Complex investing, many funds
Education as a priority	No client education
Fewer clients, quick response	Large client rosters, wait for meetings
Advice-only, keep your assets under your control	Tiered, complex, expensive asset management fees
No minimum net worth/assets	$250,000 to $500,000 minimum
Sources: Kitces Fee Trends and Kitces Report

Areas of Expertise

Below are just a few of the areas that we commonly help with. See our Services and Rates page for more details, and to get started.

Classes

We offer private, virtual or in-person courses on many topics in personal finance, investing, and retirement management/planning. We do this so you can take the wheel if you’d like, and not be tethered to the hip to an advisor the rest of your life.

Financial Planning

We offer a comprehensive financial plan for all phases of your life. Examples are near-term (debt payoff), mid-term (new home, child education), or longer term (comfortable retirement).

Retirement

Whether you’re planning an early retirement, FIRE lifestyle, traditional retirement, or already in retirement, let’s get your plan dialed in.

Year-Round Comprehensive Guidance

For a low flat-rate per month we provide year-round guidance. We mentor you as we go, explaining why each fund should be in your portfolio and why we feel you should make changes. Our philosophy is passive investing in just a few diverse low-fee ETF funds.

General Advice

None of the above suit your needs? Consult with us at our low hourly rate for other financial needs or questions.

Our goal is for you to reach your goals. That is our mission. We keep our client list small so that we can give everyone the attention they need and deserve, at any time they need it. Let’s get started!