From: Kevin “Monty Nye” Wenke CFP®,
Investment Advisor and Founder @ Stormeborne Wealth Management
If you’ve made it this far, you’re not here out of curiosity.
You’re here because you care deeply about the decisions you make with your money—and you understand those decisions shape not just your future finances, but how you live your life.
Over the years, I’ve learned that real progress doesn’t start with charts, projections, or products. It starts with clarity—about how you think, how you approach risk, and whether the rules you’re following are actually serving you.
Before I explain how The Financial Freedom Process™ works, I’d like you to consider a few questions. There are no right or wrong answers.
These questions simply help determine whether you’re ready for a different way of approaching your financial life—one built on intention, understanding, and control.
Before We Go Further, See If This Approach Fits How You Think
- Do you feel confident that you are truly in control of your financial decisions—or does it sometimes feel like you’re reacting to rules, markets, or advice you didn’t design?
- Have you started to question whether traditional financial advice is designed to protect you—or simply keep you playing by the system’s rules?
- Do you believe the greatest financial risk isn’t market volatility—but blindly following strategies that don’t account for real-world storms?
- Are you tired of financial plans that look impressive on paper but feel too complicated—or disconnected from how you actually want to live?
- Are you open to approaching your financial life with more intention—making decisions proactively instead of hoping things work out?
- Do you want a planning process that starts with how you want to live your life—and then builds the financial strategy around that?
- Are you willing to have a thoughtful, honest conversation about where you are today—and whether a different approach could serve you better going forward?
If you answered “Yes” to some of these questions, it suggests you’re already questioning the assumptions guiding your financial decisions.
That awareness is the starting point for better outcomes—not more complexity, but better alignment.
The sections below explain the thinking behind The Financial Freedom Process™—why it exists, how it works, and what makes it different from traditional planning.
If you want to fully understand the framework before taking the next step, I encourage you to read through it carefully.
That said, some people already know enough to decide whether it’s worth having a strategic conversation.
If that’s you, you’re welcome to skip ahead and schedule time on the calendar below.
Either way, the goal is the same: clarity about whether this approach makes sense for you.
Money’s role in Creating the life you desire
Money isn’t the goal. It’s the tool. At its best, money should give you:
flexibility to make choices on your terms
confidence that your decisions are working together
protection against setbacks that could derail progress
and the ability to support the people and causes that matter to you
Most people don’t struggle because they don’t understand these goals.
They struggle because achieving them simultaneously is far more complex than it appears.
The First Problem: Fragmented Decisions
Most financial decisions are made:
one at a time
at different times
with different professionals
under different emotional and economic conditions
Very few people are ever shown how those decisions interact.
The result isn’t always reckless behavior.
More often, it’s misalignment.
Some people end up taking risks they didn’t realize they were taking.
Others become so afraid of making a mistake that they stop making decisions altogether.
Either way, the absence of coordination quietly erodes progress.
Not because people are irresponsible—
but because no one is helping them navigate the system as a whole.
The Second Problem: "THE Crown"
Let’s Face It…They Are OUT For #1.
If you are not careful, you may be dealing with institutions that:
- Want your money...
- Want you to pay them consistently
- Want to do as little as possible to earn it
- Put as little risk on themselves as possible
- Want to hold on to your money as long as possible
- and, when YOU want it back, they'll return it to you as slow as possible...
It feels like The Financial Industry and Government rig the Rules of the Money Game so that THEY are guaranteed success without regard for yours…
You need your own set of rules so these institutions don't take advantage of you! This way YOU CAN extract the maximum benefits from your money while taking the least amount of RISK needed to get them...
The Third Problem:
The "Financial Barbarians"...
In life, there is the potential to experience a number of situations and unavoidable factors that, if left unaddressed, threaten to consume your money, your time and your focus…
I call them the "Financial Barbarians" and they include:
- Inflation
- Taxes
- Stock Market Crashes
- Law Changes
- Lawsuits
- Technological Changes
- Unexpected Life Events
- Fees and Expenses
- "Keeping Up With Jones'"
- Replacement and Repairs
It’s Overwhelming… And Makes Your Financial Life
FEEL LIKE THIS...
STRESSED – Confused – UNCERTAIN
They Don’t Come Close to Achieving the Life They Set Out to Create…
Luckily There Is a Solution...
INTRODUCING…
The Financial Freedom Process
A planning methodology that evaluates financial decisions in context—rather than in isolation—to reduce unintended risk and improve long-term outcomes.
STRESSED - Confused - UNCERTAIN
In the system, we address ALL areas of your financial life:
- Investment strategy and risk exposure
- Cash flow, savings, and liquidity
- Protection strategies and risk management
- Debt structure, leverage, and obligations
- Tax exposure and long-term efficiency
- Retirement income sustainability
- Business interests and planning considerations
- Education and legacy funding decisions
- Estate planning and wealth transfer
- Decision clarity and confidence—especially when the future is uncertain
Now I Will Show You How This Works…
The 8-Steps of The Financial Freedom Process
The Financial Freedom Process™ is a fiduciary financial planning process designed to help you make informed, intentional financial decisions in an uncertain world.
It follows the professional standards established by the CFP® Board, and is delivered in a way that helps you understand why decisions matter, how tradeoffs work, and what changes IF life doesn’t go according to plan.
This process is designed for people who are done drifting—and ready to navigate with intention.
Step 1: The Strategic Conversation
Answering Your Questions: Establishing Scope, Purpose, and Mutual Fit
Before any financial planning begins, we start with a Strategic Conversation. This is not a sales call. It’s not a recommendation meeting. And it’s not about products. It’s a professional discussion designed to determine whether engaging in a formal financial planning relationship makes sense—for you and for us. During this conversation, we focus on four things:
Answering your questions
Our Understanding of your current situation
We discuss what’s prompting you to seek clarity now, what concerns or questions are top of mind, and what you’re hoping a better process could help you resolve.Clarifying what matters most
We explore your priorities, constraints, and decision-making style—because effective planning starts with alignment, not assumptions.Defining scope and next steps
We outline how a CFP®-led planning process works, what it can (and cannot) address, and whether The Financial Freedom Process™ is the right framework for your needs.
You should expect this conversation to feel thoughtful, structured, and pressure-free. By the end, you won’t be asked to “decide” anything. Instead, you’ll leave with a clearer understanding of:
Whether your current approach is serving you,
What questions still need to be answered,
and whether moving forward together makes sense.
Every successful voyage begins with an honest assessment of the ship, the crew, and the waters ahead. The Strategic Conversation is where that clarity begins.
Step 2: Chart the Waters
Understanding Your PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
If we agree to work together, we begin by slowing things down.
Before advice, before strategies, before recommendations, we take the time to understand:
your full financial picture
your responsibilities, concerns, and priorities
the constraints you’re operating under
You don’t judge a voyage by the destination alone — you first understand the ship, the crew, and the waters you’re already navigating.
Step 3: Clarify What Matters Most to you
Identifying and Prioritizing Goals
Most people have goals.
Very few have prioritized goals.
Here, we:
Identify what you want to accomplish
surface conflicts between goals
decide what actually comes first
A ship with too many destinations never leaves port.
Step 4: Evaluate Potential Routes for Your Journey
Analyzing Current and Alternative Courses of Action
Behind the Scenes, we analyze:
The likelihood that your current approach gets you where you want to go
the risks you see — and the ones you don’t
alternative paths that may reduce fragility or improve outcomes
Most dangers and opportunities aren’t obvious. The town criers never discuss them. They are hidden in currents you may not know how to read. But we do, and we look for them so we can make “the unknown known” so you can eventually make an informed decision on how to protect and exploit them.
Step 5: Layout Your Potential Courses of Action
Developing Financial Planning Recommendations
After we analyze, we DEVELOP recommendations:
with clear tradeoffs
with assumptions made explicit
with risks clearly articulated
You will understand why a recommendation exists before you ever act on it. Every maneuver has a cost. The advantage comes from knowing it in advance.
Step 6: Help You Decide Your Course With Confidence
Presenting Financial Planning Recommendations
This step is often misunderstood. It’s not about persuasion — it’s about comprehension. We walk through:
How recommendations work together
What success actually looks like
What changes if conditions shift
You are the captain of your SHIP. It is your decisions that will dictate where you will go. Our job is to provide you with our professional opinions so you can navigate using informed decisions.
A crew that understands the plan doesn’t panic when the wind changes and can confidently “Stay The Course.”
Step 7: Set SAIL and Take Deliberate Action
Implementing Accepted Recommendations
Action is coordinated, paced, and intentional. We help ensure:
Decisions happen in the right order
Responsibilities are clear
Complexity is reduced, not increased
Step 8: Pivot and Adapt When Life Changes
Monitoring Progress & Updating your Plan When Needed
This is where many plans quietly fail — and where a real process proves its value. As life, markets, and laws change, we:
Review assumptions
Reassess risks
Update decisions accordingly
Storms don’t sink prepared ships — rigidity does.
The Financial Freedom Process is a dynamic process FLEXIBLE to CHANGE as your situation may over time. We will be there for you to go over how you are doing and make adjustments as needed.
Who Am I and How I Can Help You
My name is Kevin “Monty Nye” Wenke. I’m a Certified Financial Planner™ and the founder of Stormeborne Wealth Management.
Since 2003, I’ve worked with individuals and families across the United States who are thoughtful, capable, and successful—but who sense that the traditional financial playbook doesn’t fully account for real life, real risk, or real tradeoffs.
Over the years, one thing has become clear:
Most people don’t need more financial information.
They need a better way to make decisions.
That’s why I developed The Financial Freedom Process™—not as a product or a pitch, but as a disciplined, fiduciary framework designed to help people coordinate their financial decisions, understand the rules they’re operating under, and act with greater clarity and confidence.
I believe opportunity is abundant—but only for those who understand the systems they’re navigating. My role is to make the unknown known:
to surface risks before they become problems,
- to identify opportunities that may have been hidden,
to explain tradeoffs before decisions are made,
and to help you move forward intentionally, rather than reactively.
I don’t promise certainty. I don’t pretend to have a crystal ball on the economy. And I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. What I do believe in is preparation, clarity, and disciplined decision-making.
If that approach resonates with how you think, the Strategic Conversation is where we begin.
Now I Know What You Are Probably Thinking…
This All Sound Great but How Much Doe It Cost?
It’s reasonable to ask what a process like this costs.
The Financial Freedom Process™ is a professional, CFP®-led planning engagement. It requires time, analysis, coordination, and ongoing judgment. As such, it is not free.
That said, cost should never be the first decision you make — clarity should be.
The Strategic Conversation
The initial Strategic Conversation is complimentary. Its purpose is simple:
to determine whether your situation warrants formal planning, and
to assess whether working together makes sense for both of us.
There is no obligation to continue.
How Fees are Determined
If we decide to move forward together, the planning fee is determined only after I understand the full scope and complexity of your financial situation. For most clients, fees are structured as a combination of:
a percentage of income (typically around 0.25%), and
a percentage of assets involved in the planning process (typically around 0.50%), with a minimum planning fee of $2,499.
This structure is designed to align incentives and reflect the work involved — not to sell products or push unnecessary complexity.
How Payment Works…
Fees are not required upfront.
If you choose to engage, an initial deposit of 40% is collected to begin the planning process. The remainder is paid as the work progresses.
If at any point you feel the process is not providing value or clarity, we stop — and no further fees are collected.
What Matters Most
The purpose of this process is not to sell you something.
It’s to help you make better decisions — decisions that, over time, matter far more than the fee itself.
If that mindset resonates with you, the Strategic Conversation is the right place to begin.
Choosing to engage in a process like this isn’t something to rush.
Many of the people I work with initially believed they already understood how everything worked—or assumed there wasn’t much more to learn. What surprised them wasn’t complexity, but clarity.
Comments like “That finally makes sense” or “I didn’t realize that was even an option” usually don’t come from new information alone—but from seeing familiar pieces placed into the right context.
If now isn’t the right time, that’s okay. But if you’re curious whether a more coordinated, intentional approach could change how you think about your financial decisions, the Strategic Conversation is where that clarity begins. The next step is available when you’re ready.
In Closing...
Thank you for taking the time to read through this page. Since you’ve made it this far, it tells me something important—you care about making thoughtful decisions, and you’re willing to slow down long enough to understand what you’re doing and why. The Financial Freedom Process™ exists for people who want clarity before action, coordination instead of fragmentation, and confidence instead of guesswork. It’s a professional, fiduciary planning process designed to help you make better decisions with your money—not just today, but as life evolves.
If you’d like to explore whether this approach makes sense for you, the next step is a Strategic Conversation.
There’s no obligation and no pressure.
It’s simply a chance to ask questions, talk through your situation at a high level, and decide—together—whether moving forward is appropriate. If it feels right, we continue. If not, you’ll leave with greater clarity either way. Thank you again for being here.
—
Kevin “Monty Nye” Wenke, CFP®
Founder, Stormeborne Wealth Management
Get On Kevin's Calendar Here...
If your schedule doesn’t align with the times shown—overnight work, travel, or other commitments—you’re welcome to Call or TEXT us directly at 754-600-5995 or send us an email at FFP@RetirementPirate.com.
Just send your name and a brief note, and we’ll follow up to coordinate a time that works for both of us..
Do you still have more questions?
Here are some
Frequently Asked Questions
That Will Be Able to Help
If you’ve done well but still feel like your financial life is fragmented—or overly dependent on hope—this process is built for you. start all over again.
Fees are based on scope and complexity, using a formula that considers both income and assets.
Typical planning fees are calculated as:
0.25% of annual income, plus
0.50% of assets included in the planning analysis
Example:
$100,000 income × 0.25% = $250
$1,000,000 assets × 0.50% = $5,000
Total planning fee = $5,250
The minimum planning fee is $2,495, and more complex situations may be higher (we’ll confirm the exact fee only after we understand your full financial picture and agree on scope).
To begin the engagement after the initial Strategic Conversation, an initial deposit of 40% is collected, and the remainder is handled as the work progresses.
Most clients complete the initial design phase in 3–5 meetings, typically 60–90 minutes each. A meaningful amount of work happens behind the scenes—organizing documents, modeling scenarios, stress-testing decisions, and preparing recommendations.
Meetings are usually held online, so you and your spouse (and any other key decision-makers) can join from anywhere.
Ongoing reviews are optional but recommended at least annually. If you want additional meetings beyond the planning engagement, those can be handled on an hourly basis (typically $200–$400/hr, depending on scope).
$400 and $200 an hour.
The process is collaborative and requires effort on both sides. If at any point in the first 4 months you feel the engagement is not providing clarity or value, you can choose to stop. In that case, we’ll end the engagement and refund fees paid for work not yet performed (and no remaining balance would be due).
The goal is a relationship built on trust and usefulness—not obligation.
Yes. Missed meetings without notice create real time costs. If you do not show up for scheduled sessions and do not respond after repeated attempts to reschedule, we may retain an amount that reflects time already reserved and work already completed. We’ll always communicate this clearly and fairly.
You receive a coordinated planning experience designed to turn complexity into clarity. Depending on your needs and scope, deliverables typically include:
A clear picture of your current financial position
Key risks, tradeoffs, and “pressure points” identified
A prioritized set of recommendations
An action plan that outlines what to do first, what can wait, and why
Ongoing decision support as implementation unfolds
That’s a fair question—especially online. You can verify my credentials and professional standing independently:
Verify CFP® status through the CFP Board’s “Verify a CFP® Professional” tool (search my last name: Wenke).
You’re also welcome to look up additional designations and run a background check.
I encourage prospects to do this. Trust should be earned and verified.
The process is comprehensive and coordinated. We evaluate how decisions interact across:
Cash flow, savings, and liquidity
Investment strategy and risk exposure
Taxes and long-term efficiency
Protection and risk management
Debt structure and obligations
Retirement income planning
Business planning considerations (if applicable)
Education / legacy funding decisions
Estate planning and wealth transfer
Decision clarity and confidence as conditions change
No. If you already work with a CPA or attorney you trust, we prefer to coordinate with them. The goal is alignment—not replacement.
If you don’t have those relationships and need them, we can refer you to professionals familiar with coordinated planning.
Most of my clients have worked with advisors before. The difference is the emphasis on coordination and decision clarity.
Rather than giving isolated recommendations, The Financial Freedom Process™ helps you see how cash flow, taxes, investments, protection, and long-term goals interact—so you can make informed choices and avoid progress in one area creating fragility in another.
If you value thoughtful planning over product pitches or market predictions, you’ll likely find the process refreshing.