Find Your Optimal Path to Financial Independence
Flat-fee financial planning, tax strategy, and investment guidance for people building toward FI — from someone who's done it himself.
Built for People Pursuing FI
We take an advice-first approach — every recommendation is driven by your goals, not by asset minimums or products.
Flat-Fee, Always
No AUM percentages, no commissions, no hidden costs. You pay one transparent flat fee for planning, tax strategy, and investment management. Your fee never grows with your portfolio.
Advice-First Planning
Planning comes first. Whether you manage your own investments or want us to handle them, every recommendation starts with your financial plan — not a product pitch.
Integrated Tax Strategy
As both a CFP® and Enrolled Agent, we bring financial planning and tax expertise under one roof — including Roth conversions, ACA planning, and annual tax preparation.
Built for DIY Investors
You can manage your own accounts with clear recommendations, or let us handle implementation. Either way, your investments stay in your name and under your control.
FI-Focused
We specialize in financial independence and early retirement — including the unique tax, withdrawal, and healthcare challenges that come with leaving traditional employment early.
Holistic Coordination
From retirement projections and insurance review to estate basics and equity compensation — we help every part of your financial life work together, not in silos.
The OptimalPath™ to FI Process
A clear, repeatable framework to move you from "I think I'm doing okay" to "I know where I stand and what to do next."
Clarify Your FI Vision
What does Financial Independence actually mean for you? Retiring early, working part-time, changing careers, or just having the freedom to say "no"? We start by defining the life you want money to support.
Assess Your Starting Point
We gather the key pieces — 401(k)s, IRAs, HSAs, taxable accounts, cash flow, debt, and benefits — and establish your current FI position. You'll see everything in one place.
Build Your FI Roadmap & Financial Independence Score
Instead of a Monte Carlo simulation that gives you an abstract "probability of success," we use a Financial Independence Score — a single, clear number that tells you exactly how on track you are. Inspired by the same funded-ratio approach that pension funds use, your FI Score compares the present value of what you have (and what you're saving) against what you'll need, using conservative assumptions. 100% or above means fully funded. Below that, we know exactly how far you need to go — and what it takes to close the gap.
Design Your Tax & Investment Strategy
We align investments and tax decisions with your FI goals — asset allocation, account location, Roth conversions, withdrawal order, and bracket management for early retirement.
Implement — DIY or With Help
Implement the plan yourself with clear action steps, or work with us on an ongoing basis where we handle investment management, tax strategy, and annual tax preparation for a flat fee.
Monitor Your FI Score & Stay on Track
Your Financial Independence Score isn't a one-time calculation — we update it annually and use it to drive real decisions. When your score shifts, a built-in guardrails framework tells us whether your spending plan still holds or needs adjusting. Green means stay the course. Yellow means minor adjustments. Red means we make meaningful changes before small problems become big ones. This is the difference between a static plan that sits in a drawer and a living strategy that adapts with you.
One flat fee. No AUM, no commissions.
View PricingWhat Will Life Look Like After FI?
Josh Short
After discovering FIRE in 2018, I went all in — restructuring my finances, optimizing my tax strategy, and building toward financial independence while working a 20-year career in banking. When I got there, I left to build the advisory firm I wish I'd had along the way.
OptimalPath Advisors exists because I believe everyone deserves conflict-free financial guidance at a fair, transparent price — not a fee that grows with your portfolio. As both a CFP® and Enrolled Agent, I bring financial planning and tax expertise together so nothing falls through the cracks.
Memberships and certifications reflect professional affiliations and do not constitute an endorsement of OptimalPath Advisors.
Ready to Find Your Path?
Schedule a free 20-minute intro call. No pressure, no pitch.
Schedule Your Free Intro Call