I work with clients across the country who are thoughtful, engaged, and looking to make informed financial decisions.

My clients are action-oriented, self-motivated, disciplined & curious. They seek professional objective advice for a fee & are comfortable self-implementing a well-thought-out action plan. I have worked with hundreds of clients, across all age ranges and levels of assets.

I’m a Certified Financial Planner™ professional, PhD economist and member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

I’ve built and delivered hundreds of financial plans for clients across the country.

My work focuses on economics-based financial planning—helping clients make informed decisions about spending, investing, and retirement.

I’ve been featured in outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, AARP, Consumer Reports, and more.

I have been through a host of important financial (and non-financial) milestones in life that help me connect with my clients on a very personal level.

I, Jay Abolofia, am the sole owner and employee of Lyon Financial Planning. You will work directly with me, from beginning to end. My daughters do however provide some lovely artwork for my office and may feature in my newsletter :-)

My main conflict of interest is that I want you to buy my services. Since I am advice-only, I do not directly implement any of my recommendations for my clients nor do I receive any commissions, referral or asset-based fees.

You pay me for my professional opinion, period. If your investments go up or down, you accumulate or payoff debt, you buy or sell property, you buy or cancel insurance, you execute your estate plan or not, etc. I get paid the same flat fee.

The first step is to submit an application to work together: www.lyonfp.com/apply

I personally review each application and will follow up with next steps if it appears to be a strong fit.

If we move forward, we’ll begin with an introductory meeting and then start the planning process.

After I deliver your one-time comprehensive financial plan, and help with initial implementation, I work with clients on an hourly as-needed basis. Many clients meet with me annually to check-in and update their financial plans—although this is not required. Other clients reach out as needed.

Comprehensive financial plans are a one-time flat fee, paid half upfront and half upon completion.

Ongoing work, when needed, is billed hourly in arrears.

See my table of fees for current rates.

I work with a limited number of households each year on a one-time comprehensive financial plan to ensure depth and focus in every engagement.

Most clients I work with plan several months ahead and value a thoughtful, deliberate process.

I am typically booked 4–6 months in advance.

If that timing works for you, the next step is to apply to work together.

Economics-based planning uses facts and common sense to SOLVE for how much you can safely afford to spend now and throughout retirement.

Conventional planning instead asks you to GUESS how much you will spend in retirement and then formulates its recommendations accordingly.

This can matter a lot if your objective is to understand how much you can safely afford to spend while meeting your long-term goals.

Most people do not need someone to manage their money—they need good sound investment advice they can self-implement. Passive index investing is shockingly easy, low cost and has proven year-after-year to outperform active investing. I help clients consolidate their accounts, quantify how much investment risk they can afford, and provide straightforward account-by-account investment recommendations using low-cost index funds.

I advise you on your need for insurance, review your current coverage, and educate you about different products. This may include health, life, disability, long-term care, annuities, liability and property insurance. I do not sell insurance and refer my clients to an independent broker or fee-for-service consultant where appropriate.

I optimize your plan by considering meaningful strategies to minimize lifetime taxes. This may involve optimizing tax-advantaged accounts, Roth conversions, retirement income distributions, charitable giving, etc. I am not a tax professional and refer my clients to a CPA where appropriate.

I help my clients understand the nuts and bolts of a sound estate plan and review their current plan. This involves your last will, financial power of attorney, health care proxy, trust(s), asset titling and beneficiary designations. I am not an attorney and refer my clients to an estate planner where appropriate.

Yes, I am happy to connect you directly with a current client(s) when you are in your final stages of selecting a financial planner. Note that I must first get approval from the client.

I use secure file sharing software with my clients when any documents or files are shared. I never store any client documents or information on a private hard drive, ever.

I never share client information with unaffiliated third parties without a signed statement from the client with specific instructions.

Virtual meetings may be recorded for note-taking purposes only once the client has given verbal permission.

To learn more, please see my privacy policy.

I am entirely virtual and run client meetings via Zoom. This allows me to work with clients throughout the country. It also makes for a very streamlined and effective planning process. Live in Greater Boston and want to meet for coffee? Let me know.

If you’re not ready for a full in-depth planning process, I provide real-time copilot sessions for household users of MaxiFi Planner. After the initial copilot session, we may continue working together hourly as needed.

MaxiFi Planner is an economics-based financial planning tool developed by Professor Laurence Kotlikoff at Boston University.

I am an expert with the tool, and use it to model and analyze financial decisions, particularly around spending, retirement, housing and taxes.

In some cases, I also offer standalone sessions for individuals using the software directly.

I have yet to complete a financial plan where I don’t identify meaningful gaps in a clients planning. You don’t know what you don’t know. These are in no particular order.

1. Not having enough life and/or long-term disability insurance to protect loved ones

2. Holding too much or too little in cash

3. Not funding a living trust

4. Retaining unnecessary and expensive variable insurance products

5. Holding too much stock, beyond ones risk capacity

6. Spending (or saving) too much or too little, relative to what is affordable (or required)

7. Retaining highly appreciated individual stocks, to defer capital gains taxes

8. Buying and maintaining a home that is unaffordable, from a lifetime perspective

9. Not naming guardians for minor children in a last will

10. Not optimizing tax-advantaged retirement accounts, especially for the self-employed

11. Paying too little in tax