Listen first.
Build the plan together.

Start with what matters to the person.

Fictional client: Alex, age 24, recently started a full-time job and lives in Lexington. Alex wants to move into a new apartment in eight months, reduce credit-card debt, and feel less anxious about money.

My opening question: “If this conversation is useful, what would you understand or feel more confident about when we finish?”

I would first clarify Alex’s priorities and ask permission to take notes. The aim of discovery is a shared understanding of the situation before discussing possible actions.

Understand the full picture.

Investment goals, time horizon, willingness to accept losses, and capacity to bear losses would need their own discussion before any investment recommendation. This exercise stops at discovery and illustrative cash-flow choices.

Separate facts, assumptions, and gaps.

The following are invented answers for the exercise. In a real discovery process, I would reconcile the figures to statements and pay records rather than treating estimates as verified.

Assume Alex also has $1,200 in uncommitted cash, a $2,400 credit-card balance at a stated 24% APR, and an $18,000 student-loan balance at a stated 5% rate. Alex estimates needing $2,000 for the move in eight months, separate from the existing cash reserve.

Still unresolved: actual loan terms, credit-card interest calculation, employer benefits, expected changes in housing costs, insurance coverage, and whether the move estimate includes all deposits and fees. Take-home pay is assumed to include current payroll deductions; retirement contributions are not modeled separately.

Check that I heard Alex correctly.

This turns the numbers back into a conversation. Alex might choose to adjust the move date, lower the move budget, or revisit flexible spending. Those choices should be explicit rather than built into an unexplained calculation.

Two discussion options, not a prescription.

These illustrative allocations use only the $700 monthly amount remaining after the expenses and minimums above. They are discussion aids, not an optimized recommendation.

Both options set aside $2,000 over eight months for the move, assuming no missed contributions or withdrawals. Option A directs $150 more each month to the card; Option B keeps that $150 in cash for greater flexibility.

The $100 card minimum is already in the baseline, making the initial planned total card payments $450 under A and $300 under B. No payoff date or interest saving is claimed: interest, changing minimums, new charges, and payoff timing would need a separate calculation. Once the balance is paid, extra payments would need to be reassigned.

A useful sensitivity question: if monthly costs rose by $200, only $500 would remain. Which allocations would Alex change? A plan needs room for that conversation.

Finish with clarity and ownership.

• Ask Alex to confirm the priorities and identify which option, if either, feels workable.
• Review pay records, account balances, debt terms, irregular expenses, and the full moving estimate.
• Discuss employer benefits once the plan information is available, without guessing about a match or tax treatment.
• Record any chosen next steps, who owns them, and a follow-up date.
• Revisit the plan after a month of actual spending or a meaningful change in circumstances.

Teach-back question: “In your own words, what are the main tradeoffs, and what would make you revisit the plan?”

Explore the cash flow model.

This companion Excel exercise uses fictional 2027 monthly inputs to forecast checking and savings balances. Its opening balances and savings transfers are separate illustrative assumptions, not the two allocation options above. Change the yellow input cells to see how income, expenses, and a moving payment affect cash.

The workbook includes an annual summary, 12 monthly periods, funding-shortfall flags, and cash reconciliation checks. Debt payments are cash inputs; it does not forecast debt balances, interest, taxes, or investment returns.

Numbers supported by listening.

This exercise connects my finance and accounting background with my interest in client service: organizing financial information, identifying missing facts, reconciling a budget, and explaining choices clearly. It also shows the distinction between a client’s priorities and assumptions made for a calculation.

The arithmetic was checked: the expense categories total $3,300; $4,000 less $3,300 leaves $700; each option totals $700; and $250 × 8 equals the $2,000 moving target. The illustration excludes investment returns, taxes, and a debt-amortization forecast.