CLIENT STORIES

About five years ago, I was at a point in my life where I was frustrated that I was in my 40s and still felt like I did not have the financial stability I desired. I reached out to Attitude Financial based on a personal referral, and it was one of the best decisions I have made.

When I first met Bryan and Alex, my financial situation was a bit of a mess, but they were non-judgmental and kind with their advice. Our meetings helped me stay accountable, and when life threw some curveballs my way, they provided sound and fair advice on ways to manage through it all. Bryan and Alex have helped me set up a system of tracking my expenses (which has been unbelievably helpful), and they also helped me consolidate money I had with prior employers that wasn’t invested.

Five years later, I have a solid investment and savings strategy thanks to Bryan and Alex, and I truly value this partnership. I have recommended Alex to several people, telling anyone that will listen that he is fair and realistic in his advice. He will never tell you to stop spending 100% but instead will provide advice on ways to cut back and save when the time is needed. The greatest benefit of our partnership is that I feel confident that my savings is invested properly. 

My wife and I had been working with a different financial advisor for about two years when we decided to make the switch to work with Bryan’s company in 2002. I had a personal relationship with Bryan Trugman’s dad, Jeff; seeing him nearly every day made me very comfortable with his approach to financial planning. We’d always been happy with our prior advisors but felt we would receive a higher level of attention and care with Attitude Financial.

Our biggest benefit of the partnership was that they created a routine and simple program of saving for us; they used best practices to advise us to stick with the plan and effectively pursue our goals. They also helped us plan and pay for our children’s education.

I recommend Attitude Financial Advisors to friends and clients as often as I’m able, sharing that Attitude’s “attitude” is not about selling products, but learning what a client needs and wants and then developing a plan and approach that meets those goals. They are not salespeople—they are trusted advisors.

I appreciate their professional approach to financial planning for the future and helping us identify concrete goals. I now have the knowledge that after working with Bryan and his team for over 20 years, most, if not all, of our important financial goals have been met. And unless the world explodes or collapses, we should be financially secure in retirement.

When my husband and I were growing up, money—although not a taboo topic—wasn’t really discussed in either of our homes. Because neither of us was given any significant education on personal finance, we knew it was time to seek professional guidance when we began to make more money.

Bryan Trugman was recommended by our accountant, and when we met, I liked him right away. He took the time to answer our questions and explain the basics of investing. Rather than working with someone from a big “corporation,” I liked the feel of a mom-and-pop organization.

Our goal was and still is, to ensure that we’ll be comfortable in retirement and not be a financial burden to our family. Bryan helped us create a path for the long term. Although I know no one has a crystal ball to see the future, we needed help seeing that if you do X today, chances are you’ll have Y in the future. I’m a very visual and organized person, so eMoney is the perfect tool for me to help keep track of things (and I also liked being part of the setup process); seeing where we will be financially over the next few decades is very motivating!

Without question, the most important benefit of our partnership is accountability! Working with Bryan is not a one-and-done, and knowing we’ll be catching up throughout the year keeps me on track. Whether we’re experiencing a major life or career change, I am so comforted knowing we have someone to call with our questions and the person on the other end knows who we are. 

As I was getting close to retirement, I researched and knew it was a long process with many moving parts. With so many things to think about, I became overwhelmed. What would my living expenses be? My tax situation? What retirement options should I select? I was also nervous about becoming irrelevant in retirement; what would I do in my spare time? It was easier to keep working than deal with it all!

Historically financial professionals had seemed to me like salesmen, only concerned about selling their products. At the time I had an accountant whose wife had recently retired and he strongly recommended Attitude.

Quite the opposite of salesmen, I discovered that the Attitude team’s main goal was to take care of me and my wife financially and put us at ease so we could relax and live our lives. Bryan, Alex, and the whole team work well together and make everything crystal clear and unambiguous.

The biggest benefit they provided was help with budgeting during retirement, breaking it down for us so we could feel confident in creating a proper budget we could stick to. Their eMoney portal gives us a solid picture of our finances all in one spot. They helped us identify which hurdles to prioritize and provided valuable advice about when to begin collecting Social Security.

Kind of like the peace and confidence you feel when you have a doctor in the family, working with Bryan and the Attitude team is like having a financial advisor in the family; they are genuine, truly care about us and our well-being, and make the whole process less stressful.

I can now say I feel very confident about retiring. My colleagues asked me how I came to this point. I told them I trusted and relied on the team at Attitude. After seeing them solve one problem after another, we have felt confident recommending them to others. I share how they are very professional, diligent, simplify the complex, are easy to communicate with, follow up in a timely manner, and provide tangible actions to accomplish.

They have integrity and always do the right thing, such as connecting me to other great professionals in their network. They hooked me up with the student debt relief people and my wife’s student loan was completely forgiven. My mortgage and home equity loans were so high and killing me; they hooked me up with a mortgage professional who was able to combine the two loans and cut my rate in half. They figured out how much life insurance I really need and helped me obtain it cheaper. They even helped me get a funeral plot! I felt they truly cared about my life and wanted to help me.

In addition to regular meetings to review our goals and track progress, I love knowing I can call them at any time and be taken care of. Bryan is perfectly himself and presents the best version of himself to his clients, and I have become smarter, wiser, and more relaxed as a result of our partnership. I would highly recommend Attitude Financial no matter what financial stage you are at!

I met Bryan Trugman through a friend shortly after I got married. We had purchased a condo, I was starting a company, and I was looking for assistance with making a budget that made sense for a new family while also saving for the future and understanding how to accomplish my goals. I liked Bryan’s philosophy of looking at the whole person (their goals, risk tolerance) and trying to understand not only today’s situation but also asking about the future. He helps me evaluate certain situations as I tend to be more creative and open to risk. I appreciate Bryan’s ability to grow with me through different phases of life: from cash flow and budgeting strategies, to long-term savings, insurance for my family, asset allocation, and now to understanding how to leverage assets during my sabbatical.

I have enthusiastically recommended Bryan and his team to friends and business colleagues, sharing how Bryan isn’t just looking to manage and allocate your money; he wants to understand you, your goals, and your dreams. He’ll learn how you think about money and determine if you need help with budgeting, retirement planning, or other financial goals. I have found the most important benefit from our partnership to be the peace I experience having someone available to review my financial situation as it changes, and someone always there to look after my interests.