We didn't just plan a move abroad. We lived it.
This is the story behind Vitality Wealth Planning.
Our story
The pull toward something different.
For years, my family lived the life we were supposed to. Good careers, good schools, a good neighborhood. But something was missing. We kept looking at each other and asking: is this really it?
Costa Rica wasn't a fantasy escape. It was a deliberate choice. A place where our values, our pace, and our priorities could finally align. But the moment we decided to go, we realized our entire financial life was built for a country we were leaving.
We figured it out ourselves.
There was no playbook for this. No single guide that connected cross-border taxes to Costa Rican healthcare to foreign property to education planning. So we did what we always do. We dove in. I started pulling the threads, mapping the connections, learning the systems. Honestly? I loved it. The complexity that overwhelms most people is the kind of problem I live for.
But most families making this move don't want to spend months untangling financial systems across two countries. They want someone who already has.
Building what we wished existed.
We made the leap. And it was the best decision we've ever made. But the financial planning part was harder than it needed to be.
So I built Vitality Wealth Planning, specifically for families in this exact moment. Not generic expat planning. Not asset management with a tropical twist. A practice designed for the transition itself.
Because families making this move deserve a planner who's done it, not just studied it.
Why I do this differently
I spent years inside major financial institutions. At Schwab, they put us through a financial consulting academy. One of the exercises was to write your personal mission statement. Everyone wrote about growing portfolios, building wealth, hitting targets. I wrote that my mission was to help end suffering.
No one else had anything close to it. And that was the moment I knew I was in the wrong place.
At most major firms, every client is a number. The system isn't built to actually help the person sitting across from you. It's built to hit metrics. I watched people walk out of meetings with plans that checked boxes but didn't fit their lives.
So I left and built my own practice. Not to manage more assets or scale to some number. To sit with someone, understand their real situation, and give them advice that's genuinely in their best interest. One family at a time.
People sit down expecting spreadsheets and tax brackets. They get those. But they also get someone who's going to explain it plainly, sit with the hard questions, and make sure they leave feeling like everything is going to be okay.
That's the job.
The Essentials
What this life actually looks like
This is the life our clients are building toward. Hiking through our community, spending time with family and friends at communal spaces, making Neapolitan pizza for everyone on the weekends. It's real, and it works.
A few things about me
Why Costa Rica?
Costa Rica isn't perfect. No place is. But for families looking for a slower pace, a closer connection to nature, a strong expat community, and a culture that genuinely values "pura vida", it's hard to beat.
The healthcare is better than most people expect. The education options are more varied than the blogs suggest. And the cost of living is nuanced. Not the bargain some claim, but not the trap either.
We cover all of this in depth in our resources.
“Money is infrastructure, not identity.”
We believe financial planning should reduce your mental load, not add to it. Your money should support the life you want, not be the thing you think about most.
We prioritize calm over optimization. Clarity over confidence. Fewer loose ends over more meetings. The goal isn't a perfect plan. The goal is a plan that lets you stop carrying your financial life in your head.
That's what we build. And that's what we deliver, whether you're just starting to think about the move or you're already packing boxes.
Quick Facts
Last updated March 2026
Credential
Certified Financial Planner (CFP®)
Registration
Indiana and Washington
Model
Fee-only fiduciary
Network
XY Planning Network (XYPN)
Specialization
Cross-border financial planning
Countries of Focus
United States & Costa Rica
Ready to talk?
A free 30-minute conversation about your situation and timeline. No pitch, no pressure.