Datapoint Financial Planning offers hourly financial advice to individuals, families, and small businesses.
Our clients come from all walks of life with varying levels of wealth, income, and investment knowledge.
We Do Not Manage Assets
But we do provide specific investment advice that is tailored to your unique circumstances. We will partner with you on implementing your plan and investment strategy as much as you need while allowing you to maintain control of your investment accounts.
A Fee Only Firm
We do not receive any compensation other than the hourly fees you pay us directly. We do not receive any kickbacks from other professionals or commissions from product purchases resulting from our recommendations.
No Hidden Fees of Any Kind
You simply pay for the time you need, by the hour. We find that an hourly model is the most transparent and fair pricing model as it compensates for time spent working directly with you, the client, rather than a fee based on something arbitrary, like the size of your investment portfolio, your net worth, or your income.
No Minimums
If your plan takes ten hours to complete, your bill is for ten hours, or if you just need 45 minutes on the phone to help you execute a backdoor Roth conversion, your bill will be for 45 minutes.
It's Just That Simple!
Most of our clients work with us initially to complete a comprehensive financial plan touching on all areas of their personal finances, such as retirement planning, education planning, insurance, estate planning, and investments. Then they reach out when questions arise or circumstances change or for an annual review to make sure they remain on track to achieve their goals.
Datapoint Financial Planning is led and owned by me, David E. Barfield, CFP®.
My passion for investing began my junior year of high school when a Financial Advisor from my hometown of Albany, GA spoke in one of my classes. After just 45 minutes on investing and building wealth, I was hooked! I scheduled an appointment and started investing small amounts of money from my part-time job the next week. He was gracious (and patient) enough to spend way too much of his valuable time teaching me about the markets and answering all my questions. I must have spent five hours a week in his office that next year…wow, how he must have hated to see me coming (that thought just occurred to me…sorry, Vic). From there it was set; I would study Finance at UGA and become a Financial Advisor like my mentor, Vic.
After graduating with a Finance degree from the University of Georgia, I did manage to land my first professional job as a “Financial Advisor,” but to my dismay, it was not at all what I imagined. Upon passing the appropriate exams to allow me to sell securities, I was handed a phone book, a script, and the names of a few stocks, and told to start dialing. Yikes…I just got shivers thinking about that! I guess that’s just how it was done in those days, but that was most definitely not the type of financial planning I had in mind.
So, I regrouped and found another way to utilize my analytical skills…in the tech industry. This began my two-decade career in technology where my specialty was database design and development. I spent the last half of my tech career leading various teams at Fiserv, a Fortune 500 FinTech company, but I had a passion for personal finance that I couldn’t shake and a desire to “coach” anyone who would listen on the importance of saving, investing, living below your means, and generally making wise financial decisions (I had a captive audience in all my former associates!).
Well, the saving and planning I applied to my own family’s finances paid off in the opportunity to step away from the tech career and finally pursue my career calling in Financial Planning…REAL FINANCIAL PLANNING this time around. In a sentence, I help people do smart stuff (and avoid dumb stuff) with their money.
On the personal side of things…my wife, Robin, and I are active members of the First Baptist Church of Woodstock. We are both fitness fanatics, and we enjoy spending time with our neighbors in our socially active community in the Hickory Flat area of Canton. Our son, Daryl, owns and operates a thriving tree service business in Central Florida.