The Define Financial Team
Retirement changes the rules. We help you navigate what comes next.
You’ve done everything right. Now the challenge is turning your wealth it into a reliable, tax-smart retirement plan.
In retirement, everything changes. Your paycheck disappears. Every decision carries a tax consequence. And small missteps—a poorly timed Roth conversion, a missed Medicare threshold, an inefficient withdrawal strategy—can compound into meaningful costs over a 30+ year retirement.
That’s where most retirement plans fall short. They tackle each piece in isolation — separate line items instead of a connected system. Change one and you affect the others. Miss the connection and it costs you.
That’s why we built the Total Retirement System™. It brings all four pillars—taxes, income, investments, and legacy—into one coordinated plan, managed by our team and built around your specific numbers. Not generic advice. Not a portfolio and a handshake. A coordinated plan designed for this stage of life.
We Are
- A team of CFP® Professionals who specialize exclusively retirement. It’s all we do, and it’s what we’ve built our entire practice around.
- Fee-only fiduciary advisors. No commissions, kickbacks, or proprietary products. Our only incentive is getting your plan and portfolio right.
- Built for coordination. We coordinate with all of your professionals — because financial decisions don’t happen in a vacuum and neither should your plan.
We Are Not
- Attempting to be everything to everyone. We work with people who’ve spent decades building wealth and now need to make it last.
- Advisors who hand you a portfolio and check in once a year. The Total Retirement System™ is ongoing and built around your numbers.
- Bound by geography. We serve clients across every state in the country, with in-person availability in San Diego.
Taylor Schulte, CFP®
Founder & CEO
After two decades in wealth management, I’ve seen how the industry works behind the scenes — and too often, it isn’t built around the client. Early in my career, I knew there had to be a better way. That’s what led me to found Define Financial in 2014 around a simple question: What would a firm look like if every decision were made in the client’s best interest?
We don’t sell products, earn commissions, or answer to a parent company. Our only obligation is to the people we serve. We also don’t try to be everything to everyone. We focus exclusively on retirement and tax planning for people over 50, because specialization matters.
But being a specialist means more than knowing the numbers. The emotional and psychological side of retirement—the questions, tradeoffs, and uncertainties that don’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet—often gets overlooked. That’s where we spend a great deal of our time. Because your life isn’t templated, and your retirement plan shouldn’t be either.
If you’re looking for a different kind of planning experience, we’d love to show you what that can look like.
It’s Time For You to Have a Tax-Smart Plan For Retirement
Schedule Your Free Strategy Session
If you’re over 50 and ready to make the most of your resources in retirement, let’s get the ball rolling with a free Strategy Session.
Google Rating
Latest Reviews as Of June 2026 | View all reviews
I had an outstanding experience during the complimentary 45-minute consultation with Define Financial. One of their partners took the time to truly understand both my situation and my wife’s, as we navigate what has been an exciting—but understandably complex—transition into the next phase of our lives. The guidance we received was thoughtful, clear, and tailored to our needs. By the end of the session, we had a well-defined plan of action and a strong sense of direction. As a result, we feel confident moving forward with a planning path that includes partnering with Domain Money and engaging a local estate attorney. I greatly appreciate the attentiveness, professionalism, and practical advice provided. This was a highly valuable experience, and I would absolutely recommend Define Financial to others seeking clarity and confidence in their financial future. — US Navy Retired
The trustworthy folks at Define Financial have provided me years of top notch advice on investments, taxes, and estate planning. Their experience / insights have allowed me to spend without worrying while continuing to build my portfolio in my retirement years. This is done with great attention to my particular situation at a below industry average cost. What more could I ask for? Well, Taylor also hosts informative and easy to digest podcasts on a broad spectrum of important financial issues. Bottom line: You can’t miss with these dedicated and highly knowledgeable folks!
We have been working with Define for 5 years now and we could not be happier with our relationship with them. They provide us confidence in our retirement and tax planning, insights on what-if scenarios, and help us define (pun intended) and then attain our goals to spend more quality time with our friends and family. We strongly recommend Define Financial for successful, low stress retirement decision making.
Choosing Define Financial has been one of the best decisions we have made. Taylor, Tyler, and the entire team have consistently treated us with professionalism, responsiveness, and genuine personal care. What stands out most is that they never make you feel like just another client. They take the time to explain things clearly, answer questions thoroughly, and provide thoughtful guidance tailored to our goals and comfort level. Their communication has always been prompt, honest, and reassuring. It’s rare today to find a financial team that combines technical expertise with such a personal touch. We truly appreciate the relationship we’ve built with Taylor, Tyler, and everyone at Define Financial, and we would highly recommend them to anyone looking for trusted financial guidance.
Taylor has built an outstanding, client focused firm. If you check out his social media content, you'll get a sense for his ability to provide substantive information in a coherent, concise way that demystifies a lot of the complexity inherent in finance. Define Financial applies that same skill to my (and I'm guessing every client) family's unique situation. They have been instrumental in helping us achieve our goals – especially Tyler. He listens really well, and is a total "finance nerd" (the highest compliment) in precisely the way you want your financial planner to be! That is to say he is very analytical, thorough, knowledgable, focused on details and sees the big picture. Karen is, in summary "on it." She is simply on top of everything, and seems to have a magic wand to remove all hassles, or friction in any form. These folks are true professionals and genuinely invested in our success.
The team at Define Financial has been great for us. While we truly trust the experience and focused care of Taylor and Tyler, as important and valued is the dedication and responsiveness from Karen in responding to every question and need.
Since August 2023, we have worked with the Define Financial team regarding our financial situation post-retirement. I listened to Taylor’s podcasts for over (6) months prior to our engagement to understand their approach and investment philosophy — should have reached out earlier. A strong fiduciary approach and working with clients like us were (2) key deciding factors. Their expertise, recommendations and implemented plans have provided us with peace of mind and a clear path forward. A special thanks to Karen, whose work regarding portfolio administration has been exceptional. High marks for attention to detail, responsiveness, and the ability to simplify the processes for our numerous requests. We believe the Define Financial team has a genuine commitment to our financial well-being. We highly recommend their services to anyone seeking expert financial advice and guidance in retirement planning.
As my wife and I transitioned from earning and working to retirement and with all the financial changes that go along with switching gears, Define Financial is the perfect fit for us. Their knowledge of this phase in our financial life and their responsiveness to our questions really allows us to enjoy our retirement knowing that we are in very capable hands.
We are very happy with the service we receive from the team at Define Financial. Knowing that we have a knowledgeable team guiding us through our retirement brings us great peace of mind.
The Define team is wonderful. They take the stress and anxiety out of finances for us. They have earned our utmost trust and respect.
Disclosures
Define Financial has not provided any compensation for the testimonials shown. The testimonials shown have been selected from among all client feedback. To our knowledge, no other conflicts of interest exist regarding these testimonials.
