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Real financial planning for people who love golf.


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Welcome to Under Par Planning.





We help people who love golf connect what they do with their money and what they want out of life

 


Real financial planning is about connecting life and money



without the frustration of product sales, commissions, or investment minimums


Real financial planning focuses on the client, not products



so they spend less time worrying about money



Financial plans help you spend less time worrying about money



and spend more time doing what they love.


Financial plans help you spend more time doing what you love



Life's too short to lay up, let's live Under Par.



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What We Do

Your financial caddy for life.


Where you are + where you want to go + how to get there = a plan


Living Under Par will take vision, planning, and execution.  We guide you through a simple, proven routine to connect how you spend your money and time with what you want out of life. 


Keep the red numbers on your scorecard and off your balance sheet.


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Explore Under Par Planning


You wouldn't show up to play the US Open without playing a practice round.  We don't expect you to join Under Par Planning without a practice round either.

The practice round is always on the house.  This is about getting to know one another and making sure what we do is the right fit for what you are looking for.  We want you to get a taste of real financial planning so you can feel great about your decision to move forward.  We are going to listen a lot more than we talk.  We would love to learn:

What brings you here today?

What would an Under Par life look like for you?

What questions do you have for us?

If you are married or have a partner, we want to get to know both of you.  While there will certainly be overlap, your answers to these questions will not be identical.  Every person has unique life aspirations.  Real financial planning will make sure that each of you get what you need to feel completely fulfilled.


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Let's Get Organized.


It's easy to feel like the entire financial world has teamed up to create confusion.  Maybe they have, they profit off the complexity.  It's nearly impossible to see all your accounts in one place or get a complete view of your financial life.  It shouldn't be this way.

Those days are done.  We will start by helping you organize all your financial data and accounts into your secure personal financial planning portal.  Consider it the golf bag for your financial life, everything you need will be in there. Personal insurance, employee benefits, 401(k) accounts, IRA accounts, your mortgage, you name it.  It is the simplified view you've been looking for and you'll have a complete view of your financial life whenever you want it.

And if you've been spending hours tracking this all of this yourself in a spreadsheet, you just took all that time back and can spend it doing what you love.

We know where you're starting from.  Let's figure out where you want to go.


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Visualize your Under Par life.  Go ahead, dream big.


A critical element of any golfers pre-shot routine is visualization.  What shot are you trying to hit? 

Visualization is equally important in life.  What life are you trying to build?   

Too often we skip this step in our daily lives. It's understandable too, life's busy and there a hundred different things competing for your money, time, and talent.  But as Yogi Berra once said, "If you don't know where you're going, you might wind up someplace else."

Be intentional. 

We will help you push pause on the daily grind and visualize the life you truly want to build.  We will guide you through The Three Questions and Heart's Core exercises to shine a spotlight on what truly matters and separate them from wishes and obligations.  What do you truly want to have, to accomplish, or to become to feel fulfilled?  Let yourself go, dream big.  Stepping into your true vision will feel like slipping on the green jacket on Sunday.

You deserve to live an Under Par life.  You've got what it takes.  Let's start planning.


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Vision + Planning = Possibilities


"A vision without a plan is just a dream.  A plan without a vision is just drudgery.  But a vision with a plan can change the world."  -  Proverb

We've all been there.  We get super excited about our new idea or the change we are going to make in our lives.  But then nothing happens.  Why?

A vision without a plan is just a dream.

Traditional financial planning reduces your life to numbers on a spreadsheet with little regard for who you are and what will make you happy, now or in the future.  The recommendations may be sound but you don't implement any of them.  Why?

A plan without a vision is just drudgery.

Real financial planning is driven by your vision.  Feeling how important this is to you, what could possibly get in the way?  We will help you answer this question and start planning to overcome these obstacles and get more out of money, time and talent.  The Ideal Day/Week/Year exercise will help you see where you spend time today and the changes you can make to spend more time doing what you love.  We bring our financial planning expertise to the table and make it easy to understand your financial options so you can make great financial decisions that connect what you do with your money with what you want out of life.

A vision with real financial planning can change your world.

Let's make it happen.


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Take action.  Track results.  Adjust, as needed


Great planning will only get you so far, you'll need to take action to turn your vision into your reality.  We will guide you through identifying what needs to get done right away, what can wait, start taking action, and create accountability to make sure things get done.

We don't just get you to the first tee and send you out there alone hoping for the best.  We are with you every step of the way providing ongoing planning that adjusts to the changing conditions of your life, your money, and the world around you.

We are continuously monitoring your financial plan and helping you track results using the Under Par Scorecard.  The scorecard tracks key areas of your financial life and provides a simple visual that confirms you're in good shape or highlights something that needs to be addressed.  If something needs to be addressed, we'll walk you through your options and help you save your financial par.

Our scheduled Alignment Checks are designed to make sure what you are doing with your money remains in alignment with what you want out of life.  We will reconnect with your vision, refine it as needed, review your Scorecard, and identify the next action steps.  And when the truly unexpected happens, we are available whenever you need us.

What are you waiting for?  It's time to start living Under Par.


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What It Costs

Simple, transparent pricing.


You know how much your round will cost before you book a tee time.  You know how much that driver in the pro shop will cost before you buy it.

You shouldn't have to read the fine print to know what you are paying your financial planner. 

That's why we list our pricing right here.  No commissions, no hidden fees, no BS.

See, we've already saved you time.



Under Par Planning

We do our best work with busy professionals in their 30's and 40's, household incomes of $200,000 or more, love to play golf, and want to create their future rather than simply participate in it.


One-Time Initiation
$900
Annual Dues (Billed Quarterly)
$3600


Have questions? That's what the practice round is for.  It's on the house.


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Under Par Portfolios

Under Par Portfolios is our investment management service and is appropriate if you would like to delegate the implementation and monitoring of your investment portfolio.  

Our portfolios are designed to reduce expenses, reduce taxes, and diversify globally to fully capture market returns.  We are not stock pickers or market timers.  Fairways and greens.

Under Par Portfolios
0.59% of assets


Have questions? That's what the practice round is for.  It's on the house.


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Who We Are

Real financial planning for golfers, by golfers.

Jeff Wolniewicz MBA, RLP®, CFP®, RICP®, AEP® Photo

Jeff Wolniewicz MBA, RLP®, CFP®, RICP®, AEP®

Founder
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Who is Jeff Wolniewicz? 

Personally, golf is a huge part of my life. I'm a member of Crag Burn Golf Club where I serve on the Board of Governors as the Vice President. Spending time at Crag Burn is how I maintain balance and it is absolutely my happy place. Prior to co-founding Under Par Planning, I played golf for the Binghamton University Bearcats which ultimately led to one of my proudest accomplishments — being inducted into the Binghamton University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. While at Binghamton, I earned a Bachelors’s Degree in 2007 as well as an MBA in 2009.  Following Binghamton I pursued my dream of becoming a professional golfer and played on mini tours for a couple years. You are reading my bio here and not seeing me compete against Tiger Woods so it didn't work out as I dreamed, but it was an unbelievably rewarding experience that I grew and learned from.

Outside of golf, my family and friends mean the world to me. I would not be the person I am today without their love and support through the good times and not so good times. They're awesome. You can also find me playing with my puppy Thor, having drinks somewhere, watching sunsets, listening to live music, or some combo of all those things! 

Professionally, after pursuing professional golf I moved home to Buffalo, NY and began my career as a financial planner, earning and becoming a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®️) in 2014, a Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®️) in 2015, an Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®️) in 2019, and a Registered Life Planner (RLP®) in 2021. Personal and professional development is a huge part of who I am and I continually strives to become the best version of himself for his friends, family, and clients. I bring the same dedication and commitment to excellence to our real financial planning work that I did the golf course.

Joe Chappius CLU® Photo

Joe Chappius CLU®

Founder
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Joe Chappius currently resides in the heart of Buffalo, although his roots extend well beyond the City’s limits, in the small town of Albion, NY — The type of place in which tractors are common and tailored suits are rare. It was in Albion where his honest, hardworking, family values were instilled.

Enrolling at Rochester Institute of Technology for computer networking, and then transferring to The College at Brockport for education, finance wasn’t ever considered. That quickly changed when Joe was given a unique opportunity to take part in a finance internship. While completing his Bachelors’s Degree, Joe was awarded Intern of the Year, further fueling his passion for the profession, and earning him a full-time position following graduation.

An Under Par life for Joe is choosing to live a life of happiness and sharing that passion with others around him. He values developing deep, meaningful relationships with family, friends, and clients. His zeal for life is made evident by his leisurely activities which include getting overly excited when he breaks 100 on the golf course, being potentially too competitive in any game, or burying his nose in a good book.

“Actions speak so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.” This is one of Joe’s favorite quotes and provides insight to his distaste for self-promotion. Although he is rarely too humble to mention his ability to ride a unicycle.

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Have some specific questions that you would like to ask us?  Fire away, we're an open book and will get back to you with an answer soon.