Michelle Vargas, Certified Financial Planner™ is the President of Waymaker Financial Planning, a Fee-Only planning and investment management firm in Fort Worth, Texas. She focuses on helping Christian women make smart money decisions, especially those in transition to retirement, widowhood, and managing wealth for the first time. Her goal is to help all clients successfully navigate their financial life so that they will be worry free and spend more time doing what they love.
After earning a degree in Finance from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1990, she moved to Orlando, Florida and started her career with Harcourt Brace Publishing. Her journey into personal finance began when she enrolled in her 401K and wanted to learn about additional options to plan for retirement. Not many advisors were willing to help her with her 401K choices, and none offered a written financial plan. In 1994 she left Harcourt Brace Publishing and became licensed to work as a Financial Advisor. In 1998, she completed the rigorous education and experience requirements to become a CFP.
With over 9 years of professional experience as a financial advisor, she daily strives to make the complex simple when advising clients. She often remembers what the experience was like when she was young and looking for an advisor. This memory enables her to be sensitive and patient in all of her interactions. Education is also an important component of her practice, and she has been quoted by CBS News, Yahoo Finance, and MSN.
She and her husband live in Fort Worth, and they have an amazing son Andrew. He is a Young Steinway Artist in graduate school at Texas Christian University. When her son was younger, she was very active in the homeschool community and served as a director, teacher, and support group leader. Her proudest accomplishments are persevering in homeschooling through high school and founding Waymaker Financial Planning.
In her spare time, she enjoys walking through the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to get inspired to make her own garden more beautiful. Spring is her favorite time of year and she loves exploring backroads filled with beautiful fields of Texas Bluebonnets. Occasionally, when her adventurous side kicks in, she goes white water rafting - with an experienced guide, of course!
What It's Like To Work With Us
We don't expect you to be perfect!
We strive to create an open, nonjudgmental space where you can share your concerns and worries and feel comfortable. Managing your money is a huge responsibility, and we value the opportunity to take some of the responsibility off your shoulders and make your life easier.
We understand what it is like to have competing priorities.
Our lives are full and pull us in multiple directions. Resources are not unlimited. We understand what it's like to have competing priorities like whether to accelerate paying off your mortgage or whether to increase your catch-up contributions for retirement. Sometimes we make decisions due to a calling from God that not everyone agrees with (e.g. giving more to a missionary organization or taking a career break to care for elderly parents or young children.) Through a place of understanding, we will help you navigate through these multiple priorities and give you action steps to help you reach your goals and stay true to your values.
We strive to exceed your expectations every day.
While our efforts will be focused on helping you achieve your objectives, our ultimate goal is for you to surpass them. After all, you’re investing time, money, and energy into working with us, and we want to make sure you’re getting maximum value out of our relationship. Throughout our time together, we’ll be constantly looking for new ways to get you closer to where you want to be.
We want to get to know you and hear your story. Here is a personal note about me.
On a personal level, faith and family are very important to me. My belief in Jesus Christ influences my relationships, work, and is the foundation of my life.
My life is not perfect and there have been difficult moments, but God has always remained faithful. In 2015, our son faced a rare life-threatening illness and was on life support in ICU for over 30 days. With God's grace, we try to live by faith instead of fear. My business name, Waymaker Financial Planning acknowledges and reminds me of God's sovereignty, and that He can make a way when things seem impossible.
In this next season of my life as a business owner and President of Waymaker Financial Planning, I am circling back to my role as a CFP®. I have mentored many families, support groups, and homeschool communities over the years. As a CFP®, I see the mentoring process continuing as I help clients overcome their financial challenges and reach their financial goals. My financial advice will always come from a place that will honor your values, strengthen your family, and provide direction for your future.
We do our best work for clients whose trust is in God alone and not their portfolios or bank accounts. We will always encourage good stewardship of the resources He has entrusted to you and your family. It is a great honor to work in this capacity and we thank our clients for the opportunity to serve.
So, that's some of my story. I look forward to hearing yours!