Based in Minnetonka, Minnesota
Flames FP is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Houston relationships run entirely virtually. This page describes the Houston service area, not a separate Houston branch.
Financial advisor serving Houston
A flat-fee financial advisor serving Houston, TX.
Flames Financial Planning is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota and works with Houston households through a virtual planning relationship. Fixed quarterly memberships coordinate investments, taxes, retirement, and estate guidance without an AUM fee.
Minnetonka-basedA Minnesota firm serving Houston-area households; Flames FP does not claim a Houston office.
$150–$1,650/qtrQuarterly memberships billed in advance, with no annual commitment.
0% AUMThe advisory fee is not calculated as a percentage of the portfolio.
Virtual planningMeet and collaborate from Houston or anywhere else you happen to be.
Direct answer
How Do You Find a Flat-Fee Financial Advisor Serving Houston?
Compare each advisor’s registration, fiduciary role, total annualized cost in dollars, the services included, and who you actually meet with. Flames Financial Planning is based in Minnetonka—not at a Houston office—and serves Houston households virtually. Memberships cost $150, $900, or $1,650 per quarter, with no AUM fee and no annual commitment.
A truthful local relationship
Serving Houston without inventing an office there
A location page should tell you who is actually available, where the firm sits, and how the relationship works day to day.
Built for virtual collaboration
Meetings, document sharing, dashboard access, and ongoing planning all happen remotely, so where you live does not limit the advice you get.
Verify before you hire anyone
Check any advisor’s registration, services, disciplinary history, and fee disclosures before you sign. That applies to this firm as much as any other.
Texas planning context
What actually differs about planning in greater Houston
Tax rules are set by the state, not the city, and they change which decisions are worth the most. The full Texas picture, with sources, is on the Texas page. How those rules bear on withdrawal order, Roth-conversion timing and Medicare premiums is set out in the retirement tax planning overview.
Texas tax treatment
Texas has no personal income tax, and since November 2025 its constitution bars taxes on individual capital gains and on state estate, inheritance and death taxes as well. For a household holding energy-company equity or a physician's retirement plans, the state layer is simply gone and every decision turns on federal timing. Property tax is the offset.
Retirement income: Untaxed at the state level
Pensions, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals and Social Security face no Texas tax. The state's share of a retiree's budget arrives through property tax instead.
Estates: None, and constitutionally prohibited
Texas has no estate or inheritance tax, and the 2025 amendments bar the legislature from creating one. Only the federal exclusion matters — $15 million per person for deaths in 2026.
How local households are paid
Houston is the headquarters city of much of the American energy industry, with ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 among the public companies whose employees hold restricted stock and options, and home to the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, whose physicians and administrators hold 403(b) and 457 plans instead. Energy households arrive with concentration; medical households arrive with high income and no employer stock at all.
Rates change; check before you act
Brackets, thresholds, and retirement-income rules are revised regularly. The figures above are for tax year 2026. Treat them as a starting point and confirm the current year before making a decision on them.
Federal and state, together
How Texas Tax Interacts With a Houston Household’s Federal Return
With no state income tax, property tax is the only meaningful state-and-local deduction, and most Texas households stay under the federal cap. Federal planning is the whole game here.
For tax year 2026 the federal deduction for state and local taxes is capped at $40,400, shrinking above $500,000 of modified adjusted gross income to a floor of $10,000. IRS, Instructions for Schedule A (2025), line 5e.
Worth doing here
Texas planning opportunities
Things that are worth doing in Texas that would not be worth doing, or would work differently, somewhere else.
Roth conversions and realizations cost only federal tax
With no state layer, the question of when to convert to Roth or sell a concentrated position is purely a federal-bracket question, which makes the arithmetic cleaner and the low-income years between retiring and required distributions more valuable.
Arriving from a taxing state
For a household that has moved here, the planning is about the former state: when its residency actually ended, and whether equity or deferred compensation earned there is still taxable there when it pays out.
The first meeting
What the first meeting covers for a Houston household
A discovery meeting is a conversation, not a pitch. For households here it tends to get to these three things.
How concentrated the household is in one energy company's stock, and a federal-bracket-driven schedule for reducing it.
For physicians: coordinating a 403(b), a 457 and outside accounts, and using the no-state-tax years for Roth conversions.
Property tax as the state cost to plan around, particularly for the retirement years.
Who this fits
Households Flames FP often helps in Houston
The common thread is a household with enough complexity that the decisions interact, and enough assets that a percentage fee gets expensive.
Corporate employees
See how the planning relationship works for this situation, what is included, and what it costs.
Pre-retirees
See how the planning relationship works for this situation, what is included, and what it costs.
Anyone comparing a 1% fee against a flat one
Run your own numbers before talking to anyone, including this firm. The calculator converts a percentage into the dollars it actually costs over time.
Watch and learn
Financial Planning, Explained Clearly
Start with three videos selected for this page, then use the controls to explore every published Flames FP video guide.
Videos 1–3 of 14
What Nobody Tells You About Earning $400K a Year
See why a $400K income can still leave too little investable margin and how taxes, lifestyle growth, and deliberate investing change the result.
The RSU Strategy Most $300K Tech Earners Miss
Understand taxation at vesting, check the withholding gap, and turn each RSU vest into a deliberate diversification and household-planning decision.
The 3-Account System for a $250K Income
Use cash reserves, tax-advantaged accounts, and a taxable brokerage account to turn a strong income into a repeatable wealth-building system.
The 6 Levels of Wealth for $200K+ Households
Use six stages to separate a high income from the wealth it actually creates.
The Most Underrated Retirement Account
How a taxable brokerage account can support retirement flexibility alongside tax-advantaged accounts.
How to Decrease Your Tax Bill
Review practical tax-planning decisions that can connect income, investments, retirement, and withholding.
Should You Invest or Spend Your HSA?
A practical framework for deciding how an HSA fits healthcare costs, taxes, and retirement planning.
Four Common Backdoor Roth IRA Mistakes
Understand contribution, conversion, pro-rata, and reporting mistakes before they create tax problems.
Direct Indexing vs ETFs in a Taxable Account
Compare diversification, tax management, cost, and complexity before changing an investment strategy.
My New Favorite Account to Gift Money to Kids and Grandkids
Compare the new child investment account with 529 plans, custodial accounts, Roth IRAs for earned income, and the family's actual goals.
Estate Planning Documents You May Need
A plain-English review of wills, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, beneficiaries, and trusts.
Flat Fee vs 1% Financial Advisor
See how a percentage fee changes in dollars as a portfolio grows and what to compare beyond the headline rate.
How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
Think through income replacement, debt, children, childcare, education, and family risk.
Five Money Mistakes High Earners Make
Common coordination gaps involving taxes, cash flow, investments, insurance, and estate planning.
Common questions
Houston Financial Advisor Questions
Does Flames Financial Planning have a Houston office?
No. Flames Financial Planning is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and serves Houston households through a virtual planning relationship. This page describes the service area and does not claim a Houston office.
Can someone in Houston work with Flames FP virtually?
Yes. Houston households can meet by video, share documents securely, use the financial dashboard, and receive ongoing planning without travelling. Flames FP serves clients nationwide where permitted.
How much does Flames FP cost?
Flames Access is $150 per quarter ($600 annualized), Planning is $900 per quarter ($3600 annualized), and Premier is $1650 per quarter ($6600 annualized). Memberships are billed quarterly in advance with no annual commitment.
Does Flames FP charge an AUM fee to Houston clients?
No. The advisory fee is a flat quarterly amount tied to the planning work, not a percentage of the portfolio, so it does not increase as investments grow.
What should a Houston household compare between advisors?
Compare the total annual cost in dollars rather than percentages, exactly what is included at that price, whether the advisor is a fiduciary and fee-only, and who you actually meet with. Then verify the firm's registration and disciplinary history on the SEC's adviser search.
Is Texas tax planning part of the relationship?
Yes. State tax treatment shapes withdrawal order, Roth-conversion timing, and where investments are best held. Planning includes tax guidance and review of a completed return; Premier adds tax projections and preparation and filing through an independent tax partner. The Texas rules themselves are set out on the Texas page.
Next step
Compare a Houston-area planning relationship in actual dollars.
A discovery meeting covers your situation, your current advisor arrangement if you have one, and whether a fixed quarterly membership is a better fit than what you are paying now.