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Cynthia Meyer, CFA®, CFP®, ChFC®

Where Financial Planning Meets Real Estate

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Real Life Planning Cynthia Meyer, CFA®, CFP®, ChFC®
Peapack and Gladstone, NJ

Serving Clients Nationwide

Where Financial Planning Meets Real Estate

(833) 246-5438

Website

Areas of Focus

  • Financial Life Planning
  • Investment Management
  • Real Estate Investing
  • Retirement Planning
  • Taxes

About Me

Hi, I'm Cynthia Meyer. I'm a real estate investor and financial planner, who founded Real Life Planning to mentor a new generation of real estate dreamers.

My husband, Steve, and I formed our rental real estate company as a side hustle during the Great Recession. We had already included real estate funds as part of our investment mix for many years, but we wanted the adventure of trying direct real estate ourselves. Over a few years, we built a successful rental business with single family and small multi-unit homes in great neighborhoods.

When opportunity knocked, we were ready.

We’d witnessed some friends succeed and others fail in their real estate attempts, so before we bought our first rental, we made sure we were financially prepared to handle the risks of direct investment. We built our cash reserves, ran the numbers again and again and read everything we could get our hands on for first-time landlords. Those actions helped us get off to a strong start.

As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, I’ve worked with thousands of people to lift their personal finances to a higher level. One key thing I've observed over my 22 years coaching people to master their financial habits and build financial independence, is that people who have real financial freedom aren't the ones with the flashiest lifestyles.

These “millionaires next door” live below their means, spend only on things important to them and use their savings to build assets. Those assets, such as retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, businesses and real estate, offer multiple sources of income and diversification. It’s not rocket science, but it does take a mind shift to treat your income as a tool for investing, not just to buy more stuff.

My husband and I are financially independent, but it wasn't something that happened instantly. It's something we cultivated throughout becoming a blended family, having two more kids of our own in our forties and moving abroad for five years. We forged a strong economic partnership, in addition to the emotional and spiritual partnership we already had.

Like many Americans, I started off in my twenties with student loans and debt. At age 34, I'd had enough. I declared my financial independence. I did whatever it took to pay off debt – even giving up my car! – and build up my emergency and retirement savings. It didn't happen overnight, but, in a few years, I had a stronger financial foundation and solid financial habits.

I was not only personally transformed – I now had a vocation. I switched careers in 1996 to become a financial planner. I earned my CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation in 2001 and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC) in 2003. In 2014 I earned my Chartered Financial Analyst ® (CFA), the highest level of distinction in the investment management profession.

More recently, I spent four years at Financial Finesse, delivering unbiased financial wellness programs to employees from all walks of life. As a member of the firm’s Financial Wellness Think Tank, I co-authored nationally recognized research on topics such as workforce financial stress, employee retirement preparedness, the ROI of workplace financial wellness programs and the gender gap in financial wellness. On the media page, you'll find links to articles where I was quoted, as well a my Forbes column from that period of work. While I left Financial Finesse to pursue entrepreneurship, I remain profoundly grateful to them for how they are building a financially healthy society.

I’m the parent of an awesome middle-schooler and a teenager, and the stepparent of an amazing 30-year-old. We live in central New Jersey now, about an hour from NYC. When I’m not working or driving someone to sports practice, you’ll find me hiking, at the yoga studio, or playing Scrabble™.

Professional Designations

  • CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional
  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
  • Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)

Affiliations

  • National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
  • XY Planning Network

Primary Location

Gladstone, NJ

Video

Meeting Options

  • Video Conference
  • In-Person
  • Phone
Book Intro Call

Compensation Methods

  • Fee Only
  • Flat Fee
  • Percentage of Assets Managed
  • Subscription

What to expect in the first meeting

Click the 'Book Intro Call' button above to schedule a free introductory call. We're excited to meet you and learn more about the goals you have for your real (estate) life! On our discovery call, we'll get to know each other, talk about your financial life goals and challenges at a high level, and introduce you to how we work with clients at Real Life Planning. I look forward to speaking with you.

Offers Investment Management

Yes

About our Firm

Real Life Planning offers unbiased personal financial planning for real estate investors - and those who dream of it.

Are you a busy professional who owns rental property, or are you thinking about getting started as a real estate investor? Whether you're a current landlord or aspire to own your first rental, you've got a different perspective. You look at your income as a tool for building financial independence from a paycheck, not just for spending on your lifestyle.

If this sounds like you, we can help.

The real estate life can be rewarding, but it's not nearly as simple as it looks on TV. How do you know if you're financially prepared? What type of real estate investment fits your life stage and finances? What's involved in being a landlord? Are you ready to buy your next rental property? How do you know if you're taking too much risk? Will you use leverage? Where should you invest? We'll help you figure it all out so that you're pursuing a real estate life that fits you.

✔️ Realize Your Financial Potential

Whether you're adding to your properties, listing your place on Airbnb or looking for your first rental, we'll help you create a realistic plan for your financial life goals.

✔️ Fee-Only CFP® Professionals

As a Fee-Only fiduciary firm and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®), we work for you, not for Wall Street. We help you design a realistic financial life plan.

✔️ We're Real Estate Investors, Too

We walk our talk. We're rental property owners, financial planners and investors. Because we speak both real estate and financial planning, we can help you put it all together.

Education

Georgetown University, Bachelor of Science, Linguistics

Badges

Hobbies and Interests

  • Family
  • Hiking
  • Yoga

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Who We Serve

  • Baby Boomers
  • Dual Income Family
  • Gen X
  • Real Estate Agents
  • Real Estate Investors

To make Wealthtender free for readers, we earn a nominal monthly fee from financial advisors and firms in exchange for marketing services (including being featured on this profile page), subject to terms of use. This compensation creates a natural conflict of interest when we favor their promotion over others. Wealthtender is not a client of these advisors or firms. Testimonials may not be representative of other clients’ experiences and do not guarantee future performance or success.

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