Natalie Slagle

It was Scrooge versus Santa — or was it?

The first Christmas Natalie Slagle spent with now-husband Dan’s family, she was inundated with gifts. And it felt so wrong.

Her family celebrated in low-key fashion with practical gifts. His family couldn’t get enough tinsel and presents and indulgence.

The couple was already working through the usual relationship issues when the Christmas culture shock forced them to hammer out a mode of reconciling financial perspectives. It was a prescient moment that cleared the way for establishing the philosophy of the firm the couple, both CFPs, founded in 2019.

Fyooz — the phonetic spelling of “fuse,” which indicates the melding of a couple’s priorities — has sustained a 140% annual growth rate since 2020.

Millennial couples with annual incomes of at least $250,000 are the firm’s sweet spot. They find Fyooz as they narrow down online searches starting with the question “what should I look for in a financial advisor” and quickly find fee-only firms, including Fyooz.

Cash flow as a foundational metric and discipline is a Fyooz hallmark.

“Everything stems from cash flow,” said Slagle. “People always ask us, ‘How much do I need to save for retirement?’ And we always say, ‘How much do you spend?’ How much can you invest, how much insurance you need — everything is based on cash flow. Our industry needs to pay attention to that because that’s what people want to talk about.”

—Joanne Cleaver