The Awakened Path to Retiring Earlier, Wealthier & Happier
The Awakened Path to Retiring Earlier, Wealthier & Happier
Author 11/19/2025 David Lundberg MBA MSCJ Financial Planner and Founder
A spiritual wellness, financially strategic, and tax-smart approach for modern conscious families in North Carolina, Arizona, and virtually elsewhere.
Most people come to a financial advisor with the same quiet hope:
to retire earlier, to retire wealthier, and to retire happier than they ever thought possible.
At Awaken Financial Designs, we believe you deserve all three; without sacrificing your peace, purpose, or well-being to get there.
The truth is this: Retirement isn’t just a financial event; It is a spiritual transition, a shift in identity, a reconnection to what matters most.
This is why our approach blends tax strategy, early retirement systems, and conscious wealth principles into one unified framework. A path designed to help you build not only financial security but emotional, energetic, and spiritual alignment as well.
Whether you live here locally in Cary, Apex, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, or you’re joining us virtually from Arizona or anywhere in the country, the principles remain the same:
Clarity creates peace.
Alignment creates abundance.
Conscious planning creates freedom.
Why Families Today Need a Different Kind of Financial Advisor
Our world is changing rapidly. Retirement is more complex. Taxes are evolving. Costs are rising. Traditional investment-first planning models weren’t designed for the emotional and spiritual realities of modern life.
Families today want:
• real tax strategy, not generic advice
• the ability to retire before 60, not after 67
• a plan that feels safe, grounded, and aligned
• support that honors both practicality and purpose
• a fiduciary who listens with depth and heart
• a virtual advisor who can serve them anywhere
• holistic guidance not sales pressure
The old way is disappearing. A new way is emerging.
Introducing the Awakened Wealth & Life Alignment Method™
A seven-stage financial and spiritual framework
This signature system was born from combining:
• 10+ years of financial planning experience
• Marine Corps discipline
• Deep tax strategy mastery
• Spiritual wellness, meditation, and breathwork teachings
• Conscious relationship and family dynamics
• Our own journey of healing, clarity, and awakening
It brings together the strategic and the soulful:
ROOT — PROTECT
Safety, reserves, insurance, estate basics, grounding.
SACRAL — FLOW
Spending, cash flow, emotional money patterns, regulation.
SOLAR PLEXUS — EMPOWER
Tax strategy, income control, wealth building, confidence.
HEART — ALIGN
Values, relationships, harmony, mindful decision-making.
THROAT — CLARIFY
Communication, financial identity, goals, truth-telling.
THIRD EYE — ENVISION
Retirement design, long-term clarity, intuitive vision.
CROWN — ELEVATE
Legacy, impact, contribution, higher purpose.
This is more than planning. This is evolution.
Why Taxes Are the Gateway to Early Retirement
Investments matter, but tax planning determines how far your money actually takes you.
Most households lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to:
• inefficient withdrawals
• RMDs
• IRA-heavy portfolios
• poor Social Security timing
• unoptimized capital gains
• missing the OBBBA standard deduction strategy
• failing to plan for NIIT or IRMAA
Your financial freedom is shaped not just by how much you earn, but how much you keep.
This is why our flat-fee model offerings, places tax strategy at the center, including:
• Roth conversion ladders
• 24% bracket optimization
• Zero-tax withdrawal plans
• Long-term capital gains stacking
• Early-retirement bridge planning
• Real estate tax integration when relevant
• Cost-basis optimization
• Social Security tax minimization
Taxes are the spiritual and strategic lever that opens early retirement pathways most families never knew were possible.
A New Model for Early Retirement (Before 60)
You don’t need to wait until 65 or 67.
With layered income design and spiritual/energetic clarity, many families:
• retire between 55–60
• work less
• travel more
• spend more intentionally
• experience greater peace
• reconnect with purpose
Whether you’re in NC, AZ, or across the country, early retirement becomes possible when:
• your tax strategy is optimized
• your withdrawal plan is sequenced
• your income layers are coordinated
• your investments match your risk + values
• your spending aligns with your life vision
• your emotional and energetic patterns support financial decisions
Money becomes a tool; not a weight.
Why We Are Proudly Flat-Fee & 100% Fiduciary
Just:
• transparency
• objectivity
• integrity
• independence
• soul-level alignment
• and service to your highest good
This model ensures you are never seen as an account size or a product sale.
You are a human being, a family, a soul on a journey. Your plan deserves to reflect that.
A Spiritual Insight for Your Wealth Journey
As you evolve, your relationship with money evolves with you.
If money has brought stress or confusion in the past, it is not a sign of failure.
It is an invitation to reconnect; to breathe, reflect, and realign.
Abundance begins with awareness. Prosperity begins with peace.
Financial freedom begins the moment you stop navigating your future alone.
A Soft Invitation to Begin Your Awakened Journey
Whether you’re in Cary, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Apex, or joining us virtually across NC, AZ, or anywhere in the U.S., you are welcome here.
If you’re ready to:
• retire earlier
• protect more of your wealth from taxes
• feel calmer in your financial life
• bring your money into alignment with your values
• build a future filled with clarity, peace, and purpose
Then when you feel ready; let’s Awaken together!
Our first conversation is warm, calm, grounded, and pressure-free. Just two humans exploring what’s possible.
The content provided is for educational purposes only and thoughts of the author. No investment, legal or tax advice is provided. Always consult with a professional.
