Ken Robinson, JD, CFP®
Senior Advisor
Ken Robinson, JD, CFP®
senior advisor / Founder
(216) 688-3737, ext. 101
The moment you stop worrying about money, life gets better.™
Ken Robinson founded Practical Financial Planning in 1996. With decades of experience in the industry, he's authored several books on financial planning, including the groundbreaking Don’t Make a Budget: Why It’s So Hard to Save Money and What to Do About It. He's been quoted in The New York Times as well as Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and Money magazines, and his writing has appeared in Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer and in the journal Science.
Not exactly the typical financial advisor, Ken’s known for his rap music video about the stock market in recession. And his calling to financial planning is about a lot more than money. "The whole point of financial planning is to get the money worry out of the way so you can experience more joy, contentment, peace, love, and serenity in your life. We want to do more than just build up a taller stack of green pieces of paper."
In his off-hours, Ken enjoys bicycling and is outfitting a long-awaited new bike for touring. Two other long-dormant interests have recently resurfaced as well. A lover of jazz and classical music, Ken's just started studying piano for the first time since college. And he's recently rekindled an interest in cryptography, solving ciphers that are written as puzzles. He rejoined the American Cryptogram Association after a 40-year hiatus and narrowly won the 2021 Online Cipher Solving Contest in the Novice division.
Schedule a Time to Talk to Ken
Q & A
What are some of your favorite books?- The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, by William Baring-Gould
- What if? by Randall Munroe
- The Codebreakers, by David Kahn
- Ciphers and crossword puzzles
- I have several, but here are two:
- “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962, Rice University.
- “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.” Winston Churchill, October 29, 1941, Harrow School.
- Cinnamon buns from Breadsmith (Detroit Ave. at W. Clifton Blvd., Lakewood).
- Bicycle touring equipment and accessories.
- The moderate cost of living, and the depth of creativity here. Over the years, it's become very bicycle friendly. Also, we have a remarkable arts scene. What New York has twelve of, we may have one of, like museums and orchestras. But they’re very good.
- Science. It’s the coolest thing. When I watch rocket launches, I always get excited as vehicle passes Max Q.
- Economics. I’d kind of like to get a degree in Econ.
- Music, especially classical and jazz.
- Good writing. English can be beautiful.
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Brittney Whitehouse
Client Service Specialist
Brittney Whitehouse
Client Service Specialist
(216) 688-3737, ext. 100
Brittney joined the Practical Financial Planning team in 2019 as our Client Service Specialist. Contact her about scheduling, using the +PFP Portal, or to verify we have all the data we need for your next meeting.
A graduate of Youngstown State University who moved to Cleveland in 2018, Brittney shares her home with her wife, Devin, their young daughter, and a variety of critters.
Q & A
- What are some of your favorite books?
- Wicked by Gregory McGuire
- The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
- The Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
- Anything sci-fi or fantasy, and I love historical fiction!
- What are some of your favorite games?
- Anything made by the board game developer Red Raven. Near and Far is my favorite, but they also make MegaLand, which is available at major retailers and lots of fun!
- What do you buy way more of than most people?
- Sneakers, board games, and dice.
- What's your favorite thing about living in Cleveland?
- My best friends live here! But also, it has all of the city amenities (parks, restaurants, museums, etc) without being overwhelming. I love Cleveland!
- What was your favorite toy as a child?
- I had a favorite baby doll, which I saved along with all of her accessories. She's now my toddler's favorite doll, and it's so fun to see her loving Ruby even more than I did!
- What do you get overly excited about?
- Board games, Dungeons & Dragons, home improvement DIYs, every single thing my daughter does.
Ellen Robinson
Office Manager
Ellen Robinson
Office Manager
(216) 688-3737, ext. 103
Ellen Robinson serves as Practical Financial Planning’s Office Manager. Feel free to contact her with any questions regarding billings or accounts payable.
Ellen received her degree in computer science and worked for many years as a programmer and analyst. Outside of the office, she is an accomplished seamstress and designer of specialty clothes, including theatrical and historical costumes, as well as attire for wedding parties. Ellen made her film debut in Ken’s rap music video about the stock market.
Q & A
- What are some of your favorite books?
- Regency novels, detective novels (silly and serious), science fiction, and old classics like The Three Musketeers and Dracula.
- What are some of your favorite games?
- Classic board games like Monopoly, and classic card games like Hearts, Canasta, and Rook (I used to play them with my grandmother and aunts).
- If you could have one mundane superpower, what would it be?
- To be able to understand any language spoken to me and be able to respond in kind.
- What do you buy way more of than most people?
- Fabric and cookbooks.
- What's your favorite thing about living in Cleveland?
- Having easy access to so many cultural venues.
- What do you get overly excited about?
- Whatever new craft project (of my own) that I'm involved in at the moment.
