I am most inspired when I express uninhibited positivity while empowering others to create wealth for today and generations wealth for tomorrow, so that we all might thrive in life’s abundance now, and pass that opportunity on to those we hold dear.

My name is James Sias. I am a queer and polyamorous CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and a US Navy veteran, having spent nearly 8 years in service. I enlisted in January 2006, and after an honorable discharge in September 2013 I enrolled in a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree program at National University, with a dual focus in Finance and Project Management. In November of that same year I obtained my property & casualty insurance license, then used what I had learned during my time in service and in the business classes I was enrolled in to write the standard operating procedures for the agency I joined. Along with my partners, I ran the agent training program I’d built from scratch, training over 150 new agents on how to serve their clients and more than doubling our agency’s revenue within 3 years. After some post-pandemic setbacks, I found my true calling and earned my CFP® mark in April 2025, and I’m excited to put my passion, expertise, and education to work in service to others.

I wrote the text in red italics above, my “why” statement, in 2019, while I was busy building that insurance agency with my brother and other partners. At the time I had big plans and dreams of building a billion-dollar empire. I believed that being extraordinary was my calling, and that I had to hustle, hustle, hustle to get there. Fast forward to 2024, five short years later and the world had changed. My world had changed. The pandemic slowed us all down, I broke my back (literally and figuratively) hustling too hard, and I, too, was forced to slow down. During my 6-month recovery, it dawned on me that I had, in a small way, won the capitalism game! I felt semi-retired at age 38, and I took 2 years “off,” discovering (or perhaps rediscovering) my true calling: financial planning.

I come from a modest upbringing. While my family never dealt with food scarcity or housing insecurity, my parents drove embarrassingly old and ugly beater vehicles, shopped at K-Mart and Family Bargain Center for our school clothes, and cut coupons like no one’s business to make ends meet. Somehow they still managed to buy cleats for their 3 boys during each little league season and kept the fridge stocked with milk and soda, but (in my mama’s words), it was only by the grace of God.

My parents are (my mom, especially) the most selfless people I know. Despite being a half-step above poverty when we were kids, my mom unfailingly paid her 10% tithe to her church. Our home was open to anyone who needed a place to crash. In high school, there was usually between 13-17 people crammed into our 3-bedroom, 1200 sq. ft. home. My mom fed the neighborhood kids, our baseball teams, and all our friends whenever they came over. With her heart of service, my mom grew her local food bank from serving 150 families in a month to more than 700 every week. She is pure gold, and I endeavor to be as much like my mom as I can.

This is where I come from, who I am, and why it is in my heart to help the most vulnerable among us. My bootcamp bestie gave me the nickname “Beans,” and the idea of counting beans resonated with me for several reasons; not the least of them being memories of sorting beans with my mom when she made arroz y frijoles con tortillas for my dad, my brothers, and me. It always felt like Counting Our Beans!

I play guitar and drums (neither particularly well), I have a 2-year old Rosarito Rescue named General Leia Organa, and we love walking 6 miles daily, dog parks, taking advantage of San Diego’s beautiful beaches, spending time with friends, family, and community, and finding ways to be of service to others.