Ben Martinek, CFP®, EA

Ben Martinek, CFP®, CSLP, EA

Bona Fide Finance

Biography

I’m Ben Martinek, founder of Bona Fide Finance, Latin for “in good faith,” and co-founder of Student Loan Tax Experts, a tax business that specializes in filing tax returns for borrowers with large amounts of student loan debt. In both businesses, I make the promise to prepare each client for their future according to the standards of good finance and good sense.

I’ve spent years studying personal finance, possessing extensive knowledge in matters of individual tax, debt management (student loans, anyone?), and global investment opportunities offered through the capital markets. Through Bona Fide Finance, I work on a fee-for-service basis, providing comprehensive advice for young families and professionals who are seeking to secure their financial position, accumulate wealth, and optimize lifestyle design.

On the personal side, I’m the fourth of nine children and grew up in rural Indiana. Early in life, I felt strongly moved to serve others and thus attended seminary, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and classical languages. Having once considered an academic career, I continued my philosophy studies and obtained a master’s degree. Upon realizing the challenges with the job market in academia, I sought other career paths, some of which included construction and truck driving–in fact, my wife Deb and I spent the first few years of our marriage as team over-the-road truck drivers, logging over 600,000 miles in the “lower 48,” visiting every metropolitan area and traveling over 90% of the Interstates in the US!—before deciding that financial planning should be the focus of my talents and career efforts.

I work hard, but also relish in the fruit of my labor. In addition to my studies pertaining to finance and philosophy, I also like to garden, hike, make home improvements, and woodwork. I relax by grilling, smoking a pipe, and canoeing the Missouri River. From time to time, I also teach Business Ethics and other financial planning courses at our local university.

My wife and two beautiful daughters live in Bismarck, North Dakota, where we happily endure the cold winters!

I work with many young professionals who are seeking Financial Independence (FI) by the time they turn 40.

I enjoy alternative investing strategies, such as rental real estate, hard-money lending, private placements through opportunity zones and self-directed accounts.

Ben’s specialities include the intersection of student loans and taxes: I’m one of only a few professionals on a national-level who can assist high-income borrowers determine how best to handle their often very large amounts of student loan debt by analyzing both the expected student loan payment through income-driven repayment and the tax implications of filing married-filing separately (MFS).

Website

http://bonafidefinance.com/

Phone

701-989-9840

Address

Bismarck, North Dakota

Specialties:
Fee-Only, CFP, CSLP (R), EA, Certified Student Loan Professional, Budgeting, Life Planning, Employee Benefits, Insurance Planning, Debt Repayment, Student Loans Repayment, Investment Management, Tax Preparation and Planning, College Funding Planning, Retirement Planning, Young Professionals, Early Retirement, Estate Planning
Contact:

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