I highly recommend Danika and the entire team at XENA Financial Planning. I began working with Danika with a specific goal: to improve my financial literacy around my compensation and develop a clear understanding of my net worth. In the two years since, I've made major strides thanks to her support and education.

What sets Danika apart is her ability to take financial concepts that once felt inaccessible and make them click using plain language. She never makes me feel judged for what I don't know. Instead, she presents options clearly and helps me arrive at informed decisions. She also keeps her finger on the pulse of the market and legislation and is proactive about explaining how shifts might impact my personal situation.

I'd recommend Danika and XENA to anyone looking for a team that is empathetic and informed. She's helped me fundamentally reframe my relationship with money. Where I once approached finances with fear and intimidation, I now feel confident managing my own financial life and thinking bigger about the future.									

										I came to Danika at the recommendation of colleagues who have worked with her and thank goodness I did. I had been working with a financial planner and an investment broker who were condescending and talked down to me as a woman consistently telling me they'd "just take care" of my money and "not to worry" when I'd ask them questions so I could learn. Working with Danika is a complete change from that experience. She empowers me to learn, includes me in decision making and ensures that my investment portfolio aligns with my values. I've learned so much from her, feel confident in making decisions and am never afraid to ask questions so I know I understand decisions we are making. What a refreshing take on financial planning compared to the traditional "finance bro" approach!									

										My husband and I have been working with Danika for almost a year and she has already been invaluable in so many ways. She has helped us get a handle our existing accounts, set up new investments based on our values and priorities, ensured we have the right level of insurance, and have a will in place, and more. It is so reassuring knowing that we have an expert on our side, helping us make the right moves thoughtfully, and keeping us on track. Danika and her team have been a delight to work with.									

										Danika has been great to work with. My financial situation is complicated—international considerations, equity compensation, real estate projects, lots of moving pieces—and she's one of the few planners I've talked to who actually seems to enjoy the puzzle rather than defaulting to generic advice.

What stands out most is how she's always thinking ahead. She's literally planning, not waiting for things to happen and reacting. Detailed meeting notes with clear follow-ups, reaching out before big financial events rather than after, and actually digging into problems that don't have easy answers. Her team is also responsive when things need to move quickly.

What makes me happiest about working with her is that she's pragmatic. It all starts with what I want from my life, and then we work backwards from there. Not the other way around.

If you're looking for someone who can handle non-standard situations and thinks through tradeoffs with you rather than at you, she's worth talking to.									

										I love working with Danika Waddell at Xena. She takes a process that can feel daunting and overwhelming—managing finances and planning for the future, be it retirement or something more near term—and makes it feel manageable, understandable, doable. She's smart, warm, well informed, patient. She's great at explaining the esoterica intrinsic to financial planning, talking me through my options, making sure I understand, helping me make informed decisions. I feel very comfortable asking questions, whatever they may be. I come away from my conversations with Danika feeling encouraged and confident that I'm doing the right things to manage my finances and plan for the future.