I'm Joe Schmitt — husband, father of five ranging from med school to grade school, American Airlines 787 pilot, financial planner, CRPC®, and founder of Incline Financial Planning.
A routine call from my doctor about blood work became a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis — and suddenly I was leaving a trip mid-sequence, flying home, and wondering what this meant for my career and my family.
That moment clarified something I'd been thinking about for years. Pilots need financial planning built for their profession — not generic advice from someone who has never considered what a medical certificate means to a family's financial security. I had the planning background. I had the career. I decided to build something that combined both.
Built by a Pilot, for Pilots
Incline Financial Planning exists for American Airlines pilots who want clear answers, a disciplined strategy, and a plan built around the realities of this career.
Over the years I've flown with hundreds of pilots and heard the same frustration: "I'm doing everything right — so why does this still feel fragile?"
The answer is almost always the same. They're following advice designed for someone else's life. An advisor who doesn't understand the 18% company 401(k) contribution, the pension election decision, the Backdoor Roth strategy, the mandatory retirement at 65, or what a furlough actually does to a financial plan — that advisor is guessing. And pilots are paying for the guesses.
I've lived this career. I understand the schedules, the contract cycles, the benefit elections, the income volatility, and the specific financial decisions that matter most at each stage of an AA career. That firsthand experience shapes every recommendation I make.
What I've Seen Firsthand
Beyond my own medical scare, I've watched pilots navigate industry shocks that no generic financial plan accounts for — 9/11, the 2008 collapse, COVID-19's devastation of air travel. Each one exposed the same vulnerability: pilots with high incomes and no margin, following advice that assumed the income would always be there.
The FOM framework was built in response to that. Not as theory — as a direct answer to what I watched pilots get wrong, and what the ones who came through intact did differently.
How I Work
Every client relationship is built around the Financial Operating Manual — a sequential, behavioral framework designed specifically for American Airlines pilots.
Five steps. One direction. No shortcuts.
Step 1 — Eliminate consumer debt. Before anything else, stop the leaks. Every dollar going toward credit cards and car loans is a dollar that can't compound for your future. Pilots who reject consumer debt consistently build more wealth than those who try to manage the interest-rate arbitrage.
Step 2 — Max your tax-advantaged accounts. Your 401(k), Backdoor Roth IRA, and HSA are the most powerful wealth-building tools available to a high-income pilot. Use all of them, fully, every year.
Step 3 — Save for college. Fund your children's education intentionally — without borrowing and without compromising your retirement.
Step 4 — Eliminate the mortgage. No debt means no obligation. Every client who has followed this step reports the same thing: no regret. Only freedom.
Step 5 — Fly on your terms. Financial independence before mandatory retirement at 65. Work because you want to — not because you have to.
Straightforward, Conflict-Free Advice
Incline Financial Planning is a fee-only fiduciary firm.
No commissions. No product sales. No hidden incentives. No pressure to buy anything.
We get paid for advice. That means every recommendation we make — including ones that reduce the assets we manage — is driven entirely by what the FOM says is right for your situation. There is no other consideration.
If you're an American Airlines pilot ready to take control of your financial life, I'd be honored to help.
The first step is your Initial Flight Plan — a complimentary 60-minute working session where we look at your specific situation, answer your most pressing financial question, and give you a clear picture of what a Financial Operating Manual would look like for your career.
No obligation. No pressure. Just an honest conversation.