Cheryl Costa
MBA, CFP®
Woodside Wealth Management LLC
Founding Principal
Cheryl Costa
MBA, CFP®
Woodside Wealth Management LLC
Founding Principal
As a fee-only financial planner, my focus is to offer unbiased financial advice to help you achieve your life goals. - Cheryl Costa, MBA, CFP®
Fee-Only financial planner located in Framingham, MA, serving clients locally and across the country

Cheryl Costa is a Framingham, MA fee-only financial advisor serving clients locally and across the country. Woodside Wealth Management LLC provides financial planning and portfolio management to help busy professionals and retirees organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Cheryl Costa is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.
Cheryl Costa is the Founding Principal of Woodside Wealth Management LLC. She began her career in financial planning and investment management in the late ‘90s after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and working as an information security engineer for the MITRE Corporation. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Boston University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™.
Cheryl has over two decades of experience advising clients in all areas of wealth management and her specialty is helping retirees and almost-retirees develop a financial plan that assures that income is available for a retirement that may span multiple decades. As a proud WPI grad, Cheryl also enjoys working with clients in the tech and pharmaceutical industries and she has a niche working with women in those industries.
Cheryl is committed to the fee-only comprehensive planning model and she has been a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) since 2002. She served on NAPFA’s Northeast Region Board from 2005 through 2010 and she served on NAPFA’s National Board from 2012 through 2015.
Cheryl is also very active with the CFP® Board and has served as a CFP® Board Ambassador since 2015. In addition, she served as a member of the CFP® Board’s Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) from 2014 through 2018. Cheryl was recently asked to rejoin the DEC and is she is now serving as a Commissioner through 2021.
Cheryl wrote the “Managing Your Money” blog for the Boston Globe for several years and has been quoted multiple times in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
Away from work Cheryl enjoys her rowing machine, yoga, beach walking and reading a ridiculous number of finance books.
Cheryl Costa is a Member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors - highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
NAPFA members live by three important values:
- To be the beacon for independent, objective financial advice for individuals and families.
- To be the champion of financial services delivered in the public interest.
- To be the standard bearer for the emerging profession of financial planning.
Woodside Wealth Management is an independent, fee-only firm that specializes in comprehensive financial planning and portfolio management for today's busy professionals and retirees. With us as your trusted advisor, you are free to focus on life's other priorities and you can spend your time with family and friends doing the things that are important to you.
Woodside Wealth Management is made up of dedicated, experienced and credentialed financial advisors who provide top-notch client services and expert advice to individuals, families, and businesses. We have decades of experience in the Financial Planning and Wealth Management industry, and our lead advisors are all CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals.
Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.
Specialties
- Comprehensive Financial Planning
- Retirement Income Planning
- Investment Management
- College Education Planning
- Tax Planning
Ideal Clients
- Retirees and Near Retirees
- Growing Families
- Business Owners and Executives
- Sudden Money Situations
- Novice Investors
Working Together
- In-Office Meetings
- Virtual Meetings
- Clearly Defined Fees
- No Product Sales
- Complimentary Initial Consultation
Professional Designations & Affiliations
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Cheryl Costa is a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
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Cheryl Costa is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional - Click for Verification
CFP® professionals are held to strict ethical standards to ensure financial planning recommendations are in your best interest. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can use the CFP® designation.
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Cheryl Costa is a member of The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®)
FPA® is the largest membership organization for CFP® professionals in the U.S. and supports high standards of professional competence, ethical conduct, and clear, complete disclosure when serving clients.
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Woodside Wealth Management LLC is an Approved Dimensional Funds Advisor
Dimensional believes an advisor can work closely with you to understand your financial needs and provide a range of wealth management services, while encouraging the discipline essential to long-term investment success. Financial advisors who work with Dimensional operate independently from Dimensional and vary in the extent to which they use Dimensional funds.
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Cheryl Costa is a CFP Board Ambassador
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in US News and World Report: "Renting vs. Buying a Home: Which Is Smarter?"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in The Seattle Times: "Don’t pay tax penalties on money you took from retirement accounts"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in Investor's Business Daily: "New Crisis, New Strategy: How The Coronavirus Changed Things For Advisors"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in MarketWatch: "8 things successful retirees do"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in InvestmentNews: "Women advisers deal with unique issues"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in the StarTribune: "The flipside of low interest rates: Savers earn practically nothing"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in the New York Times: "Don’t Pay Tax Penalties on Money You Took From Retirement Accounts"
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Cheryl Costa Contributed to the CFP Blog: "TIRED OF RENTING? SMOOTH THE TRANSITION TO HOMEOWNER WITH THESE BEST PRACTICES"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in the Wall Street Journal: "Planning to Retire in 2015? Read This"
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Cheryl Costa is Quoted in The Boston Globe: "Financial planning for the ages"
Contact Cheryl Costa
Office Locations:
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550 Cochituate Rd
Suite 25
Framingham, MA 1701