Money down the drain is all I can say.

Yes and no.

$4k to $5k is a bit much to pay for 3 or 4 hours of consulting. That is a rate in excess of $1000 per hour. $500 per hours sounds like a lot to me, and I think you could find good advice for more like $200 to $300 per hour.

But I disagree that paying for financial advice in and of itself is a waste. There are a number of people who lack the time, the inclination, or the ability to do their own financial planning. For those people, paying for some advice could be a very prudent thing to do, and (assuming the advice is sound) would actually increase their net worth by paying for financial advice.

--Peter