Question for Moms Who Use Financial Planners

I don't pay my financial planners. They get a fee from whatever my investments are making. So in a way, they want to make money for me too. I have 2. One from my IRA accounts and one from my bank. I can call any of them to ask them for advice anytime and it's their job. They helped me figure out how insurance I need, gave me mortgage advice, help me to see if I'm on track with retirement, etc. If you get a really good one, they will build a relationship with you and keep track of your financial health on an ongoing basis.

Financial Planners typically get paid on your investments that you enroll with them. And if you have a good one, yes they can be worth it.

Before you look into hiring a Financial Planner, I wanted to suggest you look into taking a Dave Ramsey class. He has a lot of wonderful advice about all aspects of money whether it's about financial planning, purchasing or selling a home, insurance, college, debt, investing, purchasing a car, etc honestly it's about all aspects of money. The class is very inexpensive (less expensive than a fincl planner) and will give you the tools before you seek a Financial Planner so you can go in with the knowledge & confidence to make an educated decision about your future.

And Dave Ramsey will give you a list of Financial Planners in your area that have the same ideas & values of what he teaches.

Do you have a 401k thru work? The company that oversees/manages our 401k's, (I don't know if they are called Finanacial planners, advisors, money manages, etc.) has these individuals that we can contact/use for free to help discuss & plan investments, bonds, savings, etc.

If you do not understand the depth of finances, then an advisor who you trust is good to guide you.

We are very much numbers people and active with the market and mutual funds. We do have a planner who has part of our investments and we pay him commissions when we make a change or trade with him, which is rare.

We do most of the investing ourselves through mutual funds and don't pay fees. However, it is important to understand how everything functions, risks involved, etc.

The main thing is to be diversified...... don't have everything in high risk or everything too conservative. Have multiple forms of investments....we have real estate, coins, savings bonds, mutual funds, cash, 529, IRA's, and be DEBT FREE.

I am not familiar with the Dave Ramsey program but I have heard that his program is good at educating those who need to learn a lot of the basics if finances and getting out of debt.

Good luck.

We just "hired" a FP. His cost was $300 which includes the 'plan' that he comes up with. Then there is an annual review at no extra cost but I believe he gets commission on the amount of money we "invest" thru him and his company. We had a lot of interviews with FP's before deciding on him. I wanted to make sure he was going to stay in the business and not leave after we get started. I think if you make a significant amount of money, unless you are very versed in finances, it is worth it to have someone who "specializes" in their field. Good luck!