There are 1.7 trillion dollars in circulation in the United States right now. For many of us, our main goal is to figure out how we can get our hands on as much of that money as possible.
Given that we live in a capitalistic society, some people succeed in their cash-grabbing endeavors and others do not. While there’s no way to guarantee your success, one way to improve your odds of upgrading your relationship with money is to work with a financial advisor.
In this article, we’re going to outline a little bit of what financial advisors do, why you might need one, and how to go about hiring them.
What are Financial Advisors?
Financial advisors are money experts. They can advise their clients on everything from how to save more money to how to pay less in taxes and invest their hard-earned cash.
Many people that are having trouble managing their financial situations as their lives get more complicated turn to advisors who can steer their decisions in the right direction. The right advisor can help you stretch your money further while planning for the future.
When Might You Need a Financial Advisor?
People hire financial advisors for a multitude of reasons. A few of the most popular reasons are as follows:
Starting a New job
Starting a new job means getting a new paycheck. If that paycheck is higher than what you’re used to getting, you might have a lot of questions about taxes, saving, and investing.
Rather than trying to freestyle your money-management, it’s recommended that you let a financial advisor help you develop a long term plan. From there, you can decide if you’d like to work with them going forward.
Building a Family
From getting married to having kids, building a family costs money. Financial advisors are a great resource that shows you how to save and invest the money you make to give you and your loved ones the best chance of living a rich life.
If you’re interested in college savings plans, life insurance for your children, and other investment opportunities, financial advisors can help.
Getting Aggressive With Retirement
As you start heading towards the twilight years of your life, you might wonder how you’re going to afford retirement. The sooner that you ask yourself that question, the sooner your financial advisor can step in and help you make a plan.
Half of the United State’s aging population have nothing in their retirement savings. Don’t be part of that group.
Managing Debt
Financial advisors aren’t only called in when you’re managing wealth. In many cases, financial advisors will get called in when you’re having money problems.
It might seem counter-intuitive to hire a financial advisor when you’re struggling to pay the bills, which is why many communities offer free advisors/debt counselors for low-income populations. Sometimes though, a financial advisor can give you advice on restructuring debt and money management that can lower your financial obligations.
How Can You Find a Good Financial Advisor?
Finding the right person to guide your financial decisions can be a difficult process. There are some pitfalls that you’ll want to avoid, like hiring advisors that have too much vested interest in selling you commission-based products.
To help make your search a little easier, check out these three resources when looking for a professional.
The Internet
Google, Yelp, and other review aggregating websites are great resources when it comes to finding financial advisors.
Just search for advisors in your area, assess the reviews that they have, and determine if the person you’re looking at is worth talking to.
There are also investment forums that help you find professional money managers like Christopher Sarofim, which you might not be able to find through more generalized directories.
Your Local Bank
Chances are that your bank has financial advisors on staff. If you’re a member, you might be able to enjoy their services free of charge.
Again, the thing to watch out for here is how your advisor gets paid. If your advisor’s primary way of making an income is selling you products to invest in, you can’t trust that they’re going to give you non-biased advice.
Talking to Friends and Family Members
The great thing about money is that everybody has to deal with it. That means that, if you have financial questions, there’s a good chance that somebody you trust has advice to share.
Talk to members of your family to see if they’ve worked with any financial advisors that they’ve liked. If they have, ask if they’d be willing to refer you to them.
Word of mouth is a powerful way to find professionals that might not advertise their services online. If your friend or family member is a good client, the advisor that you’re referred to might even give you a special deal on their services.
Our Final Thoughts on Financial Advisors
Money can be a complex beast. Unfortunately, if you throw up your hands up and give up on trying to tame it, you’ll end up living a low quality of life.
That’s why financial advisors are so helpful. They take a lot of the pressure off of people when it comes to understanding finance so that they can focus more on making money and less on how to manage it.
We hope that our write-up has been enlightening and we welcome you to dive deeper into our content pool if you’d like more information on how to get the most out of your relationship with money.
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