Dream Team: Financial Planner

Long term planning and investment are huge pieces of the puzzle when it comes to financial health and it really can be intimidating to think about. Math and spreadsheets and retirement projections don’t sound fun to most people, but beyond that, there are a lot of misconceptions about financial planning that keep most people from taking the leap. Here are a few:

𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. You don’t have to be Scrooge McDuck doing the backstroke in piles of cash to benefit from the services of a financial planner. In fact, the industry has changed significantly over the years to be flexible and serve clients who don’t (yet) have a giant income.

𝘈 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. Never! A financial planner’s job is to provide expertise and an objective perspective. They help YOU decide what your financial priorities are and don’t dictate your spending in any way.

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴. One of the cornerstones of financial planning is making sure you have a strong plan for emergencies and short term goals. After that, any investments would be balanced and reasonable to maximize your return within the level of risk YOU are willing to assume.

𝘜𝘨𝘩, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘴. Different planners have their own fee structure, but often the fees are around 1% and come directly from the investment so you never have to worry about additional costs. Again, they are all different, but you can absolutely find someone at a price point you are comfortable with.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. On average, people who use a professional earn about 3% more in returns than those that handle it themselves.

Ready to find a financial planner? Go to the link in our bio and download the list of financial professionals we trust for contact information.