s/o finances

[doriswe]

Does anyone have a financial planner? My BFF (who is the same age as I am) has one and really recommends it for investments and such. I'm all "but I'm not old enough to have investments"! So tell me, responsible adults, do you have an actual planner to help you with this stuff or do you just wing it?

[bullygirl979]

I do, per se. However, I haven't met with them in forever. It was more to set up some accounts.

[gozf]

My boss is always trying to get me to use one. I should probably listen to him!

[chrissie3416]

My aunt is a financial advisor so thats who I go to if I have questions and such...plus she's free which is a bonus!

[bowies]

No, but it's on my radar for the next year. I need to get on the stick with investments beyond my 401K. I'll probably use who my dad uses - she's done well for him (or at least he won't be eating cat food throughout retirement).

[wrathofkuus]

Yup, we do have a guy for this, and he's a miracle worker. We somehow went from anxiety over whether we'd make ends meet every month to living like rock stars (okay, really boring and stodgy rock stars, but still), all with no discernible change to our spending or income. I'm still not sure how he did this.

[explorer2001]

Not really, but I'm a CPA, my mom is a CFP and stock broker, and I have access to the financial planner who runs my company's retirement plans. If there's anything I need I don't have covered I'd be surprised. I fund my 401k, have some outside savings, rebalance my asset distributions annually, and am working to pay off debt, until that's done there's nothing more to talk about.

[aliciar6]

no, i just picked a plan for my TSP, i at least picked a better one than FI since he is losing money, i'm at least making a little bit

[starburst604]

I don't, but I could probably use one. If all goes according to plan and me and T get engaged I think getting one to help us would be a good idea. Together we bring in a pretty decent income and I want to make sure it's all going in the right places.

[jm5855]

I have worked in the financial industry for 11 years so I organize most of my $$$. I am also lucky that my best friend is a financial advisor so I can go to him when the planning gets to confusing for me..lol.

[blackkitty]

Isn't achase a financial planner?

[Bernadine]

Not yet, I'm too embarrassed by the amount of debt I have right now. Once it's paid off and I'm saving some money, I'd like to see one.

[explorer2001]

Aug 15, 2012 14:13:34 GMT -5 @blackkitty said:

Isn't achase a financial planner?

She should be getting the test results in a few weeks. That's the big test she was studying for.

[bumpushounds]

We have one and he's been very helpful. He redistributed my 401k contributions and my earnings went from 2-4% per quarter to 7-13% per quarter (with some losses here and there, of course, due to the nature of the market). He helped us set up some additional retirement vehicles outside of our 401ks and made sure we had adequate life insurance coverage, and referred us to a reasonably priced attorney for our wills. He also helped us find good short-term investments for the money that had been just sitting in the savings account earning next to nothing.

Also, if you are in debt I would really recommend not waiting until you finish paying it off before seeing a financial planner. The planner can probably help you find ways to pay it off more quickly.

[achase123]

Aug 15, 2012 14:56:43 GMT -5 explorer2001 said:

Aug 15, 2012 14:13:34 GMT -5 @blackkitty said:

Isn't achase a financial planner?

She should be getting the test results in a few weeks. That's the big test she was studying for.

Indeed, I am a financial advisor but if my test results come back with a passing score I will be a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM (that's the closest way I have to spell out the proper use of the marks).

My firm mostly deals with investments and not specific budgets, although I have gone through this with clients before.

[starburst604]

Anyone know how exactly to find a reputable financial planner? Do they cost a lot?

[roselis]

No. It's an expense I cannot afford right now. Perhaps if I can ever get my savings up, I will.

[doriswe]

Aug 15, 2012 15:06:12 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

Anyone know how exactly to find a reputable financial planner? Do they cost a lot?

I'd like to know this too!