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This is a guest post from Lorianna
Choosing whether or not to hire a financial planner is a choice that can affect the financial life of your entire family. Financial planners are experienced with a wide variety of clients from all walks of life: from blue collar to white collar and young professional to retiree. A financial planner can help his or her clients with cash flow management, education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning (for business owners).
While it’s true that most financial planners can work with clients in any of the above areas, some financial planners choose to specialize in one or more of these areas of expertise. Some financial planners concentrate on retirement planning or paying off debt. Carefully consider whom you want as your financial planner before starting a relationship with one.
For example, a recent college graduate may need to pay off his or her student loans and credit card debt in order to be eligible to buy a home. A financial planner can help this client to refinance his or her loans in order to reduce their interest rate and monthly payment and develop a budget to pay everything off quicker. The planner can also help this client to determine how much house he or she can afford, and review mortgage options. It should be noted that there are two different kinds of financial planners. So-called “fee-only” financial planners can only receive money from their clients. They are not allowed to accept commissions from the products they sell. Other financial planners, however, are allowed to accept commissions if they sell investment products to their clients. All financial planners are able to advise their clients on how to build, manage, and sell their investment portfolios. In fact, this is probably the skill for which financial planners are most known. Although there is plenty of free advice online with general information on how to balance an investment portfolio, many people need individualized advice because no two financial situations are the same. For example, the general information given to many people regarding how much to save for retirement assumes that people will be retiring at age 65 and never work again. Many people, however, have different goals for their own retirement. Some people will want to retire earlier or later, and many people will plan on working part-time during their retirement. Individualized retirement plans are necessary for people like this to reach their retirement goals. Of course, a financial planner does more than just helping people pay off debt and save for retirement. Financial planners are also able to help families plan and save for a variety of life situation such as college expenses, the care of an elderly parent, or a mid-career job change. In fact, it is the variety of situations that people can find themselves in during their lifetime that make having a financial planner so important. Many major life changes also come with financial consequences, and the ability to have a neutral party handling the money during these times can be invaluable. Many people who start a relationship with a financial planner are glad they have.
About the author: This article is written by Lorianna, who has an interest in finance, and the economy. She believes Financial Planners are a wise choice to help guide and facilitate one’s financial and personal economic goals in life.
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