Ask The Readers: Do You Have a Financial Advisor?
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Guest, Francesca, and Kristin for winning this week's contest!
When it comes to managing your finances, sometimes it can be a daunting task. Many people choose to manage their finances on their own. However, there are some people who hire a financial advisor to help them manage their money.
Do you have a financial advisor? Why or why not?
Tell us whether or not you have a financial advisor and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
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Mandatory Entry:
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We don't have a financial advisor - at this point in our lives, I find it easier to just research and manage on our own. We did try to get a financial advisor a few years ago...we even paid him his $300 fee upfront. But, when he looked at our finances and saw we weren't a "high dollar" customer, he returned our fee and wasn't interested in our business. That motivated me to learn as much about our finances on my own as I could.
We had one that helped us set up our kids' custodial accounts, as well as helping me with my Roth retirement account, and he did give us advice on some different saving strategies for retirement. Some of the advice has been good, some I wish we had taken care of ourselves, and some has been great. Either way, it got us thinking and discussing what we should do as a couple.
No financial advisor. My portfolio's mostly in index funds.
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Yes, we have a financial advisor to handle our investments and retirement fund.
I Like you on Facebook as Selene Montgomery
Not at the moment, my finances and financial decisions are extremely manageable for me at this point in my life. Maybe I'll consider hiring a manager when things get a little more complicated in my life.
My financial adviser is Dave Ramsey and he is inviting everyone to join in the great recovery. http://www.thegreatrecovery.com
I don't, but my financial situation is still very simple, and I don't have a lot of assets (I'm just starting out after college.) I assume in a decade I'll be wanting one when things get more complicated (and my time is worth more.)
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We do not have a financial adviser. With my background in math, everything I've read in good books, blogs like Wisebread, podcasts like Money Girl, and the Sunday's business section, I don't need an adviser.
My wife & I had a bad experience and since then we haven't managed to overcome a basic distrust issue - that financial planners are sometimes (often?) motivated to veer you toward financial decisions that benefit them as much - if not more.
As a result, I think we're too risk averse and that costs us.
I know we could be doing more with our savings if we had a trustworthy financial planner to guide us towards more aggressive (but still reasonably safe) investment options.
I have several resources that are beneficial for my personal finance.
No, I don't have a financial advisor. At one point I did the research, picked one, and met with him. He was great, and his investment philosophy was sound, but in the end I felt that given the level of my investments (low) and that I would need to tap them for school in the next five years, I might as well manage my money myself.
If my first novel sells for a million dollars, though, I'll certainly go back.
We don't have a financial advisor but I think we should. With my BA in Finance, I've always felt knowledgeable enough to structure a respectable retirement plan and to safeguard our liquid assets. After experiencing the total loss of two companies in our portfolio (both banks - thank you) and with increasing market turmoil, I think it's time I deferred to a fee-based planner.
Oddly enough, I would like to have a financial advisor but do not have one. I'm one of many people who don't fully understand the intricacies of finance to my detriment. I would love to work with someone to explain the basics of accounting and personal finance so I can stop making poor financial decisions and accumulating debt rather than wealth. However, ironically, I can't afford the help!
Try daveramsey.com and click on the endorsed local providers link. There are some great folks out there who are willing to educate and help people like us!
I don't. I think I'm doing very well for myself and offer advice to friends and family. An advisor might be nice, but I'm fairly stubborn about my money and like to keep it liquid while also risk-free (as well as can be expected) and having a nice return. So much advice out there would mess with at least one of those factors.
Dont have one but researching on finding one via trusted word of mouth. with a new born, i need a kick in the ass to make sure what i am doing right and to possibly do more.
We don't use a financial advisor. Our current financial project is paying off our credit card debt and student loans, and there is an abundance of information on how to deal with these available on the internet.
Regards,
Jesse
I do not have a financial advisor, I take care of everything myself because I want to know where my money is and how it is doing on a daily basis. I think that the fact I am a natural save helps me in the area of being a good financial planner since I live within my means without even thinking about it.
I've "liked" Wise Bread on Facebook.
Regards,
Jesse
no, I don't have one.
No I don't have a financial advisor since I don't have a lot of assests to manage. Also I like to do my own research about which investing/retirement options are best for me. I prefer to read financial planning books to pick options I like best instead of paying a high price for advice I might not use
I don't have a financial advisor. In my experience they are not worth it and cut into your profits. Use the internet to research and you'll be fine!
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Not really - my husband and I met with one shortly after we got married, but our lives have been too up in the air (job changes, cross-country move) to do anything with the information he gave us. Now that we're a little more settled and looking for a house, we'll find a new one.
Nope, none here.
No, I don't have a financial advisor unless you count personal finance blogs.
Yes. I hired one to manage my finances after my dad passed away two years ago. She doesn't manage my day-to-day though only my IRA and stocks and stuff.
I would like to have a financial advisor but I haven't had luck finding one. I need help managing my massive student loan debt before I can think about investing and most advisors seem to be solely focused on investing, at least in my area.
No. I don't particularly need to pay someone to tell me to finish paying off my debt.
I don't have a financial advisor. At this point, I'm not making enough to do anything investing wise with it, except maybe saving or a Roth IRA, which I can do on my own. Plus, I'm wary of trusting someone else with my money who doesn't have a stake in it.
I don't have one. I think I'm afraid of being ripped off.
I liked you on Facebook and this contest post
Yes, we have financial advisors: God and Dave Ramsey. The Bible talks about money more than any other topic. Dave Ramsey is showing us how to use the biblical advice and use it in our everyday life so we do not have a personal recession. Take control of your own finances! See http://www.thegreatrecovery.com today!
http://twitter.com/#!/starkeee/status/100968857061163008
also tweeted about it
We don't have a financial advisor, I do plenty of research on everything my own.
I liked you on facebook!
I don't have a financial advisor, but I get Suze Orman's Money Navigator newsletter (free year subscription) and upgraded my LearnVest account (at a 75% discount) for access to the Ask an Expert feature where I am able to email a CFP with questions about our specific situation.
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No...we don't have a financial advisor. We've got a will and life insurance as well as some retirement funds that we've had some financial-knowing friends help us acquire but we don't have anyone right now that is a go-to person. I guess I don't feel we have any money to manage until we've paid off all of our debt (it all belongs to our creditors right now!).
Yes, we do. He helps us keep more aware of our spending habits and how it affects our future.
Sadly, I don't have a financial adviser. I will hire one if I ever have enough money though! ;-)
i don't have a financial adviser. i am a 24 and i have my first career oriented job. i am always trying to learn about ways to manage my money better and to invest better, but sometimes i wonder if having a point of contact would help.
We have an adviser. He is much, much more knowledgeable than we are in this arena so we are happy to pay him. He has helped up to grow our money so we are thankful for his advice.
I haven't used a financial advisor yet. I read a lot of personal finance articles, and when I have a specific qustion, I find my answer with Google.
It's a complicated answer ... at my husband's insistence, we went to see his friend's girlfriend, who was an advisor with a large firm. He needed to roll over his 401K from a previous job into an IRA, and beyond that she also tried to sell us on life insurance for my husband ($700+/mo. due to his size and job - the restaurant industry is very risky, apparently) and additional life and disability for myself; the life insurance policies was one of those that was supposed to also be an investment so you could draw on it later in life. She also advised me to put 10-20% of my income into my 403B.
My husband, thinking that she must know best because she's an advisor and I'm not, tried to push me into it, but I hedged because I wanted to do my own research - and I'm glad I did. We don't own a home, have an outstanding pile of debt and no kids, and I already make a decent salary (enough to comfortably support myself if my husband passes), so it just didn't make fiscal sense to spend $700+/mo on life insurance, when we could take that same $700+/mo and put it in an interest-bearing money market account which we could readily access in time of emergency. I already put 20% of my income into my 403B, so that advice was useless, and I upgraded my life insurance and disability policy at work for a couple extra $$/mo instead of buying her inflated policies. So she didn't help me with our finances at all. But my husband still needed to roll over his 401K.
So my husband has an advisor for one IRA account. We (together) do not, although her company still tries to get us to do "upgrades" and policies and stuff like that on a regular basis.
Well, sort of - I have a 403B with a major company and an online "advisory".
No, I don't have a financial advisor. I have thought about it and met with a few over the years, but I have never found one that I thought would be worth the fees it costs.
I don't have an advisor, but sometimes wonder if it would be useful!
I do not have a financial advisor. Although I work for CFPs, I'm just working on paying off debt and building savings at this point in my life. Once I get past that, I may look into getting professional advice.
I do not have a financial advisor but I wish I did.
I don't have a financial advisor. I try to educate myself about money, because after all, who cares more about my own money than me?
I don't have a financial advisor. I've debated over getting one a few times but I always convince myself it's not worth the money.
No financial advisor at the moment, although I am not against having one in the future. I think there is great benefit in getting advice from someone who is invested in learning as much about money as possible. I think of it like hiring someone to install your kitchen cabinets, you can buy the materials and learn on your own or you can save time and frustration by hiring someone who is an expert.
Do financial blogs count? : S
No I don't have a financial adviser. I could probably use one!
I don't have one, per se, but I have a close relationship with several that I talk to every now and then. I'm an agent with New York Life, so it's not like I need to buy anything from anyone else, but I do like to bounce ideas off of my partner brokers.
I don't have an advisor, but I'm relatively new to investing and don't have that much extra money to pay for an advisor. I'll most likely get one down the road though.
I have not used a professional financial advisor in the past. I take pride in doing my own taxes, while educating myself on retirement options and investment strategies. When I do not understand something I seek out the knowledge I need via the web, IRS, books, Suze Orman, friends and family members who are money savvy, etc. I do understand my limitations however and now that my life is becoming more complex, soon I may have to employ a professional. When that day comes, I will continue to make sure I have a full understanding of where my money is and how it is working for me.
I don't have a financial advisor because I can't afford one. I'd really like one someday, though, maybe when I'm making a steady income that's over living wage.
Have an advisor for sure...don't trust all that responsibility to myself
No, I do not have a financial advisor. I would like to get one soon though.
No.
No, we don't have a financial advisor. I can't afford that expense at the moment.
We have a financial advisor, but we also manage some on our own. A bit of both to help diversify our investments. Our guy tends to pick different than I do, but I agree with his overall strategies.
I tweeted via @KeriRitenour. Check it out at http://twitter.com/#!/KeriRitenour/status/101676259276357632
I "liked" the post and commented on Facebook via Keri Slinde Ritenour.
No. We do not have a financial advisor. It's just not in the budget. I spoke with one a few years ago and he didn't seem interested because my investment accounts were low dollar. However, I have used some free online tools, such as Mint, Manilla and my financial institution. Thanks to your email, I am going to take a look at Adaptu.
I don't have a financial advisor. I don't think I have enough money to warrant one (or to pay one!). I do my own research via the Web and financial books and magazines for now.
No, I do not use a financial advisor because they have a vested interest in something other than your finances - their finances. Take a step back and think about the fact that they need to make money as well, and no matter how nice they are, they're in finance to make money - not be your friend.
This may sound like a rather paranoid explanation, but in any endeavor you have to think about the other side of the equation, and in this case, your advisor and their intentions.
They're pitching you on what someone was pitching them during their latest monthly sales meeting, and they get a fee on placing your money in that financial product, which also charges an annual fee.
Study after study reveals that low-cost funds are the way to go. For me, I've learned from my own mistakes and buy only dividend paying, stable stocks for my portfolio.
Your holding period should be forever, and you should reinvest your dividends every quarter regardless of whether the market's up or down.
In 20 years, that tiny dividend will have grown and you'll have achieved a return on your money better than any hedge fund manager would have achieved buying and selling during that time. Good Luck.
I don't have a financial advisor, but probably should. I've been working and saving, but feel I could do better. I'm a little intimidated by the thought of an advisor.
Twitted a response on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/1bets1/status/101796872938733568
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We don't have a financial advisor, except what I learn on my own from websites like this, books, and whatever my husband's work offers about our retirement.
We don't have one. I do alot of reading on finances and DH is quite savvy in general. So we do just fine.
My husband worked at a brokerage for 17 years. We do have a financial advisor but it is more to bounce ideasoff of and see if there is something new out there that we are missing. Happily, we haven't taken some of the advice along the way. One guy wanted to put us heavily into Enron. That would have been a disaster.
I can't afford a financial advisor. Pretty much the best I can do right now is to afford food and shelter on top of my student loan payments.
No financial advisor at the present time. I like to make my own decisions and do the research.
We have a financial advisor because it is too time consuming to keep up with the stock market, especially in these difficult times.
no financial advisor. just me and some books/blogs~
i like wisebread on fb
tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/oshkoshbgosh123/status/102777346473476096
No financial adviser at this time.
I do not have a financial advisor. While I can see a real value to a trusted financial advisor, I simply don't have the resources (should I say fiscal flexibility) to hire one! As Mary stated just below me, low dollar accounts like myself are not feasible for FA's to keep on their roles. I think when one is able to invest broadly and is involved in enough market complexities, though, putting the money forward into a sole advisor could be well worth the investment.
I don't have a financial advisor. To be honest, I was mislead by one in the past when I was in the service, and have since been skeptical. Plus, with the all resources out there on the internet, it seems easier than ever to get informed about financial matters.
Now if I won the lottery, then I might need some expertise to help me manage my money. But for now, I think I can do without one.
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Similar to the majority of comments, I do not have a financial advisor. I may look to consult a fee only advisor/planner, but that will be in the distant future.
No, I don't have a financial adviser. I'm just starting out and my finances are simple enough that I don't feel like I need one.
I do not have a financial advisor.