Financial Planner

[Jean in Newcastle]

What am I looking for?  I'm assuming that I want someone who is not only tied to one company's investments?  Is that a correct assumption?  How much is typical to pay for this service?  (PNW if it matters)  How do I find them? 

[Bootsie]

The term "financial planner" is very broad and used differently by different people (and the fees are going to vary widely depending upon what type of services you are considering.)  Do you want someone who helps with budgeting/spending/savings plans?  Do you want someone who manages a stock portfolio?  Do you want someone who makes most of the decisions or do you want to take an active role?  These types of questions would help narrow down the kind of person you are looking for.

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

21 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

The term "financial planner" is very broad and used differently by different people (and the fees are going to vary widely depending upon what type of services you are considering.)  Do you want someone who helps with budgeting/spending/savings plans?  Do you want someone who manages a stock portfolio?  Do you want someone who makes most of the decisions or do you want to take an active role?  These types of questions would help narrow down the kind of person you are looking for.

 

I want help with investments and other financial decisions that will allow my husband to retire in the next five years. 

[Beth S]

I went to a CPA who deals with wealth management, because I wanted tax information as well.
I just wanted advice, not oversight of our investments.

Another option is a CFP, who can manage your portfolio & run some numbers, to give you a retirement scenario.
They will tell you when you need to take various actions, and can encourage you on your path.
Be prepared that some of them are very astute salespeople.  😉

I asked my friends for a recommendation, & I was very pleased to get quick help.
We did a 30 minute consult for $75 (low COL area), & he invited me to come back whenever I had more questions, etc.

 

[Bootsie]

2 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I want help with investments and other financial decisions that will allow my husband to retire in the next five years. 

Does your husband have a retirement plan with his employer?  If so, someone from the company that handles the retirement reporting will usually sit down with you for a free initial consultation and give you a picture of where you are now and what would need to happen over the next five years to meet this goal.  I would suggest starting there, if possible; depending upon how simple or complex your situation is that might suffice for now or they could give you some direction as to what type of people you need to talking to.

[Ottakee]

One thing I did was read just about every article on the Vanguard website.  I learned so much there.  Then I consulted for 30 minutes with my accountant.

Likely you want a fiduciary (who is bound to put your interests first) who does a FLAT fee.  Many/most want to do an assets under management (AUM) fee which can be 0.5-3.0% of your investments every year, forever.  

[Farrar]

I went to a fee based planner who charged a one time fee (she has a "check up" service that she does every 2-3 years to follow up and has other more intensive services that we didn't even consider). She went through all our income and assets and helped us see what we had and make decisions about what we should leave where and how to plan for things like college and retirement. That's probably what you want.

When I asked on this board for the right terms, I definitely got shamed over it. Several people told me I needed to do my own research and not ever trust anyone else to do it for me. The person we hired wasn't perfect (I'd try someone else if we did it again, just because we didn't really mesh stylistically and values wise) but she was totally worth the money and saved us money in the long run and helped us make several key decisions.

[Jean in Newcastle]

5 minutes ago, Farrar said:

I went to a fee based planner who charged a one time fee (she has a "check up" service that she does every 2-3 years to follow up and has other more intensive services that we didn't even consider). She went through all our income and assets and helped us see what we had and make decisions about what we should leave where and how to plan for things like college and retirement. That's probably what you want.

When I asked on this board for the right terms, I definitely got shamed over it. Several people told me I needed to do my own research and not ever trust anyone else to do it for me. The person we hired wasn't perfect (I'd try someone else if we did it again, just because we didn't really mesh stylistically and values wise) but she was totally worth the money and saved us money in the long run and helped us make several key decisions.

Thank you.  That is exactly what I want.