Signs You Need A Financial Planner

Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help, especially when you think you can or should handle things yourself. You have questions that you consider silly or stupid, and you feel you should handle them alone, so you don’t seek help. This can happen a lot when it comes to personal finances, and it’s not necessarily the best course. As happens often in life, not reaching out to a professional can delay you reaching your goals and cause you to incur more out-of-pocket expenses.

With respect to your financial future, there are no stupid questions. Any question you’re thinking to yourself is worth asking. Don’t sit on the sidelines and fear asking a question or think you’re unqualified to go to a financial planner. Solid and respectable planners let you know if they can’t help you and refer you to a professional who can.

If you have no idea if you’re on track for retirement and don’t know how to find out, a financial planner could help gauge your progress and build a plan that will help you stay on track.

You might be asking yourself how you’ll know if you need a financial planner. Here are some of the signs:

YOU DON’T KNOW IF YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK FOR RETIREMENT

It’s important for you to have at least a general idea if you’re on track for retirement. Life expectancy is increasing and more and more retirees are finding themselves living to 90 or even 100 years old. Will your money last you that long? If, not, how can you get there? Hiring a financial planner can help. Retirement is a long-term goal that requires long-term planning, and you won’t generally reach your retirement number by accident. It requires a well-constructed plan that is consistently monitored and updated. A financial planner can help you define your goals and get you in the best path to achieving them.

YOU DON’T HAVE THE TIME (OR DESIRE) TO LEAVE ABOUT PERSONAL FINANCE

If your eyes gloss over every time you read about personal finance, you probably need a financial planner. The same is true if you’re so busy in your personal or professional life that you just can’t dedicate the time required to manage your finances and build toward long-term financial goals without outside help. If you don’t have the will or the time, a financial planner can provide a useful service you desperately need.

YOU’RE A HIGH INCOME EARNER IN A TOP TAX BRACKET

If you are consistently maxing out your retirement savings but still finding yourself in a top tax bracket, a financial planner can help you implement savings strategies that could result in lower taxes paid before or during retirement, stretching your hard-earned money even farther.

YOU’RE UNSURE ABOUT INVESTING

Investing can feel really intimidating. You might be tempted to commit to an easy, one-size-fits-all solution, such as a target date fund in your employer’s 401(k) and call it a day. But there’s a wide world of investing strategy that goes beyond your employer’s retirement plan or implementing a cookie-cutter investing solution. A financial planner helps you create and implement an investing solution that’s unique to your goals. They can walk you through creating a diversified investment approach, rebalancing your portfolio periodically, and setting yourself up for long-term success. A good fee-only financial planner will walk with you through market downturns, and be a sounding board when you’re considering big and small investment decisions. A financial planner can bring a layer of confidence to your investments.

YOU’VE FAILED AT BUDGETING MANY TIMES OVER

Following a budget sounds like one of the easiest ways to keep tabs on your spending and ensure that you’re making smart financial choices. But what sounds easy, doesn’t always turn out to be in practice. If your budgeting efforts have been proven ineffective, then it could be time to enlist some outside assistance. There are lots of reasons people fail at budgeting, and a financial planner can help you find success with your budget.

YOU’RE STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DEBT

Many people have debt, whether it’s a mortgage, auto loan, credit cards, or student loans. If you’re drowning in debt to the point where you don’t think you can continue making good on your obligations, then it’s time to bring in a professional who can help you reconcile that situation. A financial planner can help you find a solution to paying off your debt and saving money.

YOU DON’T HAVE ANY SAVINGS

You need money tucked away in a savings account for when emergency expenses arise. If you don’t have enough or any savings, and you’ve struggled to put money away for as long as you can remember, then a financial planner can help identify the barriers that have kept you from saving and give you a path to saving more money.

YOU RECENTLY MARRIED

To merge or not to merge finances is a huge question. There are emotions to contend with, forms to update, cash flow to track, debts to pay down, goals to lay out, and spending habits and needs to reorganize and prioritize. Having a financial planner during this transition helps you navigate possible questions about taxes, investment allocation updates, selecting benefits, joint roles in management of the household, deciding whether to maintain separate bank accounts, and more.

YOU OWN A BUSINESS

Whether you’re considering starting your own business or you’re a long-term entrepreneur, a financial planner can help prioritize goals, advise you on paying yourself while keeping the operation running, and the help you find the best way to manage cash flow on an income that fluctuates monthly. A financial planner can also advise you regarding saving for retirement, obtaining health insurance, and protecting you and your family against a loss in income from death or disability.

YOU WANT TO MAKE A BIG PURCHASE

Simple budgeting often enables you to handle large purchases. If you’re looking to buy a home or make another sizable investment, understanding the overall effect on your cash flow, lifestyle, and future goals looms large. How much home can you afford? What’s your budget for home maintenance? How will other personal and financial goals be affected? What about your future savings? These, and more, are all questions a financial planner can help you answer.

YOU’VE HAD A CAREER CHANGE

Job or career transitions also present changes in income and benefits. A financial planner will help make sure you maximize your company benefits, leave no retirement accounts behind or ignored, plan appropriately for income fluctuations, consider future job growth or career prospects, and consider the transition’s overall influence on your lifestyle.

YOUR FAMILY IS GROWING

A baby comes with a slew of considerations. A financial planner will help ensure you have an emergency fund, prepare for saving for your child’s college education, advise you on insurance coverage and updating your estate plan, and many other needed updates.

YOU’VE RECEIVED A WINDFALL OR INHERITANCE

Have you recently inherited a large sum of money, a piece of property, or a home? Inheritance is a tricky thing, and it can be difficult to know what to do with your sudden wealth. There’s also the added pressure of wanting to do right by your loved one who made you their benefactor. Receiving a windfall is a definite sign that you should speak with a fee-only financial planner who can help you walk through any tax obligations that might be due based on the type of wealth you’ve inherited, and can also help you create a strategy that carries on your loved one’s legacy while still caring for your financial needs.

YOU WANT TO FEEL MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR MONEY

Sometimes the biggest sign you need a financial planner is that you don’t feel confident about your money. CNBC reported a couple years ago that 30% of Americans are constantly stressed out about money. Even if they know they’re successfully building wealth and they’re checking all the boxes on their financial to-do list, they’re still worried that they’re missing something, or that they’re not doing enough. We all work hard and nobody should have to go through life feeling constantly worried about money. Having a fee-only financial planner in your corner can help you feel confident that you’re on track to reach your goals. Working with a financial planner who helps you line up your financial plan with your values can totally change your outlook on your wealth. Instead of viewing money as something that controls your life, you’ll start to see it as a tool that can be leveraged to live the life you want to live

The first step in asking for help always seems the hardest. The assistance and feedback may surprise you when you are open to the idea that you need not handle all financial questions on your own. If you’re ready to take that first step feel free to...

The greatest mistake you can make is to believe that you have to do everything on your own power. Do not assume that asking for help or guidance is to admit defeat. In fact, it is just the opposite. To ask for help or to accept help to accomplish a goal is to also ingrain into your own spirit that you will help others over obstacles or hurdles as well. 

- Catherine Pulsifer