The $600 spent really was worth it for us.

[Blessed]

We ended up spending $700 on a fee only adviser. We learned a lot and his tweaks made the forecast models change for the better without any more risk. It also reassured me that we are very much on track for retirement and got rid of a lot of my fear. I was quite afraid with how cash heavy we had been for so long that we would not be on the right track. I was wrong. He also did a great job of getting my spouse more involved. I'm only sharing this because I read over and over that it is so easy to do it yourself. I think it is getting easier with what I have learned here but it is so worth getting advice if you have doubts like I did.

[121212]

I would love to hear the specific changes that he made if you're willing to share.

[Blessed]

I see I made a typos in the title. ooops!

We each have an IRA. My spouse has employer 401k's with his company that cant be moved. He researched all our funds and could show us more productive funds in the same groups with lower fees to move too. He had us stop our weekly company stock purchase and reallocate those funds to to other investments. He helped us decide how to keep moving cash besides maxing out IRA's and the 401k in way that gave growth but had a risk level we were comfortable with. He put us in touch with someone to help us with the real estate. A biggie is he really stopped my fear that we would not be able to retire by 59 ( or EVER ) and lead the life we want with only primarily one income. It might be silly to some that are way more savvy with investing but for me it was worth every penny.

He didn't make any of the changes since he is for advice only but gave us all the facts so that we could make changes.

[121212]

Is $700 typical for this type of consultation? It seems to be a bit expensive to me. How many hours did he spend with you going over your finances? I'm not opposed to spending this type of money if it will end up saving me more in the long run, but $700 is a lot of money.

[Blessed]

Fee is $600 to $2000 in our area depending on how in depth you need. He spent several hours with us at the initial meeting. He spent separate time researching everything and putting the plan together before giving us the blue print. Met again. This includes at least one more meeting to review everything down the line and I am free to call for more advice besides. That is good as the mail that arrived left me with a big question of which route to take. I personally thought it was a very fair value for the money spent. Again a biggie to me was to not just get a better path but to find out I was doing ok with the decisions I have made. I had a real fear I was not.

[humandraydel]

Fee is $600 to $2000 in our area depending on how in depth you need. He spent several hours with us at the initial meeting. He spent separate time researching everything and putting the plan together before giving us the blue print. Met again. This includes at least one more meeting to review everything down the line and I am free to call for more advice besides. That is good as the mail that arrived left me with a big question of which route to take. I personally thought it was a very fair value for the money spent. Again a biggie to me was to not just get a better path but to find out I was doing ok with the decisions I have made. I had a real fear I was not.

If you felt it was worth it then really that is all that matters. However, you could have VERY easily gotten the same advice from 20+ people at a knowledgeable forum (there are several). Personally, I do find investing easy so I don't think paying someone $100 per hour is worthwhile.

[Blessed]

I do not find investing easy at all. If you find my first post here one can see we had over $300k in cash, no debt, college funds, not enough 401k or IRA on a $60k income average ( also took a big jump now). I understand budgeting, having a great life yet making dollars beg for mercy.

Joining here and getting advice did help as we started maxing my spouse's 401k and both maxing an IRA instead of saving in cash accounts. This was very hard for my spouse to do by the way. We are both quite risk adverse. I am the only one that does our finances. I will with no pride say I have done my best to understand investing. I have taken free classes, read countless forums and books. I still do not feel comfortable with it. A helping hand was worth the cost. Ironically I had no issue buying a cash rental by myself. I understand that. I equate it with going to a Dr for a health concern instead of trying to go it myself. It was also for me priceless to actually get my spouse involved.