Financial Advisors

[m2244]

Hello,

I'm going to be 46 on Sunday and I have been wondering lately about talking to a financial planner/advisor. Lately I've been feeling anxious about finances, mortgage, etc.

Here's my situation in a nutshell:

I expect to have a military pension in about 8 years (guessing around $2500/month gross), by then I hope to have over $100,000 in a Roth, my wife will have a 401K of maybe $50,000. right now we owe a little over $100,000 on our home and we have a 13-yr-old still at home.

I would like to pay this mortgage off or at least below $20,000 by the time I retire, at which time I'll be around 53.

Any advice related to the above info is welcome, but my main question is should I consult a financial advisor? If so, where should I look for one?

[YULACU]

I suspect you'll get a lot of comments saying you are your best financial advisor and that you should read as many financial related books and resources as possible. While that is true, you are your best financial advisor and you should become as knowledgable as possible about the subject speaking to a financial advisor is not a sign of defeat. A financial planner may help you understand whether you are on track for retirement and what steps you need to take in the years leading up to that. You'll probably want to talk to a fee based financial advisor that charges at flat rate. You may want to look at the Garrett Planning Network. Lastly, since you're active duty I would suggest you pay close attention to the VA representative when you begin outprocessing.

[rennigade]

What are you overall finances? What are you overall expenses? Just because you're 53 doesnt mean you have to retire if you're feeling anxiety about not having enough money.

If what you listed is all the money you have you may want to continue working for some time to build up a large cushion.

[HundredK]

I don't think there is anything wrong with consulting a financial advisor, but I'd be careful about who you hire. We're currently dealing with a situation where a deceased relative followed very poor advice given by an FA. So be careful because it can have long lasting impact.

[TexasHusker]

99 percent of financial "advisors" are actually sales professionals. Thus, they almost always guide you into investments that enrich themselves. They particularly love selling annuities.

Annuities are the wrong investment for 95 percent of investors, yet 95 percent of financial "advisers" are recommending them.

[Jluke]

If the person mentions AUM (assets under management) fee, then you will probably not want to use them.

Of course everyone on here would be willing to evaluate your situation for free if you feel comfortable posting those details.

I had a financial person a very long time ago for about a year or so. Setup a Roth and invested in a fund. Eventually asked for a list of other stocks or funds that I could invest in and was only given one choice. i pulled my money from there immediately.

[cornfieldj]

My two cents on planners/advisers - I worked as a reporter/editor for four years in a B2B that covers the retirement industry. Every month or so, some provider (TIAA, or Edward Jones, or Charles Schwab or whoever) would send us a press release.

Exciting new research. Our study shows that people who see a financial planner or financial adviser are more prepared for retirement. They feel more prepared. They feel more confident. They are more confident. They are more prepared.

You get it, endless variations on "people need us - there's a measurable difference in confidence or whatever between those who use a financial adviser and those who don't."

I've toyed with the idea of seeing one. But I haven't bothered. It comes down to this for me. Am I saving as much as possible? Controlling what I spend? Putting it in low-cost index funds on a regular basis?

If those are all yeses I don't see what a planner/adviser is going to do for me. I don't want or need an annuity.

(I do want to say, though, about annuities - I wish someone close to me had one. This person has no control. So, they can be great for someone who's really a financial wreck.)

I don't want or need actively managed, more expensive funds. I'm mostly Vanguard, a little Fidelity.

Bottom line, yes, those people are most sales people. Even the fee-only ones are there to sell the services, which sometimes isn't that much more than hand-holding.

[Thrif-t]

If you want to find one, go to this site http://findanadvisor.napfa.org/Home.aspx
go to someone who charges by the hour.

If you go to someone who is "free" he's making money off of what he invests you in, which may or probably NOT be in your best interest, but in his.

[Captain Save]

Regardless of whether or not you chose a financial advisor.. you should definitely get information from different sources to get different perspective.. everyone has a bias .. everyone financial advisor has a conflict of interest.. it's great to find someone who you can trust but it's also good to get educated so you can assk your advisor some appropriate questions and see how he handles those.

[Captain Save]

If you want to find one, go to this site http://findanadvisor.napfa.org/Home.aspx
go to someone who charges by the hour.

If you go to someone who is "free" he's making money off of what he invests you in, which may or probably NOT be in your best interest, but in his.

No matter what way the advisor gets paid .. there is always a potential for conflict of interest... at the end of the day.. he has to get paid for his services. Doing some research and asksing him questions about his recommendations is the best way to evaluate the advisor.