It’s a pretty common theme in my meetings with clients. If you don’t have a financial advisor, I encourage you to find one. You don’t necessarily have to hire them. But you should at least meet with them and see what they might recommend for you. If you can’t find one, or if you haven’t been happy with the ones you’ve met with, email me and I can give you some names.
Even the simple act of sitting down with someone can have tremendous benefits. You’ll be forced to get a good handle on your financial picture. The advisor can give you an impartial view of what you are doing. Maybe there is a great financial opportunity you are missing out on. One of my favorite advisors told us over coffee about some real tax advantages to be had in your HSA accounts. It’s information that you could find out if you did the research on your own. But a professional advisor has tips like that at their fingertips for you.
Some Statistics for You
For some people, they need to see some stats. Northwestern Mutual recently surveyed 2,000 adults and made some interesting findings:
- 92% of people say nothing makes them happier than having their financial house in order;
- 66% of those with a financial advisor feel financially secure (only 30% who don’t also felt secure);
- 85% of those working with a financial advisor feel their personal life is headed in the right direction.
What Kind of Advisors Should I Have?
The statistics should show you the importance of having a financial advisor for your peace of mind. In addition to a financial advisor, I’ve repeatedly suggested that clients have:
- Accountant
- Attorney
If you’re running a business, you will likely also want to have a business mentor, someone to help with technology and if you aren’t good at it, a marketing advisor as well.
For most of my clients, either estate planning or business, professional advisors are an effective way to supplement the legal work we are working on together.
Next Steps
If you have your team assembled, it’s also important that everyone knows who to contact. Especially for your estate plan documents, it’s good to have the information in one place. To help with that, I’ve created the My Personal Planning Essentials checklist that you can download for free. Fill it out and keep it with your important documents.
