(The Answer ….…..Yesterday!)
When you get your first real job, money management is relatively simple. You pay your bills, put aside a little fun money, and if you are smart, you save what is left. Easy!
In time, you meet your life’s partner and suddenly there are two incomes to consider, two lives. You start looking possibly for a home, which brings along mortgage and insurance considerations. And you also start thinking about the ‘what ifs’ in life. How would we weather unexpected challenges like losing one of our incomes or both? And the notion of retirement although still a distant thought, is nevertheless a ‘down the road’ concern.
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services also conducted a recent study and found that 70% of those who work with a financial adviser or planner are on track or ahead in saving for retirement[2].
Next, you may add children to life. Medical insurance becomes a new challenge. How do you use a Health Savings Account to save for your future health care needs? How will you help your children with college and how much debt will they need to take on. And, now the retirement thoughts start becoming more prevalent. Your money management is no longer easy…. it is officially getting complicated!
The day comes that retirement is no long an eternity away, but at your front door step and the million-dollar question is…. Can you retire? Did you save enough? What retirement mechanisms are right for you and your partner?
The Benefits of a Good Financial Adviser
Your financial adviser can help you with the daunting amount of financial questions at each stage of your life. Whether you are starting your first job or in your later years, your Financial Adviser can provide the expertise and resources to guide you through all of these very complicated, but real life decisions.
A study by Morningstar found that advice from a financial adviser can add 29% more wealth through retirement[1].
Six Critical Values a Financial Adviser brings to you!
- Bring structure to your financial life, by assisting you in getting your financial needs and wants defined.
- Help you follow through on financial commitments, by working with you to prioritize your goals, show you the steps, and regularly review your progress.
- Bring insight from the outside to help you avoid emotionally driven financial decisions, by being available to consult at key moments of decision-making process, researching to provide the best possible advice and disclosing any potential conflicts of interest.
- Work with you to anticipate your life transitions and to be financially prepared for them, by regularly assessing any potential future life changes, and creating the action plan necessary to address them in advance.
- Explore what specific knowledge will be needed to succeed in your situation, then providing the necessary resources to facilitate your decisions, and explaining the options and risks associated with each choice.
- Work together to achieve the best life possible for you, by taking the time to genuinely understand your background, philosophy and needs, while offering transparency around their own costs and compensation.
