A planner can help you evaluate your budget, but he or she cannot force you to control your spending and borrowing. A planner can work with you to clarify and prioritize your major goals, establish the cost and timetable for fulfilling them, and provide advice you can implement. A good planner brings expertise in analyzing insurance policies, identifying the hidden risks of investment products, and understanding tax and estate-planning issues. Getting started Begin by soliciting recommendations from relatives, friends, and colleagues who have had good experiences working with an advisor. If you have one, also ask your attorney or accountant.
Professional associations are other good sources of referrals.
The purpose of this session, which most reputable planners will provide free, is to get information about their qualifications, compensation, and manner of working with clients. Don't begin the planning process until you're clear about how the planner will be compensated. The fee you're quoted should cover the entire process of developing a finished plan, including however many meetings and phone calls will be needed to review your goals, go over your financial records, and discuss the final report. It is inappropriate for a planner to ask you to commit to purchase any financial products at this stage. One planner with whom our staffer spoke gave her a hard sell.