What Kind of Personal Finance Advisor Do I Need?
Question by Jacqueline W: What Kind of Personal Finance Advisor Do I Need?
I know all of the titles, Accountant, CPA, Financial Advisor, Investment Broker…etc. But, I do not understand which one would be right for my situation. I really need someone like a “financial mentor” if there is such a thing. My situation: After waiting for 6 years, I have recently (yesterday) won an appeal for benefits. I wil be receiving a very large sum of money. I do NOT want to invest in real estate, or stocks, or money markets, or anything of that nature. I want to have an understanding of 1) how much should I put in a CD, 2) how much should I keep in checking/savings 3) should I purchase my leased vehicle 3) should I pay off my student loans 4) do I have to pay taxes…etc. What kind of professional would be able to help me with these questions? I have no one in my life that is responsible with money, no one I can trust to help me.
Thank you kindly
Other questions: Do I keep everything in one bank? What if I have a credit union and they only insure up to $ 100K? Can I have two separate CD’s?
Best answer:
Answer by engineer50
You don’t need a professional – just some basic knowledge of personal financial management and investing. “Investing For Dummies” is an excellent starter book on investing. Suze Orman’s books on personal finances are also very good. You are your own best advisor. I have seen too many people get ripped off by advisors, but if you do feel you need one, find an independent advisor who works on an hourly basis. The commissioned ones will sell you what’s best for them, not what’s best for you.
What do you think? Answer below!
hello, to be frankly honest…i think you really need guidance and finance education before you embark on finance trip that might fail. i don’t know what your age is but if you are young you might want to consider investing your money, people have a missconception about investing because of the risk; however, risk can be minimized and managed. depending on the amount you are receiving from this settlement i recommend you speak to a Financial Advisor and your Tax Accountant, both will be able to guide you and recommend investment vehicles that meet your needs. keep in mind that if you consider bank only products such CD’s , Savings and Money Market accounts you might be at risk for two reasons 1. rates on deposits have really gone down 2. depending what state you live, your rate of return has to keep up with inflation and tax payments that you would have to pay at the end of the year for interest earned. if you don’t meet these requirements you might face purchasing power meaning your money will depreciate in ten years, something to thing about.
I hope that you really consider your options, don’t make emotional decisions and talk with several financial advisors. financial decisions tend to be made by emotions and lack of financial information. Good Luck
read rich dad/ poor dad by r. kiosaki
Do you work on your own car? or hire a professional? Do you roof your own house? or hire a professional? Do you do your own heart surgery? or hire a professional? Here are your choices – read a few books and look things up on the internet and hopefully make the right choice with the largest sum of money that you likely have yet had the chance to manage – OR – hire a professional whose whole job is to help people manage their financial future and wellbeing.
In your question you are asking for financial advice – which given the list of professionals you’ve listed, a Financial Advisor would be your best help. A FA will have studied and have a license which is regulated by the NASD and will be interested in helping you achieve your financial goals. You can ask for references, or referrals from family and friends that use a FA already.
To me, do it yourself is great for cooking, or framing pictures, or household projects – nothing that would have catastrophic life altering results if you read a few books, looked up some websites, followed advice from Yahoo! Answers.