Should I hire a financial adviser?

I met with an "Ameriprise" financial adviser and am thinking of hiring him. It's not that expensive and I defiantly am not great managing my finances but I'm wondering if it's overkill for me. I make a low six figure income, have a little credit card debt, a 401k, stock options, and I own a home. To date this hasn't really been very complex but I'm not sure if I'm making the right decisions for the long term. Any advice about the benefits of a financial adviser would be greatly appreciated.

You don't mention how old you are or how close to retirement, if you need to fund college for kids, type of lifestyle, etc., etc. so its hard to say.

I hired my first financial advisor when I was in my early 30s, only making $35k, but had an annuity, a pension plan, some company stock + a company savings plan, a money market fund & a few CDs. After about 3 years the man was driving me crazy because he kept calling me to make transactions & I didn't agree with his advice. I tried straightening out a few accounts on my own, but couldn't seem to get anywhere, so I hired a different financial advisor from an entirely different company to help me re-organize all my accounts into what I wanted. (By then I was taking more of an interest in my funds & wanted to set-up a trust.) The 2nd advisor helped me get almost all of the accounts to where I wanted them, but he & I did not agree on 2 main issues & we had a bitter fight about it & mutually agreed to part company.

By this time, I felt pretty confident about seeing it through on my own & that's what I have done - through being downsized, moving to another state, accessing my 401k to finance building a house, etc. - but, the only person I have to worry about is myself & I have learned to live quite frugally.

Basically, if you have an interest in understanding your finances, find someone to work with you for a few years, then when you feel ready, let them go.

There is no "magic" to it. Its a job like everything else is.

LOL......you don't need a financial advisor. He is going to tell you to do what you already know to do.

Just do the following: Stay out of debt Fund Your 401K

And if you have excess income leftover after you do all of this :

Go to : low-cost-stock-recommendations

.com

Click on the "DRIP's" Button on the Navigation Bar

These powerful investment plans are seldom talked about because brokers make very little money when they suggest them. Yet, they have proven to be one of the best, if not the best, long-term strategy on Wall Street.

They are perfect for small investors, as well as big investors. They are safe and allow you to not care about whether the market is going up or down. They are a must for any serious investor.

If you decide you are interested in DRIP Plans, click on the advertisement on the same page "$4 to purchase stocks". This will answer your next question, which is, How do I get started? and what is the least expensive way to get started?

I strongly recommend looking into it. They are great plans.

Good Luck


You don't need a financial advisor

It is good to have financial planning. The question is how much can be self taught, vs. paying for financial advice. Woudl you rather go to the doctor for an annual check-up, or read up on it and try to diagnose yourself? You go to the doctor. The same is to with financial health. It may include basic things like setting short term and long term goals, planing an estate.
You also want to make sure that you plan to pay the minimum amount of taxes. A financial planner can help with that. The tax savings often far exceeds the fee paid to the financial planner. At least that has been the case for my clients!