Where do I find a financial trainer/coach that do not have h(is)/(er)own agenda in mind,but my best interest?

I am a 45 yrs old, with a husband a 2 children ages 19 and 17. I never received any training formal or informal on finances. I came to this Country and did not know how pensions and retirement plans worked, I did not know about planing for the future(kid's college/retirement), until about 12-15 yrs ago.Once I realized that these are aspects of life that we need to take care off, I started to read and look for answers. I have been contributing to a retirement plan at work.For years I have done things,such as not buying new cars to avoid being in debt,but have found myself paying a lot of money to maintain used cars.
I feel that at my age I still do not have a good grip on my finances.We have never tried to "keep up" with the neighbors,we live from pay check to pay check, do not go after luxuries but do not have basic things such as a decent living room set. Our house needs maintainance but we do not have the money to do it and do not want to get debt we would not be able to pay.HELP!

To begin with Answer #2 (by Miss*) is a MLM marketing program and does not offer good advice. There are NO professionals offered via this service and it is quite pricey for a series of books.

You can buy a good book on personal finance, but it sounds like you have done that and still don't feel this is a task handled alone.

You can also take a personal finance class offered at your local community center or community college.

At your age, it IS probably a sound idea to pay a professional to go over all your details and help you reallocate your priorities so you can meet your goals. 45 is late enough that if you don't do this, you may well never be able to reach a comfort level.

Be proud that you have done some excellent things already like contributing to your retirement plan and avoiding debt. That puts you way ahead of most.

One company that will offer to set up a financial plan for you, without requiring the purchase of products (you will pay a fee for the plan) is Ameriprise. They used to be part of American Express and have a long and reputable history.

The other option is to seek out a FEE ONLY planner who is an independent practitioner. They make their money doing plans and managing money and do not have products to try to force you to buy. You can find a fee based planner near you through any of the links below.

Either way the idea of using a real PLANNER who charges for the plan, and is not linking the service to product sales is that you aare likely to get more objective advice and someone who will make recommendations on how to maximize things you already have in place, like existing investments, retirement accounts and insurance.

At this stage you are right in that it is time to seek real advice and not mickey mouse around with amateurs who do not know what they are saying, and have no vested interest in your success or failure.

The sites below can help you both find someone, as well as offer up suggested questions to ASK any advisor so you can pick the right one.

Interview several and become educated on what makes one different from another and you will likely find a great person.

Go to the yellow pages look for financial advisors. Call and ask the question! Why would i use your services? or What makes you different?

There is a company that offers financial advisors for as long as you are a member. They teach you everything you need to know about creating cashflow, real estate investing, paying less taxes and getting more money out of your paycheck, becoming wealthy, they also help pay down your debt faster and raise your credit score. This is a legit company and they definitely have your best interest at heart. Go to the link below. If you have any questions at all click on my name (MIss A - but it looks like Miss *) and you can e-mail me for more information.

I agree w the first two answers...if you are worried about what fiduciary responsibility the advisor has, simply look for one that is fee based rather than commission based. You can pick up alot of info for free from books and online...but at some point you will need to pay someone for their expertise. If you use a series 7 registered broker who works on commission, keep in mind that persons legal fiduciary responsibility IS TO THEIR EMPLOYER. That is the law. Maybe they are good, maybe they are not...but their legal responsibility is to their employer. If you go with a series 65 registered fee based advisor....their fiduciary alligiance is YOU. Yes, they might be good, or, they might be bad...same as a series 7 broker...but, at least they have YOU in mind.

Educate yourself! Set up an stick to this very simple budget.
50% neccessities
10% investments
10% Long term savings
10% Education
10% Entertainment
10% charity

Budget originally created by T. Harv Eker "Secrets of the Millinaire Mind" great book. Great budget, the only one I have found that actually works!

I agree with John H above. However if the 50% portion will not pay your basic bills, you may need to increase your income significantly. That is where I can help. I am a business coach. I provide free assistance to people wishing to increase their income level by starting a small home based business. There are many great benefits of having a home business. You will bring more money to your household and you will save several hundred dollars on your income taxes. The net change of cash flow into your home should be used to increase your savings and investments. If you are willing to learn the ways to start a home business, I can provide guidance. Write to Bruce at boatclub@go.com . I will need to know about your available free time.