Hiring a Financial Planner

There are many different ways that you can go about getting your finances organized. Having organized finances are one of the best ways that you can go about not only saving money, but preparing for emergencies. The best way that you can go about getting your finances organized is by actually hiring a financial planner. Financial planners can be a great tool for those who do not have the time, or knowledge, to take care of their own financial needs. Here is some helpful information that you can use to begin hiring a financial planner to take care of your needs.

• What do they do? In the simplest possible terms, a financial planner is a person who will take care of your fiscal needs. Just as in any other profession, there are specialists that focus on specific areas of business or goals. For example, some financial planners will focus on helping you get a house, get out of debt, go to college, start a business, or retire from the business world.
• When should you get one? The best time to begin hiring a financial planner is when you are really ready to begin making your goals a reality. Ideally, you will want to begin talking to a financial planner before you begin making any life altering decisions, or have any major life changes coming up. Some examples of these are when you get married, have a baby, lose a job, or when you get hired on at a new job.
• What is the average pay? Before you begin hiring a financial planner, you need to understand how much they can cost you. Generally speaking most financial planners will work in one of two ways. The first is that they will charge you an hourly fee, and the second is that they work on a commission basis. On average, a financial planner that charges an hourly fee will charge you between $150 and $300 per hour. Those financial planners that work on a commission will charge you between 2 percent and 7 percent of the sales. Make sure that you know what type of fees your potential financial planner will charge prior to signing any contract with them.
• Where to find one. There are several methods that you can go about to find a financial planner. You can contact your local bank, go on line, or even ask friends and family for some advice. What you need to do though before you hire any planner, is make sure that they are a certified financial planner (CFP). These people are the ones who have gone through the training, and have the experience that you can trust.