Helping You Avoid Life's Financial Mistakes

How To Hire The Right Financial Planner?

November 14, 2008 By 1 Comment

Do you have a financial planner? 

When I was in financial services a common question I would ask people are, “Do you have a financial planner?”

With most people this would be a resounding NO, some aren’t sure and about 5% of my clients had a financial planner.  But what was even more astounding was when I asked them, “When was the last time they had talked to them?”  I got the usual blank stare with a guess that they weren’t even sure about. 

So in this post I hope to give you some tips on what to look for in a financial planner as well as what questions you should be asking when your looking for one to help you out.

What your financial planner should do for you.

In the previous post in this series I talked about things that you should watch out for when talking to financial planners.  Here are things you should be looking for.

  • Look for a financial planner who does financial plans for FREE.  This may be a bit harder than it seems but some financial planners will charge anywhere form $250 to $2500 or more to put a plan together for you.  Personally I can’t see why someone should charge that kind of fee to you just to repeat the same information back to you.  There are planner who will do it for free you just have to look for them.  When I was in financial services I did every one of my plans for free. 
  • Should be a great listener.  The point a financial planner is to listen to you and provide solutions based on your financial problems.  However I have seen many planner skip right past this and push a product.  You will be able to tell who is a good listener and who is not.  A good listeners will ask mostly questions and the others will have a bad case of diarrhea of the mouth were they won’t even let you get a word in.  If you have a planner like this turn around and run in the other direction NOW.  They aren’t  interested in helping you in your situation.   
  • Should look professional.  You would think this would just be common sense but you wouldn’t believe how many don’t do this.  In financial services I mostly wore a suit but in certain cases dressed business casual.  If they come in wearing ripped up jeans and cutoffs this may not be someone you can’t trust.  A professional look does more than give a good appearance it shows trust that they are professional and knowledgeable.
  • Does in-person annual reviews.  This is a big one.  Not one client I ever had had a planner who did annual reviews of there finances.  When I was in financial services I not only did annual reviews but I did them in person at the client kitchen table.  Talk about service.
  • Educates you on your finances.  Again you would think that this would be part of the package deal.  Education on your finances is very important to you in making the right decisions.  Financial planners shouldn’t just be pushing a product on you they should be educating you how products work and how they will benefit you.
  • Have a great attitude.  I did this one last because it’s not as common but I have seen it before were they may get a bit unhappy with you for not doing what they want you to do.  Usually the planner should be genuinely interested in you and what you have to say.

Have any other great tips to add to this list?  Add them below in the comments.

What questions should you ask your financial planner?

When asking these questions take it from the point like you are hiring this person to work for you. 

  • How long have they been in financial services?  If they’ve been in financial services for some time this will help because this means they have seen many different financial situations and will be able to come up with a few more ideas.
  • What licenses do they hold?  Your planner should have several licenses so they will be able to design a program for you based on your needs not there licenses.  They should have at least a life and health license, Series 6, Series 63, and possible a series 65.  They may also have a P&C licenses and a CFP ( Certified Financial Planners)  Obviously the more the better.
  • What do they specialize in?  Usually a financial planner will specialize in a certain area.  Maybe it’s investments, or insurance, or advisory services.  Knowing this will allow you find out what there major objective is as a planner.
  • Do they do annual reviews?  Again you know why this is important.  Make sure you don’t forget to ask.  One thing I got in the habit of a lot with my clients was to set an annual review the following year this way it was always set and I never had to worry about forgeting to do this. 
  • What product providers do they work with?  Knowing what product providers they deal with will allow you to research those companies, see what kind of rating they have, and if they are a good company overall. 
  • What are there fees for there service and cost on product they recommend?  Not all planners will charge fees but there will be a cost on the product that you buy.  Be careful of high cost  products.  A good way to check this is to get a second opinion fro another planner.

These are probably some of the bigger questions that I would ask however there may be other you have thought of that I didn’t mention.  Please feel free to list it below in the comments.

Filed Under: Money Managment Tagged With: ,

Why You Should Start A Part-Time Business

October 17, 2008 By 10 Comments

The Beginning of Your Financial Independence

I know I haven’t spent a lot time discussing financial independence but I hope do so as things progress.  The reason I haven’t though is because I felt I haven’t truly reach financial independence.  Though that doesn’t mean I won’t talk the things I’ve learned along the way.

In this post though my outcome is to show you that starting a part-time business is your first step to becoming financially independent.

My First Part Time Business

In 2004 I started my first part-time business in financial services.  A friend of mine who had been in the business for several years presented the opportunity to me.  At that time I didn’t know anything about financial services, insurance, or investments.

The first few years in the business I didn’t make much progress at all but I kept after it and after five years I managed to end up with a handful of clients and little bit of money.  Though after those years of being in financial services I didn’t make much money but I did learn 2 very important lessons.

  1. I learned how to run a business.  You can go to school for many years to learn how to manage and run a business by reading a few books and taking a class or two is nothing compared to getting some real world experience.  The great thing about this education is that I didn’t pay one cent for it.  That’s the great thing about starting a part time business.
  2. I learned how to manage my money.  Before I got into financial services I knew nothing about saving my money or where to save it or how to pay off my debt.  People can pay top dollar to get the education I did but it didn’t cost me a dime.

When You Need To Start A Part Time Business

You can start a part time business any time you want.  In fact it’s easier than ever.  With all the opportunities out there you won’t have much trouble.  I will share a few ideas with you at the end of this article.  However I must warn you though research the opportunity before you decide on any particular one there are some bad scams out there.

Starting a part time business allows you to have a full time job while you are running your part time business.  This way you can build up your business until you have enough cash flow to switch to a full time position. 

Another reason you should start a business is if you have debt.  You might be thinking this would be the worst time but allow me to elaborate.  When your in debt this is the best time start a part time business because you can learn what it takes without taking the big risk and also raise some money to pay off some debt, fund that emergency fund, or even save for your kids college education.  There are a lot of thing you could do with this money.

At any rate the clear idea here is to take action.  Don’t delay.  Those that want to succeed will take this step and go for it.  So why don’t you be one of them.

What Kind Of Part Time Business Opportunities Are There?

Before I get into what ideas are out there I should say that there two ways to go about this. 

  1. Start your own business.  Start a business that you would like to do.  For example I know a guy who started his own taxidermy business and he is seeing some great success from this.  However I don’t recommend this route for any new people who want to start a business because you may become frustrated easily and quit before you really see any success.
  2. Join a business.  When you join a business or what is called a business opportunity you generally pay a fee (usually a couple hundred dollars) and they will take care of everything from training to helping you grow your business.  This is my suggested route for those who have never run a business before.

Where I Would Start

These are a few of my ideas but you may know of more.

  • Start your own blogging business.  This is very easy to do and has a low barrier to entry.  Just a few bucks a month.
  • Financial Services.  This is where I got started learning how to run a business, manage money, and do sales.  I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t jumped on this opportunity.
  • Affiliate Marketing.  This is where you set up a website to sell products on the Internet.  This is again a low barrier to entry and if you work at you can make some great money too.

Are you considering starting a part time business?  What kind of business would you like to start?  Let me know what you would like to do.  I will also be doing a sequel to this article next week to go more in depth on the 3 business I have given you. 

Until then.

Filed Under: Financial Independence Tagged With: , , , , ,