Over the past 15 years, it would be fair to say that the quality of financial advice has been somewhat wanting. The big banks have certainly gone out of their way to ‘dumb’ it down. As most often, the profession was used by them to just channel money into their fund’s management divisions
Their “impassioned” plea’s of wanting us all to dream, aspire, achieve and succeed in retirement by simply seeking counsel from one of their expert advisers became a staple advertising message. In fact, such was their enthusiasm to ‘help’ it became prudent for anyone even remotely approaching retirement age, to wear a ‘garland of garlic’ upon entering a bank branch just to fend off the endless offers of “financial advice”. (My apologies to any vampires out there for comparing you to bankers)
But, thanks to a raft of legislation changes, the industry is now returning to its original role of actually providing genuine financial advice to those who need it.
Having moved to a fee for service model (in Australia at least) an advisers expertise and experience have now become the key considerations today. No more slick sales spiels masquerading as financial advice.
So here’s a list of 8 reasons to visit a financial planner. And you might notice I have included area’s not always immediately associated with providing financial advice
Cash Flow Management – They can have a look at your income and expenses and help you discover savings and efficiencies.
Debt Management –. Check on your housing loan, personal loan, credit card loan, to provide an ex- pert opinion of your interest rates, affordability, and repayments. We have to pay it back, but there may just be better ways.
Insurance Planning – this is all about protecting your wealth against uncertainties in life, a very important issue. Read more about insurance here.
Education Planning – Planning for your children’s school fees and all those associated costs. Even public schools will cost you money these days so be prepared.
Investment Planning – building and growing your money for either the short or long term. This is not just saving but truly investing your funds to grow your wealth.
Retirement Planning – They can help when achieving your retirement goals by building passive in- come streams. Lot’s of ways to improve here, that’s for sure.
Tax Planning – Financial planners are not the same as an accountant, but they can certainly provide useful and valuable tips about this area.
Estate Planning– Not only wills and power of attorney. Did you know there are assets which are not part of your estate? What happens to them?
I am sure there are plenty of other areas, not directly thought about as financial advice, a planner will gladly assist you with. It really is just a matter of finding a good adviser and asking. By the way, here’s some help on the best way to find yourself a reliable financial planner.
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