personal finance

[equalizer]

If you don’t have all expenses tracked, you could try Quicken or their free service at mint.com, which gets raves reviews, but all your data is on their server.

[edna_mode]

what do you expect a financial planner to do for you? what specific questions would you ask a planner? that is, do you have a clear vision of what you are saving/investing for the future and need help putting the pieces of the puzzle together (what insurance, what types of investment), or are you looking for a “coach” to help you figure out where you are and what you are doing?

what do you mean by “not much to show for it”? are you saying that you have leaks in your budget but can’t figure out exactly where, or that you can’t stop yourself from spending in ways that are unsatisfying?

a financial planner can’t help you with either one. they will only give you a notepad to track all your expenses for a month for the former (there i helped you for free) or tell you to stop in the latter (there i helped you again).

they can only help you implement a vision — but you have to define that vision in the first place. i’d be very careful picking a financial planner — there’s no unified obvious credentialing or bonding that goes with the job (like “MD” for doc or $$$ held in trust/insurance for civil engineer if he professionally screws up).

if you want tax advice on specific moves, you’re better off hiring a CPA or enrolled agent (IRS experts).

that said, Marketplace Money’s Chris Farrell (NPR) has repeatedly said to go with a fee-only based planner vs. % types.

that also said, don’t you know our own Dr Piggington works for a financial advisory firm? 😉

[edna_mode]

what do you expect a financial planner to do for you? what specific questions would you ask a planner? that is, do you have a clear vision of what you are saving/investing for the future and need help putting the pieces of the puzzle together (what insurance, what types of investment), or are you looking for a “coach” to help you figure out where you are and what you are doing?

what do you mean by “not much to show for it”? are you saying that you have leaks in your budget but can’t figure out exactly where, or that you can’t stop yourself from spending in ways that are unsatisfying?

a financial planner can’t help you with either one. they will only give you a notepad to track all your expenses for a month for the former (there i helped you for free) or tell you to stop in the latter (there i helped you again).

they can only help you implement a vision — but you have to define that vision in the first place. i’d be very careful picking a financial planner — there’s no unified obvious credentialing or bonding that goes with the job (like “MD” for doc or $$$ held in trust/insurance for civil engineer if he professionally screws up).

if you want tax advice on specific moves, you’re better off hiring a CPA or enrolled agent (IRS experts).

that said, Marketplace Money’s Chris Farrell (NPR) has repeatedly said to go with a fee-only based planner vs. % types.

that also said, don’t you know our own Dr Piggington works for a financial advisory firm? 😉

[edna_mode]

what do you expect a financial planner to do for you? what specific questions would you ask a planner? that is, do you have a clear vision of what you are saving/investing for the future and need help putting the pieces of the puzzle together (what insurance, what types of investment), or are you looking for a “coach” to help you figure out where you are and what you are doing?

what do you mean by “not much to show for it”? are you saying that you have leaks in your budget but can’t figure out exactly where, or that you can’t stop yourself from spending in ways that are unsatisfying?

a financial planner can’t help you with either one. they will only give you a notepad to track all your expenses for a month for the former (there i helped you for free) or tell you to stop in the latter (there i helped you again).

they can only help you implement a vision — but you have to define that vision in the first place. i’d be very careful picking a financial planner — there’s no unified obvious credentialing or bonding that goes with the job (like “MD” for doc or $$$ held in trust/insurance for civil engineer if he professionally screws up).

if you want tax advice on specific moves, you’re better off hiring a CPA or enrolled agent (IRS experts).

that said, Marketplace Money’s Chris Farrell (NPR) has repeatedly said to go with a fee-only based planner vs. % types.

that also said, don’t you know our own Dr Piggington works for a financial advisory firm? 😉

[edna_mode]

what do you expect a financial planner to do for you? what specific questions would you ask a planner? that is, do you have a clear vision of what you are saving/investing for the future and need help putting the pieces of the puzzle together (what insurance, what types of investment), or are you looking for a “coach” to help you figure out where you are and what you are doing?

what do you mean by “not much to show for it”? are you saying that you have leaks in your budget but can’t figure out exactly where, or that you can’t stop yourself from spending in ways that are unsatisfying?

a financial planner can’t help you with either one. they will only give you a notepad to track all your expenses for a month for the former (there i helped you for free) or tell you to stop in the latter (there i helped you again).

they can only help you implement a vision — but you have to define that vision in the first place. i’d be very careful picking a financial planner — there’s no unified obvious credentialing or bonding that goes with the job (like “MD” for doc or $$$ held in trust/insurance for civil engineer if he professionally screws up).

if you want tax advice on specific moves, you’re better off hiring a CPA or enrolled agent (IRS experts).

that said, Marketplace Money’s Chris Farrell (NPR) has repeatedly said to go with a fee-only based planner vs. % types.

that also said, don’t you know our own Dr Piggington works for a financial advisory firm? 😉

[edna_mode]

what do you expect a financial planner to do for you? what specific questions would you ask a planner? that is, do you have a clear vision of what you are saving/investing for the future and need help putting the pieces of the puzzle together (what insurance, what types of investment), or are you looking for a “coach” to help you figure out where you are and what you are doing?

what do you mean by “not much to show for it”? are you saying that you have leaks in your budget but can’t figure out exactly where, or that you can’t stop yourself from spending in ways that are unsatisfying?

a financial planner can’t help you with either one. they will only give you a notepad to track all your expenses for a month for the former (there i helped you for free) or tell you to stop in the latter (there i helped you again).

they can only help you implement a vision — but you have to define that vision in the first place. i’d be very careful picking a financial planner — there’s no unified obvious credentialing or bonding that goes with the job (like “MD” for doc or $$$ held in trust/insurance for civil engineer if he professionally screws up).

if you want tax advice on specific moves, you’re better off hiring a CPA or enrolled agent (IRS experts).

that said, Marketplace Money’s Chris Farrell (NPR) has repeatedly said to go with a fee-only based planner vs. % types.

that also said, don’t you know our own Dr Piggington works for a financial advisory firm? 😉

[Coronita]

I’ve worked with a financial “advisor” in the past for part of our assets, mainly because my wife didn’t trust me with the finances and thought that a financial advisor would do better job at helping us beat the market, despite my insistent that most aren’t going to. Over a longer period, almost all financial advisors we had did about the same as what would have happened from our normal routine of passive investments, except they charged an a fee on top of that. For the matter, most financial “advisors” will advise you on the quickest way to separate your money from you. not to mention the churn that most “advisors” caused from buying/selling to try to beat the market. Two years ago, my 1040 was 60+ pages long, and the result was a sub-market return after taxes/fees/etc.

As far as putting together a financial plan..Well, financial planners are just that. They are to help you create a financial plan, which frankly a semi-intelligent person can really do by themselves, by just spending some time reading and agreeing with said spouse on how to spend money on what. The trick is if you and spouse agree to sticking to the plan, which if you/spouse don’t have the discipline to do, will be a problem regardless of who creates a plan, and if you/spouse have the discipline, then you really don’t need some other stranger to tell you to keep to your plan.

Where it might make sense for you to turn over your financial affairs to some complete stranger are if

1) you really don’t have time to do it yourself
and
2) you/spouse don’t have the discipline manage your own money well

The fact that you are even asking about how to manage your expenses/financial future better to me means automatically, #2 isn’t the case and #1 probably isn’t the case either. You’re probably looking at more ways to maximize your savings, save, invest etc, which frankly the only way I think you can do is if you and said spouse handle this yourself.

[Coronita]

I’ve worked with a financial “advisor” in the past for part of our assets, mainly because my wife didn’t trust me with the finances and thought that a financial advisor would do better job at helping us beat the market, despite my insistent that most aren’t going to. Over a longer period, almost all financial advisors we had did about the same as what would have happened from our normal routine of passive investments, except they charged an a fee on top of that. For the matter, most financial “advisors” will advise you on the quickest way to separate your money from you. not to mention the churn that most “advisors” caused from buying/selling to try to beat the market. Two years ago, my 1040 was 60+ pages long, and the result was a sub-market return after taxes/fees/etc.

As far as putting together a financial plan..Well, financial planners are just that. They are to help you create a financial plan, which frankly a semi-intelligent person can really do by themselves, by just spending some time reading and agreeing with said spouse on how to spend money on what. The trick is if you and spouse agree to sticking to the plan, which if you/spouse don’t have the discipline to do, will be a problem regardless of who creates a plan, and if you/spouse have the discipline, then you really don’t need some other stranger to tell you to keep to your plan.

Where it might make sense for you to turn over your financial affairs to some complete stranger are if

1) you really don’t have time to do it yourself
and
2) you/spouse don’t have the discipline manage your own money well

The fact that you are even asking about how to manage your expenses/financial future better to me means automatically, #2 isn’t the case and #1 probably isn’t the case either. You’re probably looking at more ways to maximize your savings, save, invest etc, which frankly the only way I think you can do is if you and said spouse handle this yourself.

[Coronita]

I’ve worked with a financial “advisor” in the past for part of our assets, mainly because my wife didn’t trust me with the finances and thought that a financial advisor would do better job at helping us beat the market, despite my insistent that most aren’t going to. Over a longer period, almost all financial advisors we had did about the same as what would have happened from our normal routine of passive investments, except they charged an a fee on top of that. For the matter, most financial “advisors” will advise you on the quickest way to separate your money from you. not to mention the churn that most “advisors” caused from buying/selling to try to beat the market. Two years ago, my 1040 was 60+ pages long, and the result was a sub-market return after taxes/fees/etc.

As far as putting together a financial plan..Well, financial planners are just that. They are to help you create a financial plan, which frankly a semi-intelligent person can really do by themselves, by just spending some time reading and agreeing with said spouse on how to spend money on what. The trick is if you and spouse agree to sticking to the plan, which if you/spouse don’t have the discipline to do, will be a problem regardless of who creates a plan, and if you/spouse have the discipline, then you really don’t need some other stranger to tell you to keep to your plan.

Where it might make sense for you to turn over your financial affairs to some complete stranger are if

1) you really don’t have time to do it yourself
and
2) you/spouse don’t have the discipline manage your own money well

The fact that you are even asking about how to manage your expenses/financial future better to me means automatically, #2 isn’t the case and #1 probably isn’t the case either. You’re probably looking at more ways to maximize your savings, save, invest etc, which frankly the only way I think you can do is if you and said spouse handle this yourself.

[Coronita]

I’ve worked with a financial “advisor” in the past for part of our assets, mainly because my wife didn’t trust me with the finances and thought that a financial advisor would do better job at helping us beat the market, despite my insistent that most aren’t going to. Over a longer period, almost all financial advisors we had did about the same as what would have happened from our normal routine of passive investments, except they charged an a fee on top of that. For the matter, most financial “advisors” will advise you on the quickest way to separate your money from you. not to mention the churn that most “advisors” caused from buying/selling to try to beat the market. Two years ago, my 1040 was 60+ pages long, and the result was a sub-market return after taxes/fees/etc.

As far as putting together a financial plan..Well, financial planners are just that. They are to help you create a financial plan, which frankly a semi-intelligent person can really do by themselves, by just spending some time reading and agreeing with said spouse on how to spend money on what. The trick is if you and spouse agree to sticking to the plan, which if you/spouse don’t have the discipline to do, will be a problem regardless of who creates a plan, and if you/spouse have the discipline, then you really don’t need some other stranger to tell you to keep to your plan.

Where it might make sense for you to turn over your financial affairs to some complete stranger are if

1) you really don’t have time to do it yourself
and
2) you/spouse don’t have the discipline manage your own money well

The fact that you are even asking about how to manage your expenses/financial future better to me means automatically, #2 isn’t the case and #1 probably isn’t the case either. You’re probably looking at more ways to maximize your savings, save, invest etc, which frankly the only way I think you can do is if you and said spouse handle this yourself.

[Coronita]

I’ve worked with a financial “advisor” in the past for part of our assets, mainly because my wife didn’t trust me with the finances and thought that a financial advisor would do better job at helping us beat the market, despite my insistent that most aren’t going to. Over a longer period, almost all financial advisors we had did about the same as what would have happened from our normal routine of passive investments, except they charged an a fee on top of that. For the matter, most financial “advisors” will advise you on the quickest way to separate your money from you. not to mention the churn that most “advisors” caused from buying/selling to try to beat the market. Two years ago, my 1040 was 60+ pages long, and the result was a sub-market return after taxes/fees/etc.

As far as putting together a financial plan..Well, financial planners are just that. They are to help you create a financial plan, which frankly a semi-intelligent person can really do by themselves, by just spending some time reading and agreeing with said spouse on how to spend money on what. The trick is if you and spouse agree to sticking to the plan, which if you/spouse don’t have the discipline to do, will be a problem regardless of who creates a plan, and if you/spouse have the discipline, then you really don’t need some other stranger to tell you to keep to your plan.

Where it might make sense for you to turn over your financial affairs to some complete stranger are if

1) you really don’t have time to do it yourself
and
2) you/spouse don’t have the discipline manage your own money well

The fact that you are even asking about how to manage your expenses/financial future better to me means automatically, #2 isn’t the case and #1 probably isn’t the case either. You’re probably looking at more ways to maximize your savings, save, invest etc, which frankly the only way I think you can do is if you and said spouse handle this yourself.

[SD Realtor]

I think there is some cat named rich that may be worth your time to chat with… not sure where to find him though.

[SD Realtor]

I think there is some cat named rich that may be worth your time to chat with… not sure where to find him though.

[SD Realtor]

I think there is some cat named rich that may be worth your time to chat with… not sure where to find him though.

[SD Realtor]

I think there is some cat named rich that may be worth your time to chat with… not sure where to find him though.

[Author]

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