One question many people have today is the point at which they need to start consulting with professionals to help in their lives. This often involves when they need help determining their financial future, their insurance needs, and even their long-term saving and investment assessments.
In the not too distant past the question of when to start working with a financial planner was often based on a specific income level. The point when a family started making enough income to have investments of more than just a saving account was often considered the optimal time.
Today, more than ever, professional financial planners are an important advisor to people from the time they start earning and living on their own, or at the very least when they start having a family to be responsible for. This allows you to develop a plan of attack for all your financial goals and to start working toward them immediately.
In general it is recommended that you seek the advice and services of a financial planner when you:
- Plan a big change in your life which could impact your future. For example, if you were planning on quitting your job and starting your own business or if you were going to return to graduate school and try to live off a spouse's income.
- Have income on hand and are not sure how to invest it in ways that are safe, have the highest possible return on investment, and offer you the ability to lock it up or access it as needed.
- Need to start thinking about the care and wellbeing of your spouse, children, or family in the event you cannot earn the income you are today.
- Inherit a sum of money and are not sure what the best option is for the unexpected lump sum. Often people invest rather than pay off a mortgage or credit card accounts and end up actually throwing money away over time.
Basically, a good question to ask yourself is, do I know what is in my best interest to do with this money? If you aren’t sure or don’t have an answer, it is time to talk to a financial planner.