Financial planners are instrumental in establishing your financial foundation and securing your retirement but at some point, they really aren’t that necessary. Financial planners serve as a guide for you to manage your finances well, make your investments grow, and put your money where you could maximize its potential but unfortunately, nobody knows what your financial needs and goals more than you do.
Financial planning isn’t that complicated and in fact the simplest of things may sometimes be the best of things. So why is it that we really don’t need a financial planner? Here’s some reasons.
1.) As mentioned earlier, nobody knows your financial needs and goals more than you do. What financial planners do is just to provide guidance and propose solutions to your financial concerns. Financial planners are like guidance counselors. They either prevent you from taking the wrong path financially or if you’re already down in debt or struggling, they’ll gradually get you back on track. In most cases, you really don’t need such guidance. Common sense will dictate which is right and wrong. Instead of acquiring the services of financial planners, learn on how to build the right and solid financial foundation by following and establishing these steps: [1] Get a long term health care program for yourself and your loved ones, [2] get yourself insured just in case something will happen to you and make you lose your income generating capacity, [3] manage and get out of debt quick, [4] save and establish a good source of emergency fund, [5] start investing and diversify your investments, and [6] protect your investments and assets. These 6 steps are the basics of building the right financial foundation and instead of tapping a financial planner, tap the services of either of these. Look for agents, scout banks that give good service, look around for good investments such as real estate, mutual funds, stocks, and even starting your own business. It’s more practical that way and each of which can give you good advises as well.
2.) Financial planners are costly. The cost of having a secured retirement is high. Rather than spending too much on financial planners, you invest in knowledge. Do some research, attend seminars, or if there are crash courses, you can enroll. It really doesn’t take much to establish a good retirement and you really don’t need the knowledge and experience of financial planners. What you really need is the basic knowledge on financial planning, how to apply it, and develop the discipline when it comes to finances. Start with discipline. Every penny you save is a penny that you earn and that is a good start. Imagine saving merely a dollar a day, that sums up to $365 in a year. What if you save $10 a day? That gives you $3,650 in a year. Little things mean a lot and in most cases, these things spell the difference between success and failure. Assess your finances first by making a list and eliminate the things that you really don’t need. As soon as you develop a good habit and discipline towards finances, the rest will follow. It can make you save thousands of bucks from financial planners.
3.) There are some cases wherein financial planners are biased. Most financial planners are connected to different financial institutions and of course they will prefer something that they’re connected to. In order to eliminate such bias, many people suggest that you approach at least 3 financial planners in order to get different ideas and approaches. That sounds quite a good idea but in reality, it is very expensive and may make you waste a lot of time. There is no product or service in the financial industry that suits all the financial needs of an individual thus a biased financial planner isn’t really telling the truth at all. The result? You really won’t get what you need. Though what they’d be telling could help, you won’t be getting the highest potential of what you’re paying for. Why let others dictate what you really need or want?
Financial planners are just guides but aren’t necessary. The key in having a secured retirement is to start young and to start now. Building a good and solid financial foundation takes time, it doesn’t happen overnight. Invest in knowledge, invest in yourself, and get to know what it takes to establish a good retirement. Things will be easy if you know what you’re doing.