Resources/Leads for finding good (1) Personal Financial Advisor, and (2) Personal Counselor on Life Issues (how much)

[ecsdude]

Hi, I was wondering what is the best way to go about finding the following resources that are good, proven, reasonably priced :

1) personal financial advisor - to analyze overall financial situation and formulate clear and effective strategies both short and long-term to optimize things and ensure I have something solid established to grow and plan for my future and retirement.

2) personal life counselor - to discuss various life issues and get some objective feedback on them and insights into them, leading to some clear action plan to address them.

Would like people who are very competent, experienced, listen to you and have your best interest at heart, yet are reasonably priced.

What's the best way to find such resources and get some reviews/references on them?

Thanks in advance.

[NinaN]

I don't have anyone specific to recommend, however you do need to interview the people you were thinking about using.

For the personal financial advisor, make sure that they cannot profit from the things they advise you to do. Find someone that charges by the plan or the hour, not commissions from what you purchase. Ask them their net worth. If it's less than yours, they are probably not a good choice.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by NinaN

For the personal financial advisor, make sure that they cannot profit from the things they advise you to do. Find someone that charges by the plan or the hour, not commissions from what you purchase. Ask them their net worth. If it's less than yours, they are probably not a good choice.

That's seriously excellent advice.

OP, I don't know anyone local, but if you haven't already done so, take some time to educate yourself about investing. Even if you still need advice, at least you'll come better equipped. I highly recommend the message boards at bogleheads.org (I don't think that's a competitors link, since they cover completely different topics than city-data). You can even post what you're invested in and how much, and there are even some helpful folks who will recommend changes as necessary. Also, a couple books written by some folks there: The Bogleheads Guide to Investing and The Bogleheads Guide to Retirement Planning.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by ecsdude

Hi, I was wondering what is the best way to go about finding the following resources that are good, proven, reasonably priced :

1) personal financial advisor - to analyze overall financial situation and formulate clear and effective strategies both short and long-term to optimize things and ensure I have something solid established to grow and plan for my future and retirement.

2) personal life counselor - to discuss various life issues and get some objective feedback on them and insights into them, leading to some clear action plan to address them.

Would like people who are very competent, experienced, listen to you and have your best interest at heart, yet are reasonably priced.

What's the best way to find such resources and get some reviews/references on them?

Thanks in advance.

For the life counselor-it's a broad field, but you could check out the 'life coach' territory. Check online reviews and look up local coaches with websites. Find out what their training is, background, any certifications (and then research separately to see if those certifications are worth much, etc) and sometimes you simply have to use your own 'personal hunch' to decide if someone is a good match for you, in addition to the objective criteria. The good thing about coaching is that it's focused on a short term, goal oriented plan. Also, a good coach is skilled at listening and pointing out thinking patterns, potentially conflicting ideas that you have, etc. so it's personal, but more focused on your mindset than on specific therapeutically oriented techniques (ie, as a licensed therapist or counselor would be). A coach ideally is a neutral/objective source of feedback and somebody that assists with giving some structure and cohesion to what you are personally trying to do. ie, a plan and how to achieve it (which will include addressing what you mentioned-personal aspects).

Another avenue that might be of interest is a NLP [neuro linguistic programming] practitioner. Sometimes a coach or counselor will overlap and offer NLP as well. It's a tool that different types of practitioners use in different ways...in your case it could be someone using it to help you achieve specific life, career/professional or success goals.That's a very brief explanation-so google it. if you're interested. I know people who have benefited from using NLP, but obviously I do not know what will work for you. Just sharing the resource.

You could also go the traditional licensed counselor/therapist route-for high quality you just need to read reviews and ask around. Also, somebody may work out great for one person, but not be a good fit for the next guy. So referrals don't always work out.

Good luck.

[calnbs]

Originally Posted by NinaN

I don't have anyone specific to recommend, however you do need to interview the people you were thinking about using.

For the personal financial advisor, make sure that they cannot profit from the things they advise you to do. Find someone that charges by the plan or the hour, not commissions from what you purchase. Ask them their net worth. If it's less than yours, they are probably not a good choice.

Agreed. Finding a fee only financial planner is a good idea. That way, the advisores aren't influenced by varies companies that are offering commissions for their products.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidmar...he-difference/

Found this link from Forbes:

http://www.napfa.org/