If you can afford to get financial advice from an expert, you probably should. Even if you think you cannot afford it, you might want to consider doing it anyway because it can help tremendously. Some banks and financial institutions offer their members free financial advice as do local community colleges and organizations.
- Before You Get Married – The best time to get financial advice in your life is before marriage. The main reason is that if you both go to a professional before marriage, you can get on the same page now. This will avoid problems later. It might also open both your eyes to your differences and where you really stand financially.
- Before You Have a Child – While most people tend to have kids without much thought to their financial future the fact is, kids are expensive. It’s imperative to get some advice from an expert before having a child so that you can make sure you’re ready to live up to the responsibility in the way you believe you should.
- After You Have a Child – Once you have a child, it’s important to have someone go over your finances and remind you of the things to come regarding your child’s care. For example, sports, tutoring, and health insurance, as well as who will care for your child if you aren’t here.
- When You Get Your First Job – If you have graduated from college and finally nabbed your first job this is a great time to seek help from a financial advisor. If you start budgeting today and saving properly, you will set yourself up for a much better future.
- When You Get a Raise – Anytime you get a raise, take the time to talk to your financial advisor to see if there is something you can do with the raise money that makes more sense than spending it. If you’re already meeting your needs, you may want to put the raise away for the future or add more to your student loan debt to get it paid off faster.
- Before You Buy a House – If you’re planning to buy a house or make any big expenditure, it’s a great time to see your financial advisor. They may give you advice that buying a house now is a good idea or a bad idea. It will depend on many factors but having the word of an expert can help you make better choices.
- If Your Wealth Changes – If you get a huge raise, get an inheritance, or win the lottery seeking help from a financial advisor can make all the difference in your ability to hang on to the windfall or manage the new wealth in a way that makes it last.
- If Financial Planning is Too Emotional – If trying to plan your financial future is too stressful for you and your spouse or partner find a way to get help. Having an advisor who is not personally invested in your emotional lives, can help weed out the problems, fix your financial situation, and lower the incidents of fights.
- When You’re 20 Years from Retirement – Get some help when you’re at least 20 years out from retirement to ensure that you’re on the right track. Then you should probably get more advice each year after that to ensure that things are working out and going in the right direction.
- Right Before Retirement – Before you hand in your retirement notice, check with your financial advisor first to make sure that you really can do without your income comfortably.
If you make it a regular part of your life to seek financial advice from experts periodically to ensure that you’re still on the right path and making the best choices, you’ll be much more likely to reach your goals. However, keep in mind that no financial advice can replace the education you get about finances yourself. Therefore, never turn it over to someone else entirely. Get advice. However, learn to do things on your own so that you can make truly good choices for your situation.
