If you want to achieve success, there are times when you’ll need to make critical financial decisions. If you spend money frivolously, it’s not likely you can do some of the things you want when the time comes. You might sometimes encounter tricky financial matters, and you may not always know the right move.
That’s why you’ll probably need to get yourself a financial planner at some point. Without one, you won’t know the best way to allocate your resources. In this article, we’ll look at some specific reasons to contact a financial planner.
You Have Kids Going to College
One reason to contact a financial planner is if you have kids who you know you’re going to send to college in a few years. You might want to get a financial planner:
- When your child is in middle school
- When your child is in high school
It’s true that the sooner you start putting money away for your kid’s education, the better it is. You might start saving when they’re just a baby if you can afford to start putting money away at that point.
While having a college fund is a great idea, simply sticking the money in a high-yield savings account might not be the most efficient growth method. If you contact a financial planner, they may tell you to put it in a mutual fund.
They may have some other options for you to consider as well. It’s all about whether you want to be aggressive with that money or whether you choose to keep things safer with a slower growth rate.
You’re Not Far from Retirement
You might also contact a financial planner if you know you’re going to retire pretty soon. Ideally, you want to locate one as early as possible, just like with college planning. As you’re looking at retirement, your financial planner can talk to you about:
- How 401Ks work
- Setting up an IRA
Your financial planner can explain how IRAs and 401Ks function. They’re similar to one another. If you have a job that offers you a 401K, you’ll want to put as much into it as possible and get your employer to match it as much as they’re willing to do so.
An IRA is like a 401K that you set up yourself. In other words, you don’t set it up through your employer, but it serves a similar purpose. It’s a retirement account.
If you’re not sure about some of an IRA or 401Ks finer points, a financial advisor can fill you in.
You Want to Go on Vacation or Take a Second Honeymoon
Maybe you and your spouse have a big anniversary coming up. You might want to go on a second honeymoon to some exotic destination.
You can talk to a financial advisor about the best way to do that. They can show you how to move some money around so you can afford it.
Perhaps you want to take the whole family on vacation. Maybe you’ve been working very hard, and it’s the first vacation you’ve taken in years.
Your financial advisor can speak to you about some different options if that’s one of your goals. They might advise you to get a couple of credit cards where you earn travel miles you can cash in.
You Want to Buy a House
If you’ve lived in apartments all your life, but you want to buy your first house, you can certainly talk to your financial advisor about that. They can advise you on what mortgage rate you can afford and how much you’ll need to put down.
If you contact an advisor through a bank or credit union, they might also be familiar with some of the area neighborhoods. Maybe you say you want to live in a particular area. They might be able to tell you if that’s realistic based on how much money you have or whether you’ll need to find somewhere else that’s more in your price range.
These are a few examples of times you’ll want a financial planner, but there are many more. You might contact one if you’re in your later life stages and you’re thinking about setting up your children or grandchildren with an inheritance. You may talk to a financial planner about tax planning or insurance questions as well.
Make sure you locate a financial planner you trust, and you can probably have a fruitful relationship with them for many years to come.