– by Phil Bradford
Financial planning is important to accomplish your goals like buying a house, saving for your child’s education, leading a stress-free retired life, repaying debts, etc. Besides, it helps you to determine whether or not you are on the right track to achieve your goals.
So in short, proper financial planning can help you to make appropriate decisions about money management and chalk out a balanced plan to achieve your goals. But the harsh reality is that according toa CNBC report, 75% of the people in our country are reluctant to pursue financial planning or advice. They are trying to manage their own finances.
There lies the importance of a financial planner, who brings expertise to help you organize your finances and guide you to accomplish your goals. They will assess your financial and personal data and based on that, they will chart out a pathway to achieve your goals.
But you need to be aware of the7 things to know before hiring a financial planner to find the right professional. Also, make sure to verify with theCERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(™) Board of Standards whether or not his/her certification has been suspended or revoked.
If you find all these things satisfactory, you can proceed with hiring a financial planner. So, let’s check what you can expect from your financial planner after hiring him or her.
A budget is a stepping stone to proper financial planning. So first, a financial planner will plan a realistic budget for you. A realistic budget will provide you with a spending plan so that you don’t end up splurging.
Thereby, you will be able to save a decent amount of money every month and you can use these funds for your financial well-being. Besides, if you strictly follow your budget, the chances of falling prey to the debt trap become much lower.
One day you will have to leave the workforce and enter into retirement. And we all want to relax during our golden years. But for leading a stress-free retired life, you need to save enough money. Financial planners often say that one needs to save for retirement right from the day he or she receives the first paycheck.
A financial planner will help you to chalk out an approximate amount of nest egg you will need. Based on that, the planner will suggest when you should take your retirement to reap the maximum Social Security benefits, what can be your safe withdrawal rate for taking out money from your retirement funds, how you can make investments to reduce taxable income in retirement, etc.
If you want to take out a mortgage at preferential rates, you need to have a good credit score. However, if you don’t have a good credit score due to carrying a lot of debts, you canlearn to manage your debts and improve your credit score.
So, let’s say, you have a decent credit score to take out a mortgage at preferential rates. But you will have to make a down payment of around 20% to avoid paying private mortgage insurance (PMI). The more you pay for a down payment, the less you will have to borrow for buying your home.
The financial planner will help you in budgeting your money to save for making a decent amount of down payment including closing costs. Besides, the financial planner will help you to assess how much home you can afford based on your income. By doing so, you will be able to manage your mortgage comfortably to buy your dream home without jeopardizing your other goals.
A financial planner is likely going to analyze your debts along with your present financial situation. They will list your debts along with the interest rates and the remaining outstanding balance amounts. Besides, they will help you to relook at your budget so that you can put more funds towards debt repayment.
Usually, financial planners suggest repaying high-interest debts like credit cards first. By doing so, it can help you to repay your debts faster and save money on interest payments in the long run. However, if you are up to your neck with high-interest debt and can’t find a way-out, you can learn how to pay off debts with professional help by consulting a counseling agency.
So, the bottom line is, a financial planner plays an important role in accomplishing goals in your life by keeping your finances on track. Many people have a misconception that you need to have significant wealth to work with a financial planner. But actually, financial planning helps those at all levels.
A financial planner won’t judge you based on the assets you own. They will create a plan and set that in motion so that you can lead a financially stable life ahead. I would highly recommend that you consider hiring a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(™) so that you can get the best possible guidance on your money.
Author Bio: Phil Bradford is a financial content writer and an enthusiast. He has expert knowledge about personal finance issues and he is a regular contributor of Debt Consolidation Care. His passion for helping people who are stuck in financial problems has earned him recognition and honor in the industry. Besides writing, he loves to travel and read books.
