Financial Freedom Quick Tip #27: Who to get your advice from
So, you need some advice about what to do (or not to do) with your money (or lack thereof).
Who do you go to?
Rule of Thumb
As a general rule:
- All of us need a financial mentor.
- Most of us should consult a financial advisor.
- Some of us could use a financial coach.
- If you are over-indebted, you may need a debt counselor.
Financial Mentor
A financial mentor is someone who gives you general advice, encouragement and guidance.
He will usually only help you with the “bigger picture”, leaving the details for you to figure out on your own. You should also be able to ask your financial mentor questions about what the morally or ethically correct thing is to do with your money.
My advice is that everyone should have a financial mentor. If you would like to know more about a financial mentor and how to spot a good one, read this: What is a Financial Mentor?
Financial Advisor
A financial advisor is someone who will help you with the details of your finances. He will usually start by preparing a financial plan for you – your financial road-map to reaching your life goals.
It is a good idea for anyone to consult a financial advisor. A good financial advisor will help you get clear picture of what you need to do to reach your goals and he will also help you to get the most out of your investments.
If you want to find out more about how a financial advisor can help you and what qualities to look for in a good financial advisor, read this: What is a Financial Advisor?
And remember to watch out for those fake financial advisors!
Financial Coach
A financial coach is somewhat of a luxury. Most of us can’t afford one, for starters, and don’t really need one either.
A financial coach will actively check up on you, offering you encouragement, support and advice, to make sure that you stay on-track with achieving your financial goals.
If you want to learn more about what a financial coach does and how he can best assist you, read this: What is a Financial Coach?
How about a Debt Counselor?
If you are over-indebted, i.e. your living and your debt-servicing expenses together, are higher than your income, you may consider consulting a debt counselor.
However, this should be a last resort. You should first try to solve your problems on your own by lowering your living standard and negotiating with your creditors.
If you want to find out more about the services that a debt counselor can give to you and how you should go about to find one, read this: What is a Debt Counselor?
It’s still up to
You can consult the best advisors and coaches that exist and get the best advice that money can buy, but in the end, whether you reach your financial goals or not, is up to you.
It is not the responsibility of a financial mentor, financial advisor or financial coach, or anybody else, to make you reach your financial goals. That responsibility is yours, and yours alone.
This tip is part of the Financial Freedom Quick Tips series. If you want to receive a notice every time a new quick tip is published, you can subscribe to Liberta.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Baie goeie advies
August 29th, 2008 at 05:18 pm
yes! and who not to take advice from? people in the same or worse situation that you! Dave Ramsey always says, if the average Joe thinks you’re weird, you’re probably heading in the right direction