So for my friends that have asked me if working with a Financial Advisor was worth the money, my response is this: You pay for good health insurance to avoid the financial repercussions of a medical emergency, so why wouldn't you pay for good financial advice to avoid the repercussions of a financial emergency? Do you even know how much money you should be saving in order to do that, or even just to retire on time? What if you want to retire early? Do you know if you can really afford to have a baby, or another baby? Or do you know how much insurance coverage you should have, or even what kinds of insurance is worth having? Do you know how to best allocate your cash or investments, or your 401k? Do you understand the different types of IRAs and what you have them invested in? Do you even know what an IRA is? Or are you too busy or overwhelmed to figure out the answers to all that stuff?
I've thought for a while now that perhaps we could use some financial guidance, but never pulled the trigger because it was just too overwhelming to think about, let alone research and choose a Financial Advisor to help me. Even when you narrow it down to just Certified Financial Planners (which you definitely should), there are still a lot out there. So when San Diego Magazine did a piece on Taylor Schulte and Define Financial, I thought it was a good place to start. Turns out that was a great decision, and we should have gone to them sooner, because these guys are smart! They've been more helpful than we could've imagined and we are in a much better place, with a much better understanding of our finances, than before we started. And most importantly, they uphold the Fiduciary standard....that means they will always put their client's interests above their own. Since you're paying them a fee, not a commission, they are not in any way tempted to sell you things or give you advice that could make them more money (Ex: Convince you to buy some fund or annuity that might pay a commission to the broker who sells it).
Our relationship started with a meeting to really get to know us and understand our situation, what we were hoping to get out of their services, what our goals were, and help us understand what services they could provide. I think this is a really important piece, because if your advisor doesn't really know you or what you want/need, how could they recommend what's best for you? Our conversations were very detailed and resulted in a full analysis of our financial situation, with a very in-depth report from them explaining our current status, strengths and opportunities in our financial life. You can choose a one-time detailed report that will help you get on the right track and give you a series of "action items" to take to meet your goals, or you can continue to engage with them on an ongoing basis. We decided to do both, so not only did they give us a laundry list of really helpful recommendations and changes to make, but going forward they will help manage our money and investments, help us determine what's the best way to save any extra money, and give us ongoing advice whenever we have a new question about finances.
What's great about Define is that you don't need to have millions in the bank to get their attention or feel like a respected client. You'll have their full support, and ability to easily talk with them if/when you have questions or issues. Never underestimate the value of having a financial expert to talk to! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them and would say that if you're not 100% confident in your financial situation and future, they're definitely worth contacting. read more