Marietta Financial Advisor
The information available for those of us trying to focus on retirement planning seems endless, contradictory, and most of all, unhelpful. Trying to work out how to budget what you've got, invest what you've saved and plan for what you want is hard enough without the layers of incendiary new stories.
Confidence Concerns
The standard advice of starting early, diversifying and investing on a regular basis is still sound, but it isn't always possible to follow that advice. Whether your nest egg survived with most feathers intact or was completely knocked out of the financial tree in the last correction, your passion for saving in a standard retirement vehicle may have fizzled a bit.
If you've been badly burned by market fluctuations, it may be time to make sure you're getting the best advice for what you need, and contacting a Marietta financial advisor may benefit you.
Investing Vs. Tax Planning
Your accountant may be a wonderful person who helps you make great choices regarding your tax burden, but you shouldn't rely on them for financial planning advice. To put it simply, the sea of information surrounding tax regulations is vast, and so is the sea of information around investments.
Tax law can undergo radical changes in a short amount of time. The regulatory changes take longer, and court cases can alter those regulations and even change the law. Your tax accountant is well-versed on how to help you plan for the lowest possible tax burden, and that is a very valuable service.
However, it isn't the same as investment advice.
Getting Professional Guidance
Investment vehicles are constantly changing. Whether you're purchasing funds or buying individual company stock, keeping up with the background data such as what companies are in the fund, or who's leading those companies and what's going on in the marketplace, requires dedicated focus and an ever-expanding knowledge base.
Working with a financial professional is a great way to gain a new perspective on your retirement plan and can help you rebuild your passion for the process of investing. Selecting an investment management professional will take some homework and some face to face communication. Learn more about fee only financial planners here.
Hire The Best To Work For You
When selecting a wealth management team, you'll want to review several factors.
- Review client reference
- Study their performance history
- Review their fiduciary creed
- Find out how they get paid
At the end of the day, everyone involved in your investment growth will need compensation. However, some investment managers are paid via commission by the funds they're selling. This can put you in the unfortunate position of paying for an investment product that benefits your advisor more than it benefits you.
Hiring a fee-only financial planner means that your advisor is working directly for you. They put together a portfolio plan that addresses your budget, your financial goals, and your tolerance for risk. This plan is paid for directly by you before the investment process begins.
Be Prepared For Some Discomfort
If you've ever had a fight about money with your spouse, you know that budgeting and financial planning is loaded with emotion and can be quite uncomfortable. When you hire a financial advisor, you will likely experience a greater level of discomfort.
Your fee-only financial advisor will need a lot of information up front. Everything from your income to your life insurance will likely come into consideration. Do you have a high risk tolerance? What's your debt level? Do you have heirs that will inherit your business, home or wealth? These questions can cause a lot of discomfort, so it's critical to work with a Marietta financial planner who gives you a true feeling of comfort and confidence.
It's Not Too Late
We've all made retirement mistakes. It can be easy (and a little dangerous) to review old financial decisions with an eye toward errors; you can get frozen in place with fear of the next choice.
Even if you're getting a late start on retirement planning, there are steps you can take to secure financial comfort in your later years. Planning for retirement takes dedicated effort and no small amount of discomfort, but with diligent effort, you and your Marietta financial advisor can put steps in place for careful portfolio management and investment planning to secure your income for future availability.
Caution, Not Fear
Living in a state of retirement, or not needing to work, is a fairly new phenomenon on the human spectrum. Not many generations ago, most people needed to work until they simply couldn't just to survive. Getting old enough to retire is a positive problem. However, if you want to flourish in retirement you are going to need funds.
Is there a crisis in retirement planning? Frankly, yes. There are many baby boomers who have very little saved, or have done next to no retirement planning. For many, the automated savings of a 401(k) simply weren't an option available to them, or they couldn't see a way to participate.
You Are Moving Forward
Your Marietta financial advisor is ready to go to work on your behalf so you can avoid a personal retirement crisis. Whether you're stepping on the scale or opening up that bank statement, it's always better to know where you are so you can improve the situation.
By working with an advisor who's tailoring your investment portfolio to your needs and risk tolerance, you are developing an awareness of your financial situation, and awareness puts you in a position of power.
Conclusion
Money isn't an easy topic to consider, let alone study and plan for. In a culture that celebrates excess and yet moralizes frugality, figuring out how to budget your money, where to invest it and where you get to spend it can be frustrating! However, you're not alone. Your Marietta financial advisors are ready to go to work for you!