We need a financial planner/ advisor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read bogleheads

If you want to be destitute in 10 years sure

Wait, what?

Yes, probably 3/4 of the guys I see panhandling on the street now have a sign that says "This happened because of John Bogle"

Give it a few years

You believe this BS?

Apparently they do. Pretty sure it's the same person who periodically posts on here about how anyone who uses index funds is an idiot, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not difficult to manage money yourself, and you will save $ doing it (typically advisors charge 1 percent of your total assets that they manage, each year). There are also reasons to let others guide you (your shortage of time, shifting of responsibility in case spouse doesn't agree with your decisions, etc.).

Hire someone with a CFP credential. Ask them how they make their money - is it the assets under management model, or commission from products they sell, or a flat fee. It seems rare in this area to find a flat fee planner.

You will have to decide whether you want a model where you give them all or part of your $ to manage, or if you are just seeking advice and will do it yourself.

Basic questions like saving for college or retirement etc. are fairly easy to plan for, and like a PP mentioned, Bogleheads is a good and conservative source of information.

Your advisor should listen to you, hear your situation and financial goals, and help you get there.

Basically, the advisor should tell you to save $ (about 15% of your gross income depending on your current age and savings) in your retirement accounts and in taxable accounts, fill up your 529s, save up to pay for things in cash instead of taking out loans. Your investments should be in a diversified stock portfolio, the easiest and most cost-effective being something along the lines of an S&P 500 fund.

They will also want to make sure you have your estate planning (wills etc.) in place.

Red flags are folks who want to sell you an annuity or put you into some kind of investment that you don't understand.

Agree. This is basically what a financial planner will tell you, so save your money and just do this if that’s your goal. Not a fan of financial planners or this model b/c it’s super basic and will keep you stuck in the middle class.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you can post what you already have and we call fill in next steps.

[Anonymous]

It seems like you have a marriage issue more than a money issue, and while you should be able to manage your own money, with a husband like yours I understand why you want to pay someone to tell him what to do (since he won't listen to you). Go to the XY Planning Network and find a fee-only planner. You don't need your money actively managed; you need to set a budget and put money into 529 and retirement plans. Just use target date funds--it will be cheaper than paying someone to manage your money and the outcome will likely be similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read bogleheads

If you want to be destitute in 10 years sure

I have invested in index fund for more than 20 years. We gain more and more. Destitute ?

[Anonymous]

Michael Green is an idiot.

[Anonymous]

We have a local advisor with Northwestern mutual that we love. We’re the same HHI as you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We use Edelman some people here don’t like that model but it’s worked for us.

What do they charge?

Not the PP but when we interviewed them it was a sliding scale (which most are) depending on your NW. We didn't go with them because we didn't love the advisor they assigned to us (in NYC) but we got a rec out of DC from a friend who has half of his NW with Edelman and felt they were worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a local advisor with Northwestern mutual that we love. We’re the same HHI as you.

How much do you pay your Northwestern advisor and what services do they provide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read bogleheads

If you want to be destitute in 10 years sure

I have invested in index fund for more than 20 years. We gain more and more. Destitute ?

Only the next few years, it’s going to be a wild ride

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read bogleheads

If you want to be destitute in 10 years sure

I have invested in index fund for more than 20 years. We gain more and more. Destitute ?

Only the next few years, it’s going to be a wild ride

DP. But what are you predicting that will be a wild ride for someone in index funds? Plus, what are you suggesting instead?

[Anonymous]

I'll be the contrarian here. You need an expert to develop a plan, and they also act as a third party to tell you and DH if you're on track or not, as apparently you two aren't able to communicate that well with each other.

Do you mow your own lawn? Fix your own car? Probably not -- you could buy books and/or equipment and learn how to do it.. just like financial planning... but you may not have the time or interest.

Find an _independent_ financial planner. One that does not work for Vanguard, Fidelity, etc. Some here will say find a fee-only planner, but at this stage you probably need an array of services (estate planning, tax work, investment advising) so I think full service is worth it (you get what you pay for), at least for the first few years as you have a lot of life changes on the horizon (kids going to school, retirement, etc). After some years, you can always move to another option, but the additional cost, which comes with a full team of services, is going to be worth it in your case. At most you'll pay 1% of invested assets, and usually it's more like 0.85%.

Let's say you have $1mln in investable assets. At 1% that's 10k/year. You'll probably end up using $5k worth of services (if you paid elsewhere) in the first year to get your situation on track, so the "cost" is $5k compared, which they can probably make up in tax-efficient strategies (tax loss harvesting, donation to charities of appreciated stock, etc) and I guarantee they'll make up the $5k compared to your current non-existent strategy.

Give it a go for 1-2 years and get your financial house in order. Then change if you like -- there is no obligation to stay with any advisor long-term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll be the contrarian here. You need an expert to develop a plan, and they also act as a third party to tell you and DH if you're on track or not, as apparently you two aren't able to communicate that well with each other.

Do you mow your own lawn? Fix your own car? Probably not -- you could buy books and/or equipment and learn how to do it.. just like financial planning... but you may not have the time or interest.

Find an _independent_ financial planner. One that does not work for Vanguard, Fidelity, etc. Some here will say find a fee-only planner, but at this stage you probably need an array of services (estate planning, tax work, investment advising) so I think full service is worth it (you get what you pay for), at least for the first few years as you have a lot of life changes on the horizon (kids going to school, retirement, etc). After some years, you can always move to another option, but the additional cost, which comes with a full team of services, is going to be worth it in your case. At most you'll pay 1% of invested assets, and usually it's more like 0.85%.

Let's say you have $1mln in investable assets. At 1% that's 10k/year. You'll probably end up using $5k worth of services (if you paid elsewhere) in the first year to get your situation on track, so the "cost" is $5k compared, which they can probably make up in tax-efficient strategies (tax loss harvesting, donation to charities of appreciated stock, etc) and I guarantee they'll make up the $5k compared to your current non-existent strategy.

Give it a go for 1-2 years and get your financial house in order. Then change if you like -- there is no obligation to stay with any advisor long-term.

We went with an advisor before we really understood what was what. Terrible decision because they put us in things that made them money whether we made money or not. I think it's wise to learn first, get a plan together either through self-teaching or fee-only. Then once you have a better grasp on investing so that you can understand if they are exaggerating and putting on a great sales pitch, then decide how to proceed. We got all that "free" stuff, and when left and redid it all for much less. Their trust was way too complicated and definitely not needed for us, as an example. And their claim of tax efficient investing was just plain investing.

I'm not against FAs, I just think it's important to go in with a better understanding of investing before doing so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you may $500k per year and are worried about saving for retirement and college, a financial planner is not going to help you. There are spending and lifestyle problems that need to get under control.

I'm the OP and this is absolutely not true. We barely go on vacations. The last vacation was to Emerald Isle in 2021. I don't get my nails done. I wear my hair in a low bun so get my hair cut at a salon just once every 6 months. I don't buy jewelry. I haven't bought any new clothing except socks and underwear and an occasional sweater (which is once a year, if even). Only the kids get new clothing as they outgrow old ones. We have seen one financial consultant who broke down our spending and said we don't overspend in any area EXCEPT on food (we eat mostly organic) and our rule for takeout is that we get it just once every week from low priced restaurants like Moby Dick or Panera. I mistakenly left the finances up to my husband believing he could manage it well and then later realized we had very little savings/investments/retirement. I was shocked and I still have no idea why. We are now saving but we got a very late start. I need to figure out a way to save a massive amount before the kids go to college and before we retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you may $500k per year and are worried about saving for retirement and college, a financial planner is not going to help you. There are spending and lifestyle problems that need to get under control.

I'm the OP and this is absolutely not true. We barely go on vacations. The last vacation was to Emerald Isle in 2021. I don't get my nails done. I wear my hair in a low bun so get my hair cut at a salon just once every 6 months. I don't buy jewelry. I haven't bought any new clothing except socks and underwear and an occasional sweater (which is once a year, if even). Only the kids get new clothing as they outgrow old ones. We have seen one financial consultant who broke down our spending and said we don't overspend in any area EXCEPT on food (we eat mostly organic) and our rule for takeout is that we get it just once every week from low priced restaurants like Moby Dick or Panera. I mistakenly left the finances up to my husband believing he could manage it well and then later realized we had very little savings/investments/retirement. I was shocked and I still have no idea why. We are now saving but we got a very late start. I need to figure out a way to save a massive amount before the kids go to college and before we retire.

Hi OP,

Have you been maxing out your 401k every year? If so, that’s 10% savings each year right there. You may be able to squeeze another 10%, but I don’t see any “massive amounts” happening.

I do believe that you need to pay someone to help you figure out what is going on. Is it that your savings did not generate enough return because your husband invested everything very conservatively?

In any case, a financial planner should help you get on the same page, put together a plan going forward, and manage expectations.

Good luck!