by Tiffany Belle

Created on: January 30, 2009

How do you know if your financial planner is the best for you? There are certain things that a financial planner should do for you and certain things that you should expect from them. When dealing with a financial planner, you have to remember that it is your money that is on the line. You should not be afraid to expect certain things from them and not be afraid to hurt someone's feelings. Here are some things that you should be able to expect from a good financial planner.

A good financial planner should make you money and give you peace of mind. The whole point of financial planning is to make the most out of the finances you have and to attain your financial goals. Your financial planner should show you how to enhance your investment returns, reduce your spending and taxes and increase your savings. Having your finances in order and trusting your financial planner can help give you that peace of mind that everybody wants about their finances.

Another thing that a good financial planner should do is to actually make sure that you follow through with decisions that you have made together. Any financial planner can give you the advise and hand you a report and expect you to implement the changes. The difference is that a good financial planner will actually help you implement the changes and then will follow-up with you to make sure that everything has been done. Most people hire a financial planner because they don't have time to handle all the work that goes along with the financial planning, so that is were the good financial planner comes in to rescue you.

A good financial planner doesn't allow emotions to sway their opinions and decisions. When you are planning for retirement or deciding on how much money to spend on a house or how much to invest, many times emotions can get caught in the way of deciding. A good financial planner should be an objective voice to give you clarity on your decisions and situations.

No one wants to be pushed into buying products, which is why a financial planner who charges by their time is better than one who earns a commission for selling products. With a commission-free planner you can actually save yourself hundreds of dollars by just paying for the planner's time and not being pushed into buying some sort of special investment or insurance.

Lastly, a good financial planner should be able to identify your financial problems and goals and help to prioritize ways to reach your goals. Many people may not actually realize what their finances really look like and what kind of goals are attainable for them. That is were a good financial planner comes in to help. They should be able to help you sort out and straighten your goals and propose strategies to attaining the goals you set forth. This means that they show you how to prioritize they ways to improve your financial situation to get the most out of your finances now and the quickest way to reach your goals. Basically, a good financial planner should be able to show what your financial situation is now and how to make it better with the least amount of work.

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