| Personal Financial Advisor? |
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harpstein
New Member
Cash: $ 0.85
Posts: 4
Joined: 17 Dec 2004
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| Personal Financial Advisor? |
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I've been looking for a few weeks at working with an Advisor. I've never done this kind of thing before and am not sure how much they can really tell me, but my biggest thing is that they'll be able to hold me accountable for the budget and what not. I looked at some really good fee-only advisors I found on napfa.org, but I'm just not willing to pay the $1500 they're talking about to setup a first-year plan. I have a few thousand in CC debt and feel like that kind of expense would be counter-productive. So, I met with an AmEx advisor and like the guy. He works on fees and commisions, but since I won't have him watching my money, I'm basically just signing up for some advice and any help he can provide in other areas. At $500 for the year, I'm basically viewing it as an inexpensive learning process, with the added bonus that he'll provide some insight that I haven't found in all the financial stuff I read. Is this a dumb idea?
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Fri Dec 17, 2004 9:40 pm |
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xboxundone
Senior Member
Cash: $ 67.83
Posts: 796
Joined: 19 Sep 2004
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If you could give us some details of what you are trying to achieve and with what money i am sure there are plenty of people that would offer suggestions.
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Sat Dec 18, 2004 12:08 am |
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marotta
Senior Member
Cash: $ 81.84
Posts: 332
Joined: 19 Nov 2004
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| Re: Personal Financial Advisor? |
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quote:
Originally posted by harpstein
I looked at some really good fee-only advisors I found on napfa.org, but I'm just not willing to pay the $1500 they're talking about to setup a first-year plan. I have a few thousand in CC debt and feel like that kind of expense would be counter-productive.
I highly recommend finding a fee-only advisor as soon as your assets are large enough to justify their time and expertise. We give a lot of free one-time advice to those who don't meet our minimums.
One reason why we require minimums is as a litmus test to see if the individual has what it takes to save and invest. You should be living off 65% of your take home pay.
I recommend the set of articles at
http://www.emarotta.com/budget.php
Budgeting
Cash flow, budget or spending plan. Whatever you want to call it, those who live with out one usually life without. We have helped many of our clients get a grip on their finances and implement a plan that will help them accomplish their financial goals.
And especially the series on credit card debt:
http://www.emarotta.com/article.php?ID=37
How to Get Out of Debt
Hope these are helpful!
David John Marotta
Marotta Asset Management, Inc.
Fee-only Financial Planning
http://www.emarotta.com
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Sat Jan 01, 2005 12:26 am |
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xboxundone
Senior Member
Cash: $ 67.83
Posts: 796
Joined: 19 Sep 2004
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| Re: Personal Financial Advisor? |
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quote:
Originally posted by marotta
quote:
Originally posted by harpstein
I looked at some really good fee-only advisors I found on napfa.org, but I'm just not willing to pay the $1500 they're talking about to setup a first-year plan. I have a few thousand in CC debt and feel like that kind of expense would be counter-productive.
I highly recommend finding a fee-only advisor as soon as your assets are large enough to justify their time and expertise. We give a lot of free one-time advice to those who don't meet our minimums.
One reason why we require minimums is as a litmus test to see if the individual has what it takes to save and invest. You should be living off 65% of your take home pay.
I recommend the set of articles at
http://www.emarotta.com/budget.php
Budgeting
Cash flow, budget or spending plan. Whatever you want to call it, those who live with out one usually life without. We have helped many of our clients get a grip on their finances and implement a plan that will help them accomplish their financial goals.
And especially the series on credit card debt:
http://www.emarotta.com/article.php?ID=37
How to Get Out of Debt
Hope these are helpful!
65% of your take home pay i know with the way todays society is i would say majority live off 110% of their take home  Which is sad.... I feel most are doing decent if they are living off 80%....
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Sat Jan 01, 2005 12:54 am |
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THETRUTH
New Member
Cash: $ 0.65
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 Mar 2005
Location: THE757AREA
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| takin all the info |
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hey does the 65% counts for the rent also.
ALL RISK
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Thu Mar 17, 2005 12:25 pm |
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Rolo
Yo' Daddy
Cash: $ 309.70
Posts: 1551
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Location: Colorado/Florida
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| Re: takin all the info |
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quote:
Originally posted by THETRUTH
hey does the 65% counts for the rent also.
Yes. All living expenses.
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Thu Mar 17, 2005 4:28 pm |
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Riz
Contributing Member
Cash: $ 5.30
Posts: 27
Joined: 22 Mar 2005
Location: San Francisco
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| Personal Financial Advisor? |
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Hi,
It seems like you are in the same position I was in a couple of months ago. The best thing for you to do is educate yourself (via the net, magazine etc...) about budgeting, personal finances and so on...
I recently cancelled my contract with an AMEX financial advisor. Not saying that they are bad or anything, but he really couldn't help me and my wife. We didn't have a cash flow to do the investing he had in mind. So, my advice to you would be sit down, get together all of your debt, break down how much you spend on a monthly basis. Anything you spend money on, should be included. From there, you are going to have to start practicing how to budget. This is not something that is going to come easy, but if it is important that you save, get out of debt and be financially secure you will make the necessary steps.
I am good at budgeting. I handle the finances in my relationship. Me and my wife has managed to save over 30k in two years with budgeting and indentifying what we needed vs. what we wanted. All the help in the world is not going to help you, when it comes to self-discipline.
Also, I would suggest not spending money on a financial advisor until you have cash flow that would allow you to start investing. Instead, you should (like I said above) is educate yourself about finances and different ways of handling them. Also, get your debt in control. A good tool for keeping track of what you spend vs what you bring home, you should invest in Microsoft Money 2005 or Quicken 2005. Either way, they are both good tools. Most important is Self-Control and discipline 
"What we have today, is only as good as we preserve it for tomorrow"
-Riz
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Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:52 pm |
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Rolo
Yo' Daddy
Cash: $ 309.70
Posts: 1551
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Location: Colorado/Florida
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quote:
Originally posted by xboxundone
If you could give us some details of what you are trying to achieve and with what money i am sure there are plenty of people that would offer suggestions.
I missed this the first time I read this thread and I agree! First look for free advise; with a little of your time you can arrive at the same (or better) result and save the $500. You don't need to pay someone to tell you to pay off your highest interest debts first and work your way down to the cheaper ones.
I use Quicken and Excel. I believe fully utilising financial software is the capstone to getting your finances under control and to sticking with your financial roadmap.
If you don't want to create a budget, then create a 'financial schedule'.  This is essential. Deviating from it is not an option.
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Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:21 am |
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