It’s a shame high schools and colleges don’t teach classes on managing personal finances. Without proper training, it’s difficult for a lot of people to manage their finances effectively and efficiently. That often results in folks falling prey to debt problems or missing out on opportunities to increase their wealth through saving and investing.
If you are struggling with your personal finances, you have two choices. You can maintain the status quo or reach out for help from a professional who can help you navigate the complicated world of personal finance. Here are some of the ways a professional advisor can help you.
Financial Planning
The biggest mistake a lot of people make is trying to manage their finances without a proper plan in place. If a person doesn’t know where they want to be, it’s near impossible to plot a course to get anywhere.
When it comes to financial planning, you need to address both near term and long term plans. In the near term, you need an annual budget that lines up your expected income each month with your monthly expenditures. If anything remains after doing so, this would represent the amount of money you have for short-term savings and longterm investments.
Your longterm planning should focus on getting you from today into retirement. Once you retire, you want to be able to sustain a standard of living that is comparable to the standard you will be living before retirement. You don’t want your golden years tarnished by financial issues.
While the annual budgeting responsibilities are likely something you can handle, you might want to enlist the services of a professional financial advisor to help you set your longterm goals. They can use their expertise to guide you through the years while ensuring you are prepared for emergencies and a life of leisure after retirement. There are resources available can direct you as to how to find a financial advisor you can trust.
Investing
The investment arena is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of discipline, knowledge, and finesse for someone to develop an investment portfolio that offers consistently good returns with a proportionate amount of risk. There are tools in place to help novice investors manage their portfolios but seldom does a novice investor get the level of returns they can get with help.
If you are looking for help with building an investment portfolio that addresses your needs for today and into the future, an investment advisor is the way to go. Using their expertise, they can help you develop a diversified investment portfolio that they can design in accordance with your future plans.
Taxes and Estate Planning
Given the legalities and intricacies associated with tax return preparation and estate planning, these are two areas your should delegate to a professional financial advisor.
As for your tax responsibilities, you don’t want to give the IRS any reason to see you as anything other than a Social Security number. A good financial advisor can help you develop a plan of attack that ensures you pay the least amount of taxes possible. They can also help you prepare accurate annual tax returns that get filed by the stated deadlines.
Estate planning is a must. It’s also important for you to handle this task with an advisor who can be objective. After all, somebody is counting on you to make sure your assets go where you intend when its time for you to go to the great beyond.
Handling Debt Issues
Throughout your financial life, you will make financial mistakes. Hopefully, you can resolve them easily. If you ever get overwhelmed by debt, the first thing you want to do is avoid panicking. Next, you should think about reaching out to a financial advisor.
A good financial advisor will help you develop a plan to relieve your debt issues with minimal damage to your credit standing. Whether it be debt counseling, debt consolidation or debt settlement, they should be able to help you find a solution that brings back your financial stability.
You don’t have to be a master of all things in your life. Given the importance of your financial welfare, this might be the area you want a professional to step in and help. You will be amazed at how fast stress subsides when you realize you have a solid financial plan in place for your life.
Tarah Mills has always had a passion for writing. Her philosophy is that not only can writing be educational, but it can change the world. While she is dedicated to her work, she still enjoys a good game of basketball, curling up to a good book, and all things Star Wars. She currently resides in the Richmond, Virginia area with her family.
