Chapter 18
Working with Financial Planners
IN THIS CHAPTER
Checking out your choices for managing your finances
Determining whether you need help from a financial planner
Searching for a stellar financial advisor
Interviewing financial planners before you hire them
Hiring a competent and ethical financial planner or advisor to help you make and implement financial decisions can be money well spent. But if you pick a poor advisor or someone who really isn’t a financial planner but rather a salesperson in disguise, your financial situation can get worse instead of better. So before I talk about the different types of help for hire, I discuss the options you have for directing the management of your personal finances.
Surveying Your Financial Management Options
Everyone has three basic choices for managing money: You can do nothing, you can do it yourself, or you can hire someone to help you. This section lays out these three options in more detail.
Doing nothing
The do-nothing (or do-little) approach has a large following (and you thought you were alone!). People who fall into ...
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