4 Reasons You Might Need a Financial Advisor

It’s a dilemma financial planners hear about often—we meet people who have finances in disarray who feel too overwhelmed to deal with them or potential clients who feel as if they don’t have enough money to justify getting someone to help them manage it. In those cases, it’s all too easy for people to just carry on the best they can, making DIY investment decisions or turning a blind eye to languishing funds or growing debt.

But a financial advisor can be an incredible partner not just in creating future wealth, but also in fostering peace of mind and overall wellbeing. At Aspen Wealth Strategies, we serve as fiduciaries for our clients and work in partnership to help them set and achieve their financial and personal goals.

So when is the time right to seek out the help of a financial planner? Here are four scenarios that can help you recognize that it’s time for some outside expert help.

1. Your finances are disorganized, and you don’t know where you stand.

We tend to avoid things we don’t understand or don’t want to face, and money is certainly one of those things for many of us.

For most people, dealing with money (or not enough money) is stressful. For the seventh year in a row, the American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America survey found that money is the top source of stress for American adults.

Getting organized and building a strategy going forward is a critical step, and one a qualified financial advisor can help you do. Consolidating or closing old accounts, confronting debt, improving credit issues, or finding better vehicles for saving are just a few of the things an advisor can help with.

In addition, they can help you create a simple budget, organize your assets, and create an asset management system where you can access your net worth and balances in real-time and track your spending.

2. You don’t have time.

DIY money management is certainly possible. But it takes a good deal of research, management, and education to stay on top of your investments and ensure you are maximizing your financial opportunities. Finding time to research financial questions, evaluate your options, and execute a decision takes time.

Younger people just starting out can certainly get a great start managing their money on their own, but as life gets more complicated, it’s often too complex and time-consuming. As people age, they need to account for buying a home, saving for college, caring for family members, and their own retirement and long-term care, and quite frankly, their lives also become busier and more complex. If a lack of time is an issue and finances are languishing and investments are stagnating, it makes sense to bring in a financial advisor to create a plan and help track wealth.

Once a plan is in place, clients often need help implementing it, staying on track with savings goals, or revising plans when things change.

3. You just don’t want to deal with it.

Let’s be honest—not everyone is interested in money or playing with their personal finances. And that’s totally fine. We all have our strengths, interests, and inclinations, and money may not be yours. But if that’s the case, it makes sense to find someone who lives, eats, and breathes personal finance, and who knows your situation inside and out, can keep a watchful eye on your finances and help you stay on track with your money questions and goals.

4. You need help with planning your financial future.

There are so many goals competing for our limited financial resources: Paying off student loans, funding a retirement account, saving an emergency fund, buying a house, taking a vacation, getting married, saving for college or long-term care. A financial plan can help you automate and prioritize the tasks that are important right now, and reassess often so that your investments are on track to help you make your goals.

Whatever your situation, getting on top of your finances can be a game-changer—reducing stress, increasing peace of mind, and creating wealth and a plan that makes your money work for you. Learn more about fee-based financial planning and how it fits your future lifestyle and money goals.