A Suze Orman exclusive

Okay, all that said, I know a lot of you will still want to have help managing your finances. If you absolutely, positively think you want to farm out some of your financial responsibilities to an adviser, just do the homework to make sure you hire someone good. A really talented financial adviser is an incredible asset; but a bad or even mediocre planner is going to create a mess for you, and put your financial security at risk.

So let’s talk about how to find the best planner. And if you already have an adviser, I suggest reading along to see if your pro meets the high standards you deserve.

Here are some important “first impressions” to look for:

• Someone who has you come to their office. If they come to you, it’s a sign they have too much time on their hands.



• If you live with a spouse or partner, a good financial planner will ask that both of you attend any meetings; the planner’s job is to truly understand the total financial situation of your household, which means he or she should want to be familiar with the needs, wants, and risks of you both, individually and as a couple.



• A clean office/desk. A planner who isn’t organized isn’t the right person to handle your money.



• A planner who works on a “fee-only” basis. Advisers should not make a penny off of commissions from investments they recommend you make. You can’t trust someone who makes their living based on how often you buy and sell investments.

As for the interview itself, when you are talking to a planner you’ll want to keep track of what is being covered. There’s also something you should keep an ear out for right at the start of your talk: a prospective adviser who immediately launches into stocks or mutual funds you should buy is someone you should run from. Investing is just a small part of your financial needs, and besides, how can a person know what you should buy before they know anything about you? Before a planner tells you what to invest in, they should have talked to you about:

• The importance of a Will and Living Revocable Trust.



• Whether you have any debt other than a mortgage, such as credit card debt, student loan debt, and so forth.



• Your FICO score and how that will impact your financial moves.



• Whether you anticipate needing to provide financial assistance to your parents during their retirement, and/or receiving an inheritance from them.



• Your plans for a family, especially whether you intend to send your children to private school and to what extent you intend to finance their college education.



• Whether you rent or own a home, and what your goals in this area are. Do you want to trade up to a bigger place or different neighborhood, or downsize?



• Your life insurance needs, if anyone is dependent on your income.



• Retirement investments you already have, such as 401(k)s and IRAs.



• What you want to achieve with your investments: what your investment horizon is (Five years? Ten years? Thirty?) and how much risk you are comfortable with, meaning can you handle your portfolio falling, say, 15 percent so you can stay in position to reap potential gains over the longer term?

Late in the article, you’ll find the specific questions you should be asking the planner during your chat, as well as tips on finding planners in your area.

But please promise me that before you sign on with anyone, you will really consider the possibility that you could do just as good a job for yourself. I promise it’s not nearly as hard as you might think.