{"id":7402,"date":"2016-01-10T07:58:13","date_gmt":"2016-01-10T13:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=7402"},"modified":"2020-10-14T08:28:26","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T13:28:26","slug":"what-is-a-financial-planner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/what-is-a-financial-planner\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Financial Planner?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>What is a Financial Planner?<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-7403\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/10\/What-is-a-financial-planner-350x350.png\" alt=\"What is a financial planner\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/10\/What-is-a-financial-planner-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/10\/What-is-a-financial-planner-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/10\/What-is-a-financial-planner-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2015\/10\/What-is-a-financial-planner.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Money stuff is complicated. Very few people can figure out how to do it well on their own \u2013 especially when you don\u2019t have a lot of money to start with. Things like making the right investments, making sure you save enough for retirement, buying the types of insurance that are worth having (and not wasting money on the ones that aren\u2019t worth it) are all hard to parse on your own. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Financial Planners Do<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where financial planners come in. It\u2019s their job to understand the ins and outs of all that complicated money stuff. They\u2019ve spent time learning all the details about money management that you don\u2019t have the time (or desire) to give to it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A financial planner will take a look at the details of your financial life \u2013 your monthly bills, your income and assets, your debt, your investments, and your financial goals \u2013 and help you craft a plan to make the smartest financial decisions in years to come. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the plan is in place, they can help you devise methods to stick to it over time or make amendments to it when circumstances change. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Should You See a Financial Planner?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are people that are really good at saving and planning financially for the future. And then there\u2019s most of us. If you fall into the latter category, then yes, you probably should meet with a financial planner. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting good, informed, and well-organized financial guidance can pack some big benefits throughout your life. It can help you:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meet your short-term and long-term goals, like saving for a vacation or buying a house<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure you keep a safe amount in the bank for covering unexpected expenses like medical bills or car troubles<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help you make smart decisions around debt and saving<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure you don\u2019t retire too early or run out of money early into retirement<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure you and your loved ones have an easier time affording the care needed as you and those closest to you age<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help you make the best decision for yourself and any family members in choosing and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/how-much-does-assisted-living-cost\/\" target=\"_blank\">affording senior living options<\/a><\/strong> like assisted living or nursing homes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure you leave your family covered once you pass<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just think how nice it would be to have a clear plan to have all that covered and guidelines to make sure you stick to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How Do I Find a Good Financial Planner?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019d like to go ahead and seek out a financial planner, then it\u2019s important to find a good one. One of the first things to look for is whether or not <\/span><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cfp.net\/utility\/find-a-cfp-professional\" target=\"_blank\">they\u2019re certified<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Certification isn\u2019t required for someone to work as a financial planner, but it\u2019s a good indicator that they have the skills and knowledge needed to provide you with solid advice. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the best recommendations for any financial planner is if they\u2019ve successfully helped someone you know, so ask around and see if you have any friends or family members that rave about someone they worked with (or have warnings to avoid someone they weren\u2019t impressed with). If that doesn\u2019t lead you to someone reliable, then go online and check out reviews. If there\u2019s a financial planner located nearby that gets solid reviews from clients, then that should make your choice easy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Too few people make it to adulthood with strong enough financial literacy to make good decisions about spending, saving, and planning financially for the future. If you\u2019re like most people, taking the step to ask for help can make the difference in ensuring your financial future is secure. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a Financial Planner? Money stuff is complicated. Very few people can figure out how to do it well on their own \u2013 especially when you don\u2019t have a lot of money to start with. Things like making the right investments, making sure you save enough for retirement, buying the types of insurance that are worth having (and not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,162],"tags":[287,165],"class_list":{"0":"post-7402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"category-retirement-planning","8":"tag-financial-assistance","9":"tag-retirement-planning-2"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is a Financial Planner?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A financial planner will take a look at the details of your financial life \u2013 your monthly bills, your income and assets, your debt, your investments, and your financial goals \u2013 and help you craft a plan to make the smartest financial decisions in years to come.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is a Financial Planner?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A financial planner will take a look at the details of your financial life \u2013 your monthly bills, your income and assets, your debt, your investments, and your financial goals \u2013 and help you craft a plan to make the smartest financial decisions in years to come.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-10T13:58:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-14T13:28:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristen Hicks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristen Hicks\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/what-is-a-financial-planner\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/what-is-a-financial-planner\/\",\"name\":\"What is a Financial Planner?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-10T13:58:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-14T13:28:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/155f7689ce014c42c1db768ba81e1ce6\"},\"description\":\"A financial planner will take a look at the details of your financial life \u2013 your monthly bills, your income and assets, your debt, your investments, and your financial goals \u2013 and help you craft a plan to make the smartest financial decisions in years to come.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/what-is-a-financial-planner\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/what-is-a-financial-planner\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/01\/what-is-a-financial-planner\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is a Financial Planner?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\",\"description\":\"Empowering Families in their Search for Care\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/155f7689ce014c42c1db768ba81e1ce6\",\"name\":\"Kristen Hicks\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.40.255\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef8a7379a7f4f39d7810b58ef0a0f?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/457ef8a7379a7f4f39d7810b58ef0a0f?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Kristen Hicks\"},\"description\":\"Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. 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