Financial planning can be scary and overwhelming: Do I have enough for retirement, for long term care if I become incapacitated, to provide for a spouse / children upon my death? How much should I invest, and where? And how to avoid the government taking a big chunk?
I have assets and a stream of income, but was not sure how much I could spend today vs how much I should save, and needed answers to some of the above questions.
Mark Rylance, CFP and Eric Papa, CFP, kindly both met with me, gratis. (I found them after attending a free, non-partisan, 501(c)3, financial literacy program, https://itsyourmoneyandestate.org/ which I highly recommend to educate yourself.) Both act as fiduciaries (meaning they are required to put your best interests first) and are members of either NAPFA or PFA (Natl Assc of Professional Financial Planners, or Prof Financial Planners)
Mark and Eric looked at my position, asked about my goals, and gave me a few tips. They answered my questions. But the best part was their HONESTY. We both realized that I needed a different type of service than they offered (They are percentage-based and full service and on focus on an ongoing relationship. This is good if you really need help in growing your funds for retirement, or have a lot of funds and want someone else to manage it full time for you. I needed just intermittent advice) Even after realizing I might be better served elsewhere, they kindly spent additional time educating me, offered to be available for me to ask questions, AND offered to provide referrals for estate planning. Time flew by and a half-hour appointment grew to an hour. Time is money for a business, so I was most grateful.
It is so nice to meet with smart folks with high levels of integrity. The recommendation to move a chunk of my money out of my checking account (due to losing interest and being exposed to potential ID theft) alone was great.
Highly recommend.
Tip: Come prepared with your goals, and a snapshot of your assets and income stream. And read their short publication beforehand... it contains questions you should ask ANY financial planner. read more