Starting the ball rolling November 25, 2005
I’ve made an appointment to speak to a financial adviser about whether I should take the redundancy or not. He seems to think, from our brief discussion on the phone, that it’s a simple question.
If I like his manner, etc. and what he has to say for himself I’ll make another appointment for Mark & I to see him together and make a long term plan. I think it’s time we got really serious about money stuff and put some things in place to ensure we have ourselves and Foozley covered as time goes on.
If we get nothing else from this redundancy, we’ll go from people who bumble our way through life to people who know where their towels are and that would make me very happy.
Be sure to ask if the financial adviser will be receiving any commissions from any loans or services s/he may arrange for you in the future… In my book, a genuine adviser charges you a fee for his/her time / advice and returns all commissions to you. Thank way you can ensure that the advice is truly independent. Just my two beans worth. Good luck
thanks bean, will keep that in mind.
atm my first priority is to talk to someone who’s not family about the redundancy & get an understanding of tax, etc.
in addition to bean’s advice, make sure you understand how much the hourly fee is, and define the start and finish time for the official appointment yourself. I was hit for a bill of around $500 last time because I asked my advisor how her holiday in tibet was. 35 minutes later we started talking financial options.
I wanted to buy a property, she was adament I keep my money in shares. I felt that she wasn’t listening to my points of view or opinions.
I didn’t pay the bill. I haven’t been back. I have kept some shares, and bought a property.
I was only going to see her because she took over from a different guy who I really trusted and who charged a real minimum but really interviewed me well about who I was and what I wanted, and didn’t just lecture me about the latest whizbang package on the market.
Not to put a downer on it though, seeing a financial advisor was the best thing i did for my future too. The younger you can do it the better and you’re right that it’s a perfect time to seek that advice when you’re at such crossroads for you.
I just want to second what CB said. You’re quite entitled to insist on paying them for their time and not through commissions.
I remember spending a lot of time allocating trailing commission to various advisers who wouldn’t even know the client and certainly never did any work for them. Commissions are a real rort and I can say that with the confidence of someone who used to work in the financial planning industry.
But - if you can find someone who really does try to find out about you and listens to you and doesn’t just try to sell you a product, then you’re on a winner. If the first one doesn’t do that, go see another. They’re not all tarred with the same brush.
all the towels are always on the line. always.
ps goodluck
How exciting!