When you think of people who use financial advisors, you may not consider yourself the right demographic. But it may surprise you that plenty of advisors cater to people who aren’t retired millionaires. There are plenty of reasons for younger people to engage with a financial advisor well before retirement age.
If you’re wondering if it’s the right time to speak with a professional about your financial life, here are five telltale signs you might benefit from working with an advisor now.
Sign #1: You Need Help Setting Personal and Financial Goals
It’s hard to get somewhere if you don’t quite know where you’re going. The same is true for your financial life! Sometimes, the most challenging part about achieving your long-term financial goals is understanding exactly what you want them to be.
Believe it or not, that’s something a financial advisor can help you do. Your advisor will take some time getting to know all about you — what you do for work, the key players in your life, your bucket list, your fears, and your personal values. They can then sort through all of this information and translate it into tangible goals for your personal and financial life.
Once your goals are established, you’ll be able to use them as the driving force behind all your financial decisions moving forward. This is a massive benefit because it puts focus and reason behind your wealth. Without clear goals, it’s tempting to get distracted by day-to-day market movements or short-term upsets. But by focusing on the future, you can better tune out the noise and align your decisions with a long-term vision.
Sign #2: You’re Ready to Create a Retirement Savings Plan
Similar to Sign #1, retirement is all about knowing where you’re going so you can make the most of the journey ahead. This, again, is something a financial advisor can help you do — turn your daydreams about your dream retirement into a realistic savings plan.
If you’ve been thinking about when you’d like to retire or how you’d like to spend it, you’re ready to get serious about creating your retirement savings plan. The great news is it’s never too early to start considering retirement. The sooner you build your savings, the more time your contributions have to grow.
But with so many retirement investing and saving vehicles, it can take time to decide what options suit you and your long-term goals. Your advisor can help you create a comprehensive retirement savings plan tailored to your needs and includes a combination of tools, including 401(k)s or 403(b)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs, HSAs, brokerage accounts, and more.
Sign #3: You Have or Will Be Experiencing a Major Life Change
A significant life change often triggers a financial check-in or reconfiguration.
For example, if you’re having a child, you might be overwhelmed with new financial considerations: college planning, life insurance, childcare costs, etc.
If you want to move out of state (or to another country!), that can also significantly impact your financial landscape. For example, moving to a place like New York or California will mean a much higher cost of living. Going abroad, you’ll have to consider potential foreign taxes, visas, travel costs, extra insurance, etc. Without proper planning, moving somewhere new could impact your ability to reach your savings goals.
Whatever exciting (or nerve-wracking) changes are coming your way, your financial advisor can help you navigate the hurdles and adjust your financial plan accordingly.
Sign #4: You’re Looking to Minimize Your Tax Liability
Taxes can be one of a person’s most significant financial obligations in their lifetime. That being said, any solid financial plan should include a tax plan. For high earners especially, tax planning is critical for reducing tax liability and putting more money in your pocket.
Year-round tax planning is something that involves conversations with both your financial advisor and CPA. Alongside these professionals, you can proactively focus on minimizing your tax footprint and helping your money work better for you and your goals.
You and your financial advisor can look at tax-focused strategies, including:
- Above-the-line or below-the-line deductions
- Charitable giving
- Tax loss harvesting
- Tax-efficient investment accounts
- Roth conversions
Sign #5: You’re Ready to Create a Comprehensive Long-Term Investment Plan
If you want to build wealth, you must make money while sleeping. Thus, investing is a financial plan’s bread and butter.
Maybe you’ve dabbled in opening a brokerage account or tested the waters with a Robo-advisor. But the truth is, your investments need to be considered alongside every other part of your financial life. Utilizing a strategic, long-term investment strategy to build a diverse portfolio is critical to helping your money grow over time to achieve your long-term goals.
Where does a financial planner come into play? They can not only develop that tailored, long-term investment plan, but they can help make sure you stick to it. Investors are more prone to making emotionally based decisions when left to their devices.
But pulling your money out of the market at the first sign of trouble or following the latest hot stock are easy ways to push your financial plan off course. The market fluctuates daily, but it’s historically recovered from periods of volatility and continued to trend upward over time. It’s the long-term potential for growth that advisors can help their clients focus on.
So, what do you think? Did any of these telltale signs sound familiar to you? If you think it may be time to learn how an advisor can help steer your financial life in an exciting and goal-driven direction, our doors are always open.
