Welcome!  You’re here because you’ve asked yourself, “Why should I hire a financial planner?”  There are plenty of good reasons why you should hire a financial planner.  Many people think that a financial planner helps them make more money.  This is typically true, but there is so much more to financial planning than making money.  Perhaps there are a couple of reasons on this list that you never thought about before.  It’s not all about dollars and cents; there are many qualitative and intangible benefits, too.  Let’s take a look.

Staying on Track

A great financial planner helps you stay on track toward your goals.  If you veer off course your planner can quickly point you back in the right direction.  Driving a car is a great metaphor for a financial planner.  As you drive you continuously making small adjustments so you arrive safely at your destination.  Your planner does the same thing!  If you simply pointed your car at your destination, engaged the throttle, and took your hands off the steering wheel you would likely end up in an unintended destination.  You hit bumps along the way and unforeseen obstacles can jump in your path.  You’ve always got to pay attention and react accordingly.  That’s what your planner is there to do.

Preventing Mistakes

Financials planners help you make good decisions, there’s no surprise there.  They also help you avoid mistakes, which are harder quantify when they don’t happen!  Mistakes can range from paying unnecessary taxes and investment fees to overspending and taking out poorly crafted loans.

Keeping Up to Date on Changes

You may consider yourself financially savvy.  Perhaps you know the rules around retirement contributions, RMDs, and Solo 401k filings.  Rules always change though.  Are you prepared to continuously do the work to keep yourself up-to-date?  Do you know where to find the comprehensive information you will require?  You may (or think you may), but your financial planner definitely will.  The time you save by delegating this task to them is worth however much you value your time.  Even if you are very savvy, there are more productive (or more enjoyable) uses of your time.

Provides Peace of Mind and Confidence

Even if you manage all of your financial decisions yourself, you may still wonder, “Am I missing something?”  A financial planner fills in the knowledge gaps to provide you peace of mind and confidence that you are staying on track and making the right decisions.  It’s difficult to quantify peace of mind, so think back to a time when you delegated an important task to someone you trust.  When you knew it would get done correctly how did you feel?  Relieved, most likely.  Ask yourself what peace of mind and confidence are worth to you.

Keeping Emotions in Check

Financial decisions are often coupled with emotional times in our lives.  Births, deaths, marriage, divorce, etc.  Those emotions affect our decisions whether we realize it or not.  A financial planner is one step removed from those emotions and can provide a steady shoulder to lean on, whether we are feeling high or low.  How many times have you made a decision in your life that you later regretted because you were in a highly emotional state?  Planners provide a buffer in those moments.

Providing an Objective Perspective

Similar to keeping emotions in check, financial planners provide an objective perspective.  A great financial planner understands you completely and can provide an objective perspective on your situation when you can’t.  They understand your long-term goals and can prevent short-term subjective distractions from impeding your progress.

So, when you look at your planner‘s value don’t stop at the money they made or the money they saved.  Incorporate these six elements into your valuation and I’m sure you will feel much better about leveraging their expertise to improve your life.