5 Benefits of Hiring a Financial Advisor

The everyday demands of earning a living and paying the bills require that we all engage in some degree of financial planning. When we first strike out on our own, we learn—often the hard way—to live within our means and not to spend more than we are taking in. Such responsibilities often require making hard choices. Ideally, as we progress through our careers, we earn more money, but as we become able to worry less about making ends meet, we can find ourselves spending more and more with little thought about where the money is going. These realities of our day-to-day relationship with money point to the benefits of consulting a financial advisor.

Most people don’t use financial advisors. Many view getting financial advice as an unnecessary luxury or as something they can do themselves, and are therefore unaware of just how valuable professional advice can be. Consider these five benefits of hiring a financial advisor and ask yourself which of these apply to you.

1. A financial advisor can help you prepare for changes in your life and career.

Our financial circumstances are always changing along with the changes in our lives. A single person in their twenties who rents an apartment has very different needs and expectations than a married homeowner in their thirties with children.

Did you know that the average cost of raising a child from birth to the age of 17 in the United States today is about $250,000? Each bundle of joy triggers huge changes to your financial bottom line. That’s not even counting the cost of college. And, of course, while you’re managing the costs of supporting a growing family, you also need to be saving for retirement.

A reputable financial advising firm such as ML&R Wealth Management has the perspective of having helped many families who have been in similar circumstances and they can, therefore, help you be more proactive than retroactive when facing the life changes that are sure to come.

2. A financial advisor can help you make wise investment decisions.

These days there is an ever-growing number of investment apps, day-trading platforms, and online newsletters for the do-it-yourself investor. At the same time, wealth management has never been more complicated than it is today. We live in a global economy, and unforeseen events can send shockwaves through investment markets. A financial advisor can’t protect you from the occasional setback to your portfolio, but they are likely to be aware of pitfalls and risks that you might not see coming and can work with you to manage your risk.

3. A financial advisor can work with you to create a budget to live within your means. Even if you don’t have investment income or you are struggling to make ends meet, hiring a financial planner can still be a valuable cost-saving investment. Unexpected expenses can wreak havoc on your finances, especially when you’re living from paycheck to paycheck.

Many hidden expenses are easy to overlook. For example, you know you are going to have to fill up your gas tank, but have you budgeted for three or four oil changes a year? This is the sort of preventative planning tip that can help a family stay afloat.

4. A financial advisor can sift through information so you don’t have to.

Even if we are financially secure, we all have a tendency to deal with financial issues as they arise. We pay our bills when they’re due and deal with additional expenses as they arise. It often feels like there’s no time to take a breath and determine whether we’re making the right choices. A financial advisor can sit down with you and draw up a comprehensive plan that will incorporate all of your income and expenses (current and anticipated) and advise you to plan accordingly.

5. A financial advisor can help you plan for the long term.

Long-term financial planning is a financial advisor’s specialty. You may have heard the saying “pay yourself first.” This means you should set aside a percentage of your pay to your long-term savings before paying any other bills. For many Americans, saving voluntarily for the future can feel like a luxury. This is where a financial advisor can step in. An experienced advisor will have the time and the expertise to devise a long-term plan that is right for your budget.

Hopefully, if you were one of those people who said I can’t afford a financial advisor, you may now be asking yourself, “Can I afford to live without one?”