Who To Talk To?

[DJP0910]

I want to speak with someone who knows a thing or two about finance/investing and have them look at what I have and advise me.

Now, I don't have a lot of money to invest but I am in my early 40s with a family so I want to make sure I make the right choices with what I do have. It would also be nice to have that person look at my monthly budget and advise on ways to improve that situation as well.

Apologies for sounding ignorant here but can I just walk into my local bank branch and talk to one the folks behind the desk? My impression is that since I don't have much to offer (invest), they won't want my business or work hard for it.

Any advice on what companies can assist with monthly life planning and retirement / college savings etc?

Thank you.

(Edit: I am not starting with nothing...I currently have a 401k, IRAs and 529s but do not contribute much to them right now because I am uncertain where to focus my attention)

[autoxer]

Your local bank branch will want to sell you their products... may not really have your best interests in mind.

On the other hand, you are in a forum filled with people knowledgeable about finance, so you can certainly share details here and ask for direction.

[feh]

Any advice on what companies can assist with monthly life planning and retirement / college savings etc?

The best thing you can do is educate yourself regarding budgeting and investing and do it yourself. When it comes to your financial well-being, you are really the only person you can rely upon.

Most people here will give you solid advice. Even better - create an account at bogleheads.org.

http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE_personal_finance_planning_start-up_kit

[bjl584]

Read books on budgeting, saving, and investing. Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey are good places to start.

Hang out here on the forums. There is a wealth of information on here.

[bUU]

My feeling is that Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey are good for debt reduction and getting spending under control, i.e., "budgeting and saving", but that's about the extent of their utility. For investing, you need other resources. For investing, I recommend starting with the Four Pillars of Investing.

[Petunia 100]

I want to speak with someone who knows a thing or two about finance/investing and have them look at what I have and advise me.

Now, I don't have a lot of money to invest but I am in my early 40s with a family so I want to make sure I make the right choices with what I do have. It would also be nice to have that person look at my monthly budget and advise on ways to improve that situation as well.

Apologies for sounding ignorant here but can I just walk into my local bank branch and talk to one the folks behind the desk? My impression is that since I don't have much to offer (invest), they won't want my business or work hard for it.

Any advice on what companies can assist with monthly life planning and retirement / college savings etc?

Thank you.

(Edit: I am not starting with nothing...I currently have a 401k, IRAs and 529s but do not contribute much to them right now because I am uncertain where to focus my attention)

The financial advisors at your bank are salespeople. If you want to work one on one with someone, you want that someone to be a fiduciary, obligated by law to act in your best interest. You want someone who has no financial incentive to steer you towards any particular product. In short, you want a fee-only CFP (Certified Financial Planner). You can search for one in your area at napfa.org.

There are reputable places on the web where you can educate yourself on these matters for free. The Bogleheads Index Forum is one, another is http://www.morningstar.com/cover/Classroom.html

If you like blogs, try this one: http://www.obliviousinvestor.com/

The blogger, Mike Piper, is a CPA and a devout Boglehead.

Best of luck to you.

[TBH]

If you feel comfortable posting your details here, there are many people on this list who can advise you. You may still want to hire a fee-only financial planner to help with your investments, but your budget especially we can help with.

[mrpaseo]

If you feel comfortable posting your details here, there are many people on this list who can advise you. You may still want to hire a fee-only financial planner to help with your investments, but your budget especially we can help with.

This^^^

There are a few on here that provide very sound advice. Look around and you will easily learn how it works here. Usually people start with their budget, it's best to show us your income and all expenses, we can help you build a budget.

This budget will help identify your extra money (Is there really such a thing as extra money?), seriously though, once the remaining money is identified, most can/will guide you to do some research and give reasons why such as, Vanguard provides some of the lowest cost funds or what type of funds you need in your core investment portfolio. Usually you will not get pin point advice such as, Put $XX.XX in XYZ fund as each persons financial risk is different.

If you are interested in free guidance here, just start a thread with your budget and income (Be sure not to put account information, just balances and type i.e Visa $3,400, Electric $100). Once you feel comfort with the budget, post another thread about your portfolio, again, once again do not put account info.

Best.

[mrpaseo]

One other thing about getting professional help, most places push what they receive the best commission on, not what is best for you. If you do, find someone that does not receive commission. The only place that I know is USAA though you need to have some sort of military background (Or a relative in the service) to use their resources. That said, I am sure there are others.