I'm going to live in a cardboard box when I retire if something doesn't change.
March 4, 2011 6:46 PM Subscribe
i want a financial advisor who helps me create a personal budget and who also helps me with investments and financial planning. Who does that??
I was watching Til Debt Do Us Part, and wished i could hire the host of the show!
Despite earning a pretty high income and having relatively low fixed expenses, I somehow have very little savings or investments. It sounds dumb, but i literally want someone to sit with me and say "you shouldn't spend more than X% of your income on restaurants/taxis/clothes/travel", and then to also give me advice on saving and investing.
Is there a professional who does both of these things? What are they called? How do they work?
I'm open to online solutions, websites that'll educate me and provide me with tools, or general advice about what type of financial professional I should be contacting. (I'm in Toronto, in case anyone has any referrals to financial professionals they'd like share.)
I was watching Til Debt Do Us Part, and wished i could hire the host of the show!
Despite earning a pretty high income and having relatively low fixed expenses, I somehow have very little savings or investments. It sounds dumb, but i literally want someone to sit with me and say "you shouldn't spend more than X% of your income on restaurants/taxis/clothes/travel", and then to also give me advice on saving and investing.
Is there a professional who does both of these things? What are they called? How do they work?
I'm open to online solutions, websites that'll educate me and provide me with tools, or general advice about what type of financial professional I should be contacting. (I'm in Toronto, in case anyone has any referrals to financial professionals they'd like share.)
Make sure they are fee-based and do not make commissions from anything they recommend!
posted by Homo economicus at 7:20 PM on March 4, 2011
posted by Homo economicus at 7:20 PM on March 4, 2011
This is all within the scope of a financial advisor. You just need to shop around until you find one who you feel will be effective at both for you.
posted by desuetude at 10:03 PM on March 4, 2011
posted by desuetude at 10:03 PM on March 4, 2011
jchaw's points b and c are spot on. On the other hand, a CFA charterholder is trained to meet the needs of institutional investors and high net worth individuals. If you're looking for someone credentialed, a Certified Financial Planner is probably a better match.
posted by drdanger at 5:53 AM on March 5, 2011
posted by drdanger at 5:53 AM on March 5, 2011
The US govt publishes a compendium of average US expenditures. It looks like the Canadian govt publishes consumer expenditures as well. This can't tell you what you should be spending, but identifying places where you're above average might give you an idea of how and where it would be easy to cut.
posted by pwnguin at 8:01 AM on March 5, 2011
posted by pwnguin at 8:01 AM on March 5, 2011
Since you mention the host of Till Debt Do Us Apart, she does have some books you might be interested in.
posted by sah at 1:39 PM on March 5, 2011
posted by sah at 1:39 PM on March 5, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
a) is a CFA charterholder
b) fee-based, not commission
c) spends time to fully explain the decisions and answers your questions
posted by jchaw at 7:13 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]