personal financial plan

This is a plug for our personal financial plan and the advisor who helped us put it together. Brent and I decided a few months ago that we needed a third party to look at our finances and help us figure out which debt to pay off first. Brent may have balked at the price at first, because if you use a third-party who is independent from a company, and thus not selling you anything, then you have to pay for this person's services and time. Being lawyers, this is kind of funny.

Anyway, we did our shopping. There is a website which has a long list of independent financial advisors. We went out and met with one guy. But Brent and I are tough clients: we are highly educated, not only generally, but also about financial issues. We also hold a number of unconventional ideas: we don't believe that buying a home is the only way to financial security and we believe in saving big for retirement. (There are more, but I will keep those to myself!)

So, the fates stepped in after the meeting with the financial advisor: we were out near our friend Mark and Pam's house. We called them up to get dinner. We told them about how the advisor thought we were crazy. We lamented finding anyone who understood us. We drove home and then it hit us: Mark should be our advisor. He fit all of the criteria.

We went out to see him to receive our financial analysis two weeks ago. We left with a great binder of information about all kinds of topics ranging from a health care analysis, to cash flow, to a recommended monthly savings goal, and finally insurance recommendations. We also have a long "to do" list of things Mark would like us to get in order. It was great. I felt like we had finally gotten our act together on this front. And Mark did a wonderful job explaining things with us and sparring with us. I really left with a positive feeling.

So, hire Mark. He rocks. Or find your own advisor. Either way, I would recommend using some one who is independent.

Mark Weber, Certified Financial Planner