I know there are different opinions on CFP's on this board. I am looking for someone to help guide me along, not to invest my money. I am not a wealthy individual, but want to make sure I am on the correct path. My accountant recently hired someone with a CFP. They wanted $3500. I figured I would be better off taking that $3500 and putting it towards my student loans. Anyways, I live in Navasota, but would be willing to travel to Houston for a good advisor. Just need some suggestions.

Agree on above posts. When you are young, get on a strict budget to help you get a plan together but also develop good spending habits.

Start saving for retirement yesterday, most likely 401k, at least get the full company match and build from there.

Once you get a good financial foundation, buy a house, etc....that is when there are more options and you need to make more decisions about where to put your money. This board is great at helping with that.

One note, as you try to have a strict budget and save, it will seem like all your friends have more money and more fun than you. Enjoy your money as well, just be smart about it, plan bigger expenses, and stick to your budget.

Agree with the others and say pass on the CFP.

Also, start saving now. If you have the option with your employer have your direct deposit go to more than one account, one of which is savings that you don't touch--as your salary goes up increase the %.

Also, contribute to your 401k now, especially if there is a match. If you wait until X happens to start, there will always be another X (new car, house, kids, whatever). Also, you cannot make up the time value of compounding returns.

Focus on long term returns and you will gradually build a nice nest egg. A lot of the trades on here are short swings, which can be fun (and potentially lucrative), but I would only have a small % of your invest-able dollars focused on that until you build more wealth.

reineraggie09 said:

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I know there are different opinions on CFP's on this board. I am looking for someone to help guide me along, not to invest my money. I am not a wealthy individual, but want to make sure I am on the correct path. My accountant recently hired someone with a CFP. They wanted $3500. I figured I would be better off taking that $3500 and putting it towards my student loans. Anyways, I live in Navasota, but would be willing to travel to Houston for a good advisor. Just need some suggestions.

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A few additional ideas:
1) Reach out to financial planning firms and see if they want to use you as a training case for younger employees. Not all firms will be into this. I would couch it as good practice for planning for client's adult children.
2) reach out to fee based CFPs. Let them know you may not be a fit for their services yet, but ask if they would grab coffee with you once or twice to discuss specific steps someone your age can take. Most CFPs are helpers by nature, and happy to do so in down time. Hourly based CFPs are less likely to help you Pro-bono given their compensation model.
3) reach out to financial planning programs and see if they could use a "young adult" test case for class one day.
4). Talk to lots of people and boards like this. The more information the better unless it becomes overwhelming/leads to inaction.

Several years ago (like 10) my allstate agent brought a cfp into their office for a day or two and offered free consultations for clients. I made an appointment and sat down with the dude for a half hour or an hour and told him where i was financially, where I'd been in the last couple years and what i was focusing on. He gave me some tips and said keep it up. Maybe look for opportunities like that through your bank or whoever manages your retirement stuff through work.

In addition to the other advice given above also read richest man in Babylon, rich dad poor dad, and i will teach you to be rich. But don't read them as cookbooks and go out shopping for municipal bonds, read them with the goal of shaping your perspective and developing a mindset toward financial independence. The examples (particularly in rich dad poor dad) are mostly outdated but what's important are the general strategies for identifying opportunities and positioning yourself to be able to take advantage of them when they come along