5 Reasons to Hire an Experienced Financial Advisor to Help You Plan for Retirement

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Planning for your retirement can be challenging. How can compound interest work in your favor? What role do time and principal play in your savings? What investment vehicle and strategy is right for you?

You’d advise any student struggling with a complex subject to engage a tutor, so why not take your OWN advice?! Getting the help of an experienced financial professional can be vital to reaching your retirement goals. The following are just a few of the ways an experienced financial professional can help.

Guidance on How to Begin

It can be confusing to know how to take the first step when it comes to retirement planning. Do you know what types of programs, investments, and strategies might help you reach your goals? If not, don’t worry, an advisor can get you started with the basics and guide you through the process.

Constructing a Plan That’s Right for You

Just as every student you teach is unique, your needs for retirement planning are as well. Preparing for retirement is best approached by articulating your specific goals and a plan to achieve them with the help of a knowledgeable advisor. They can help you choose the right investments to meet your objectives. The investment programs available to teachers are unique and differ from most other employees, so guidance from a financial professional experienced in working with educators can be vital.

"What have I gotten myself into?” For some teachers, that was the feeling they had stepping in front of a classroom full of students for the first time. Planning for retirement can feel just as terrifying. An experienced financial professional can help.

Helping You Avoid Costly Mistakes

When going it alone, the potential for making mistakes is significant and could be expensive. An experienced financial professional can help you avoid these pitfalls, and help ensure you’re making choices that are right for you and will to get you on track toward reaching your retirement goals.

Pre-Tax Savings Can Reduce Your Tax Liability and Help Maximize Your Retirement

In this example, a $100 pre-tax contribution reduces tax liability by $25 (from $250 to $225). As a result, that $100 contributed to retirement savings actually only cost $75.

This hypothetical example is for illustrative purposes only, and each individual situation is different. Please consult your financial or tax professional regarding your circumstances.

A Savings App

Digital spending has become increasingly easy and convenient with applications like Venmo, Amazon Prime, and other retailers who make paying for goods and services a simple click of a button. Saving for retirement with the help of apps can be equally as simple. Try these apps to help you save using digital technology.

Created by Intuit, Mint helps you create budgets, categorize spending to eliminate superfluous expenses, pay bills, vet credit card programs, and review your overall financial picture to find ways to save money and reduce fees. As a smartphone app, Mint can send you notifications and reminders to help keep you on track.

Qapital and Acorns are both savings apps built on the idea of investing leftover funds into a savings account. Qapital invests unspent budget surplus into your savings account and allows you to set reminders to save when ad-hoc or contractor payments are received. Acorns use what they call ‘micro-investing.’ For each purchase you make, Acorns will round up to the nearest dollar and automatically invest the spare change.

Budgeting apps like Mvelops and Claritymoney help you monitor your spending and both suggest ways to save, plus alert you if you go over budget. Clarity Money goes so far as to use AI to monitor your spending habits. Mvelopes uses Certified Budgeting coaches to help you stay on budget and increase your savings.