Get Good with Money: Ten Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole

by Tiffany Aliche

unless you have at least $250,000 to invest (a lot, I know), however, it might not make sense to work with someone with this additional expertise because of the fees involved (more on that later). Investing via low-cost index funds (as mentioned in the investing chapter) will be more cost-effective.

you can also pay a financial advisor hourly for specific advice as needed.

Fee-only: Fee-only financial advisors are paid directly by you, the client, for their services. You can choose to pay in a wide variety of ways (a good thing). You can choose an advisor that is paid hourly, with a retainer (money paid up front to secure services, typically a few thousand dollars annually)—if they buy and sell investments for you—as a percentage of that money aka assets under management (AUM), or as a flat fee.

Unlike fee-based, fee-only advisors do not receive commissions or other payments from the providers of financial products they recommend to clients. And they are what’s referred to as a fiduciary (someone who must legally put their clients’ interest ahead of their own) 100% of the time.

An accountant (ideally a certified public accountant, or CPA) is someone who will help you with tax planning and identifying how you can potentially minimize your tax burden. They will obviously also help you file your returns.