Financial Planners

Most consumers want solid financial advice, but many don’t know how to find it. Fifty-five percent of Americans between 25 and 39 believe that getting professional advice is “highly important” or “critical” to long-term financial security, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning and Progress study. But according to this same survey, only a little over one in three Americans have worked with an advisor.

Many consumers think financial advisors are mostly stockbrokers or investment experts. You’ll find scads of firms, individuals, websites, and online brokerages offering such guidance. But a majority of families will benefit most from consulting with someone who offers a holistic approach to financial planning—and few know where to seek that kind of help.

“If consumers kind of throw up their hands and say, ‘I’m bewildered about what I’m looking for,’ you can’t blame them because it couldn’t be less clear,” said Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar, a financial services firm that ranks mutual funds and other investment products. Each type of financial advisor is governed by different standards, so sorting through who’s legit and who’s not can be challenging.

“[Anyone] can slap some letters behind their name,” she added.

Here’s a rundown of professional financial advice options and how to find the best help.

Credential Designations and What They Mean

Most personal-finance experts agree that consumers should seek out certified financial planners, pros who typically offer more holistic advice tailored to each client’s goals. For those looking for more niche help, you can look for other credentials related to insurance, taxes and investments.

• Certified Financial Planner. CFPs have passed a tough six-hour exam, completed either 6,000 hours of related professional experience or 4,000 apprenticeship hours, and finished an approved college-level course of study on financial planning. A bachelor’s degree is required as well.
• Chartered Financial Consultant. ChFCs have completed a minimum of eight college-level courses on financial planning and must complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years. Many ChFCs focus on insurance issues.
• Certified Public Accountant/Personal Financial Specialist. CPA/PFSs are CPAs with specialized training in financial planning, which includes yearly continuing education. They’re often good sources of advice about the tax consequences of investment and retirement choices.
• National Association of Personal Financial Advisors-Registered Financial Advisor. NAPFA-RFAs are required to pass a comprehensive peer review of their planning capabilities prior to joining. All NAPFA members are fee-only planners.

Services these planners can provide include the following:

• Determining net worth. Adding up the value of your assets and subtracting the value of your liabilities to set the table for any planning tasks.
• Maximizing investments. Good financial planners can analyze your portfolio, determine how well it’s doing, evaluate risks, and—if necessary—help you make better choices.
• Devising better ways to save. Financial planners should evaluate your current and future income streams from wages, retirement and pensions, savings, life insurance and annuities, Social Security payments, dividends, etc., and provide you with an efficient, flexible plan that maximizes wealth, minimizes taxes, and delivers funds when you need them.
• Inheritance advice. Providing advice on what to do with inheritances, and how to best set up trusts and other financial vehicles to transfer your assets to heirs.
• Assessing insurance options. Should you buy life insurance? Long-term care insurance? Disability insurance? A Medicare Supplement policy? An umbrella policy? Planners can describe and recommend options for your particular circumstances.
• Evaluating retirement possibilities. Planners can plug your financial facts into calculators and determine whether you’ll have enough to retire on comfortably—and help define what “comfortably” means to you. If you still have work to do, they can run the numbers on sensible options: working longer, taking Social Security earlier (or later), working part-time in retirement, moving to a lower-cost area, changing your lifestyle to reduce expenses, and other approaches.
• Rationalizing retirement income. Planners can tell you the best, most tax-efficient way to take money from defined pension plans, 401(k) accounts, IRAs, Social Security, and other sources of retirement income to supply adequate income, both now and in the future, and to minimize taxes.
• Saving for college. Good planners know the best ways to save or obtain funding for it, including 529 plans and loan programs.
• Budgeting and credit repair. If you have a hard time making and sticking to a budget, a planner can help. But keep in mind it’s usually not worth the fees to have a planner count and track money coming in and going out. If you have significant debt, a planner can guide you in how to pay it off. But they usually don’t assist clients in negotiations with creditors; you’re better off hiring a nonprofit certified credit counselor for that. And if you’re considering bankruptcy, you should hire an experienced attorney.

If you just need budgeting help, search for a financial counselor, said Megan McCoy, an associate professor and personal financial planning program chair at Kansas State University. McCoy added that planner responsibilities are evolving based on changing client needs. For example, some planners may only work with dentists or engineers or specialize in divorce.

How to Find a Planner

Before you search, determine exactly what you need. If you’re looking for someone who specializes in taxes, a tax designation may be more important than, say, someone who focuses on college savings plans. And decide if you want advice on an ongoing vs. a project-by-project basis, which factors into how much you could expect to pay for services.

Michelle Singletary, the longtime personal finance columnist at The Washington Post, suggests creating a document with all of your account balances. Before meeting with any prospective planner, consumers need to know their numbers “intimately”—net worth, debt, and retirement account balances—so they can question a planner’s recommendations when necessary.

“You get to drive this car. The financial planner is not driving your car. They are there to assist you,” she said.

Dennis Moore, the CEO of the Financial Planning Association, a trade organization for Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) and other professionals involved in financial planning, said that as new technology, including AI, makes the technical aspects of financial planning more efficient, planners are able to focus more on connecting with clients on a personal level to aid planning. “The profession is still young,” Moore said.

Look for a fee-only planner who charges either a flat fee or an hourly rate for advice. Other types of planners provide advice, but also hold and manage your assets, charging a fee equal to a percentage of the total value of the account. Planners in this second bucket may receive a commission based on product recommendations, which could create a conflict of interest. 

Start by collecting referrals from friends, family, and colleagues in your professional network. Here at Checkbook.org we have ratings of professionals (although many of the ratings of firms are for investment advisors, not financial planners).

You can also seek professionals on the internet. The Financial Planning Association lets you search for planners using filters such as retirement, savings, college, and more. The CFP Board search tool allows you to filter candidates by investable assets, planners’ specialties, languages spoken, and method of compensation. It also includes in search results info on certification and disciplinary history and bankruptcy disclosures. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors lists members who are fee-only planners, and NAPFA’s membership standards are similar to those needed to earn a CFP credential. For clients with a narrowly defined problem or set of questions, the Garrett Planning Network accesses CFPs and planners actively working toward certification who offer services for small projects for hourly fees only. XY Planning Network is another website where you can find fee-only help. 

Check whether prospective planners have previous infractions on sites such as FINRA, the CFP board, and the Better Business Bureau.

During your search, read over each planner’s process and clientele focus to see if your expectations align. If you think they’re a fit, ask to set up a free consultation and be ready to interview two to three prospective planners. From there, make a list of questions, such as:

• What are your credentials?
• How do you get paid?
• Who will do the work? You yourself or another member of your firm?
• How do you typically communicate with clients?
• Can you provide references of clients whose goals and financial profiles match mine?
• What can I expect? Although you should be skeptical of planners who guarantee rates of return, planners should help you set goals and tell you whether they can reasonably meet them.
• Are you a fiduciary? Planners who carry a fiduciary responsibility have a legal and ethical charge to act in their clients’ best interests. Non-fiduciaries often work using a “suitability” standard, which means they merely have to make decisions that are “suitable” for you generally, but not necessarily in your best interest. Stay away from planners who aren’t fiduciaries; all CFPs are.

Be prepared for the planner to ask you questions, too. They may ask you to drill down further on your exact needs or your financial anxieties to get a clearer picture. If that exercise makes you feel too exposed, don’t get discouraged. The first meeting is structured around the planner listening versus giving recommendations.

If you’re going with a family or friend recommendation, don’t get too comfortable with the softer skills around communication and a client lunch. Benz recommended that you pay attention to the types of investments being offered in future meetings. If you’re stuck between two planners after the first visit, Singletary suggested choosing the planner who made sure you understood the plan in plain language. And if you start to feel any pressure about taking investment advice during the first meeting, experts say that’s an immediate red flag.

DIY Planning

You can do your own planning for nearly free. Start with any financial wellness benefits your employer offers. You may be able to get gratis advice around retirement planning and other goal-based needs. If your employer offers a 401(k) or 403(b) plan through a big firm such as Fidelity, Vanguard, or TIAA, you may be able to access their planners as well. But keep in mind that firms promote products they sell, so the advice may not be completely unbiased. These firms also have robo-advisors that can manage investments and rebalance your portfolio. If going fully automatic intimidates you, these platforms generally have a hybrid option allowing you to chat with a human expert.  

If you have the time, you can do your own financial planning and there are many resources to assist you. For those exclusively wanting budgeting and credit help, your bank or credit union is the first source to turn to. Big banks such as Bank of America, Capital One, and Chase offer budget trackers and provide credit score updates for free. If you have significant debt, seek help from a nonprofit agency certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. 

You could also try an AI chatbot such as ChatGPT or Claude for help. But beware: Bots cannot give advice based on your individual situation. You also have to upload documents containing sensitive information such as your address, bank account numbers, and possibly your Social Security number. If hackers decide to infiltrate the bot, your financial life could be compromised.

Or you could turn to the dozens of useful websites, newsletters, and columnists covering financial planning issues. Among independent advice-givers, Kiplinger.com is one of our favorites. The Social Security Administration offers retirement estimators/calculators that can help you decide when to start receiving its benefits. Resources like Savingforcollege.com, CollegeBoard.org, FinAid.org, and universities’ out-of-pocket tuition calculators can help you figure out how to afford education costs.

Despite all the financial planning knowledge you possess (or can acquire), keep in mind that no matter how good your original plan is, you’ll need to keep abreast of evolving investment strategies and changing laws and regulations. For example, thanks to SECURE Act 2.0, which passed in December 2022, unused funds from 529 college-savings plans can now be rolled over into a Roth IRA under certain conditions. Changes like this now open doors for different planning conversations.