How do I get good financial services?

[Tootse]

Hi everyone,

I could use some advice here. Up until a couple of years ago my personal finances were were pretty easy to deal with. But since then, I have bought an investment property and now contribute to an insurance plan through Sunlife. Okay, well maybe it still isn`t all that complicated. But because of the investment property, I decided to have an accountant do my taxes for the first time instead of doing them myself. I hoped to get some advice from the accountant, but didn`t seem to be able to garner much advice from him. My bank...well it seems I never get great advice from them. I think Sunlife offers financial planning advice, but I haven`t asked them yet what they offer. Will they offer everything I need, or only one part of my financial advice needs?
As I consider building my investment portfolio further, I get overwhelmed with concerns about tax implications, financial planning, retirement planning, etc... I`d like to deal with one company who can advise me on financial planning, retirement planning, advise me about my taxes, do my taxes, etc. What do I need? Can I get it all through one company? Do I pay these people for advise, or only when I get a service such as a tax return from them, or if I buy a plan from them? Do I have to pay "big bucks" to get good advice? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

Tootse.

 

[thejules]

You should consider Peter Kinch`s planning materials. He has a "Five Year Plan"

 

[Albertritchot]

There is one book that I read called "Creating Your Best Life" by Caroline Adams Miller and Dr Michael B Frisch ISBN 978-1-4027-6259-8 which I enjoyed reading before I started looking at building wealth etc. It might be a good read prior to developing a wealth building strategy.

MyReinsSpace is also a good source of information as well. I am sure that many of the members will have good advice to give for your financial questions.

 

[MichelSelim]

I would only go for fee based financial planning, because free advise is very expensive (how do I know??!! :- )
No one professional, book, or financial institution you talk to, would give you the ultimate plan; it is work in progress. Also, taking some cources would help; I personally joined WFG just for the sake of learning the financial planning aspect, and what questions to ask.

Finally, the best financial planner is the one you see in the mirror every morning :- )

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (Tootse @ Dec 19 2009, 08:06 PM) Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
..
educate YOURSELF .. as everyone has a bias !

Post some specific questions here .. and you`ll get some decent (free) unbiased advice .. but also talk to several financial planners.

read online or books .. take a course .. it is YOUR networth .. you are the CEO of YOUR life .. so get advisers .. but make decisions yourself !!

related posts:

5 ways to make money http://myreinspace.com/public_forums/General_Discussion/61-3347-5_ways_to_make_money.html

How to get started in real estate http://myreinspace.com/public_forums/General_Discussion/61-4391-How_to_get_started_.html

 

[Tootse]

Thanks for the advice everyone.
Specific question: Is it a good idea, or even possible, to have multiple bank accounts such as ones for emergency savings, vacation savings, seperate chequing accounts for each income property, personal chequing, savings account for downpayment fund, accounts for damage deposits, etc? Is this something many people do?
Thanks!

 

[CamMcCarroll]

QUOTE (Tootse @ Dec 21 2009, 08:38 PM) Thanks for the advice everyone.
Specific question: Is it a good idea, or even possible, to have multiple bank accounts such as ones for emergency savings, vacation savings, seperate chequing accounts for each income property, personal chequing, savings account for downpayment fund, accounts for damage deposits, etc? Is this something many people do?
Thanks!

Absolutely.
With Pc financial you can open as many bank accounts (chequing and savings) as you like. And they cost nothing.

 

[NeilUttamsingh]

QUOTE (Tootse @ Dec 21 2009, 08:38 PM) Thanks for the advice everyone.
Specific question: Is it a good idea, or even possible, to have multiple bank accounts such as ones for emergency savings, vacation savings, seperate chequing accounts for each income property, personal chequing, savings account for downpayment fund, accounts for damage deposits, etc? Is this something many people do?
Thanks!

Tootse,

Thomas is bang on.
Continue to post your specific questions in this thread and you will continue to get feedback from people. This advice is obviously free and is a very good starting point for you.
Cam raises a good point as well. You can open multiple accounts at PC Financial.
I personally have one bank account for each property, as it helps me to organize things better.
Also, I echo what Thomas said, speak to many financial planners. Each person you talk to will have a bias. Therefore, the more people you talk to, the better for you, as you can then focus on the valuable information from these conversations.
Read books too on money and finances.
The only silly question is the one that is not asked, so keep on asking questions here...

Regards,
Neil.

 

[margaretcowan]

Over the years, I`ve had my ups and downs (more downs than ups) with financial planners. Now I avoid commission based ones or those who collect "trailers" from mutual fund investments. They have a conflict of interest between maximizing their income vs maximizing mine.

Now I pay a percent of my assets the wealth manager/financial planner manages for me so he`s focused only on maximizing my income. There are no mutual funds in my portfolio now. He advises me about investments, taxes and estate stuff.

I have a bookkeeper for the month to month stuff and an accountant to do my year end statements.

I like to deal with more than one bank since some offer services others don`t. Plus as the old saying goes, "Don`t put all your financial eggs in the same banket".

I concur with other posters on reading lots of books about investing and managing personal finances.

Assess the level of risk you can realistically handle and keep that in mind when deciding to invest or not. At times I`ve ignored my slightly conservative risk level and gone for high income investments, only to realize I shouldn`t have gone where the sharks were swimming.

Any other questions, ask away! We all learn that way, don`t we?

Margaret
www.italycookingschools.com