Did you know that 99% of Americans don’t ask for help from a financial advisor?
Why? Because they lack enough funds to invest in one!
However, there are several ways to get free financial advice and in this guide, we will tell you how!
How to Get Unbiased Financial Advice?
People of all ages go through financial insecurity.
Almost half (42%) of Gen Xers, who are in the middle of their working careers, are stressed about their finances. The burden of student loans, mortgages, and credit card interests is too much to handle.
A U.S survey data recently revealed that 19% of individuals thrive on making ends meet. The low level of financial literacy worldwide and especially in Americans leads to ineffective spendings and debt management.
Often, people revert to their friends and families to seek financial advice. We recommend avoiding this because of the emotional bias associated with our loved ones.
Seeking professional help is a safe bet to get an Unbiased Opinion. Professional advisors take a disciplined and structured approach to create a detailed investment plan tailored to your specific needs.
And you don’t always have to pay considerable fees to get a financial consultation.
Following places will help you make “smart money moves” with free financial advice:
1. Financial Empowerment Centers
These centers give free public service for those seeking financial guidance. They make you meet financial counselors and coaches for a one-to-one session who help you manage your finances with their pro tips.
You must know how to choose a top financial adviser and carefully review all the checkpoints before making a final decision.
The FECs are aimed to relieve the citizens from financial stress. Their counseling services include:
- Making a plan
- Budgeting
- Establish and help attain retirement goals
- Improve credit
- Control debts
- Find affordable products
- Build your savings.
- Help create a bank account (if they don’t already have one)
This service is free to all residents, regardless of their income limit. Their main aim is to improve low and moderate-income households.
2. Robo Advisors – For Investors
Robo advisors use automated algorithms to replace human advisors. These digital platforms rely on computers to maintain a portfolio of your investments.
Many free Robo advisors like Axos Invest and WealthSimple don’t charge any hidden fees in the name of management or transaction costs.
Making an account on a Robo Advisor is quick and easy. You are then required to fill in an online questionnaire asking about your investment goals, savings, and income resources.
Robo Advisors keep a strict eye on the fluctuating market and balance your portfolio accordingly. This service uses portfolio rebalancing by buying or selling your assets periodically to keep them close to a target allocation.
Some Robo advisers also offer retirement planning services that help you get financial independence. They even employ the tax-loss harvesting strategy to reduce your tax bills.
3. Financial Planning Tools
Many financial planning platforms like Savology, PlansWell, etc., help you book a call with a financial planner. They connect your retirement accounts and help improve savings – all for free!
You need to give some details related to your financial status (including debts, insurance, income, and investments). The tool will make a financial plan for you that is mathematically sound. If you have doubts about the plan, you can always arrange a free call or a chat with an advisor who will tell you the solution that is in your best interest.
This ready-made financial plan will ease the way of achieving the short-and-long-term goals. You will know exactly where to spend and where to control each month to ensure a continuous stream of cash-flow.
4. Pension Advisory Service
A Pension Advisory Service is a grant-aid organization that handles all the matters linked to pensions. They have pension specialists who help create retirement plans and tell them about the defined pension options open for their clients.
The experts working for these bodies give their impartial guidance on the workplace, stakeholder, personal, and state pension.
However, a pension advisory service doesn’t provide regulated financial advice. You may want to see a financial advisor through this particular service to:
- Choose a combination of options and mix them to access your pension
- Get guidance on distributing wealth after your death in the most tax-efficient way.
- Invest your pension pot somewhere
- Add money to your pension
5. Debt Management Services
Places like ‘Money Advice Service’ and ‘The Debt Charity’ have certified credit counselors who discuss your loan situation and give you useful advice.
With many individuals losing jobs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, 56% of parents were reported to become indebted in a recent survey. The spendings were mostly on learning facilities like ‘computers, laptops, desk monitors and headphones,’ which was necessary for distance learning.
This is how the supervisor of the survey, Erika Giovanetti, depressed her shock from the results:
“The goal of our survey was to find out how this pandemic is affecting parents in a financial sense, and the results were pretty shocking. Since this pandemic first started, one of the groups that have been really affected is parents and their young children. In addition to parents having to be teachers and caregivers and also work at the same time, they also have to worry about how they’re going to afford to make distance learning happen.”
One should not be ashamed while struggling with debt in times like these. With free debt help services readily available, one should find a helping hand.
The counselors will be pleased to construct a tailored plan of action for your debt situation. Following their budget plan and tips on cutting down on household bills will help you recover from debts smoothly.
Conclusion
There is always a better way to manage your money. You can seek financial guidance without costing you anything. Making informed financial decisions based on professional tips will make a massive difference to your economic well-being.
You can follow any of the mentioned ways to utilize your funds effectively to maximize your organization’s value or meet your financial goals as an individual.
