Question: I'm 70 years old and have neither an emergency fund nor retirement savings. Where should someone in my situation seek guidance? Are there steps I can take?
Answer: Many certified financial planners and other experts in finance typically assist individuals who possess significant wealth, which might make it challenging for others seeking guidance. However, there’s an encouraging range of options available; these allow folks to obtain high-quality, free (you heard correctly) or extremely affordable financial counsel.
Encountering problems with your current financial advisor or searching for a new one? Send your queries or issues via email. picks@Pawonation.com .
- Think of a financial advisor who volunteers their services for free. Several advisors offer their services free of charge to individuals with minimal resources. If you're looking for a financial advisor who operates on a pro bono basis, consider visiting the XY Planning Network’s Find an Advisor platform where you can filter your search using "pro bono." Additional avenues include checking with The Financial Planning Association, exploring the Foundation for Financial Planning’s Pro Bono Planner Match website, as well as participating in the CFP Board’s Pro Bono Initiative.
- Consult with a certified financial advisor. You can locate listings for AFCS on this platform. AFCPE website According to certified financial planner Andrea Clark from The Table Financial Planning, AFCs possess both counseling and coaching certifications. These qualifications enable them to help clients navigate intricate financial choices by providing education, insights, tools, and resources—regardless of an individual's past or present financial situation. Additionally, as fiduciaries, they must prioritize their client's interests above their own. Typically, AFCs charge fees on an hourly basis, ranging anywhere from $25 to $250 per hour.
- Look locally. "You may want to contact your nearby community action agency—these are private and public nonprofits focused on promoting self-reliance, often targeting those with lower incomes. Many of these agencies provide free financial counseling services. Additionally, you could explore educational classes at your local library which discuss topics such as managing cash flow and utilizing resources during retirement," according to Clark. Financial Empowerment Centers Financial Education Centers (FECs) can be found in multiple urban areas. According to Mark Struthers, a certified financial planner at Sona Wealth Advisors, "The FECs provide individualized financial guidance free of charge and assist with planning budgets, managing debts, and establishing financial objectives."
- Check these other places. Consumers have additional avenues available to them, as detailed below. this as outlined in the guide, along with this one .
Be aware that there are steps you can take on your own to address your circumstances. "It's important to avoid accumulating credit card debt and to establish an emergency fund, even if it covers just one month's worth of basic living costs. As much as possible, seek employment, perhaps part-time work, to augment your Social Security benefits. Additionally, ask the advisor handling your finances to clarify whether extra earnings could result in taxation of your Social Security payments, ensuring you understand how this might affect your overall figures," advises certified financial planner Alonso Rodriguez Segarra from Advise Financial.
If you’re open to part-time work, sites like FlexJobs, Indeed, ZipRecruiter and the AARP’s Job Board all list gigs with hiring opportunities. You can choose to focus on a specific area of interest or within your ZIP code, and some of the jobs are entirely remote, meaning you can work from anywhere.
Given your current stage of life without any savings or retirement accounts, it's crucial to investigate every possible avenue. As certified financial planner Ryan Haiss from Flynn Zito Capital Management points out, "Engaging with an advisor might assist you in assessing various revenue streams like optimizing your Social Security benefits and looking into choices should you have equity tied up in your main home."
Encountering problems with your current financial advisor or searching for a new one? Send your queries or issues via email. picks@Pawonation.com .
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