Key Points
- Like many industries, technology is completely disrupting the financial advisor business.
- Using software like WealthTrace, you can now be your own financial planner.
- When you are your own financial planner you save thousands of dollars and have full control over your plan.
You need a plan, but you do NOT need a financial planner or a financial advisor to help you. Seems paradoxical, doesn't it?
Today's technology is reshaping industries, and the financial advisor industry is no different. The old model where advisors charge hefty fees is starting to erode. Financial planners
charge an average of $2,000 per plan and they usually leave you with a 100 page report and you never hear from them again. This model is ripe for destruction.
Do You Really Need A Financial Advisor?
You can be your own planner, without question, and you can save a ton of money doing it online. You are up to this task. A big part of it is simply knowing what you need to know, and ignoring the rest. Do you need to constantly follow the direction of interest rates or oil prices? No. The implication by broker advertising that you need to be trading instead of investing? No way. Tune out the noise.
So, then, what do you need to know to come up with a retirement plan? There's really not all that much to it.
Saving: How much are you saving now, and how much do you need to save?
Spending: Do you have a good grasp on what you are spending? Are you living beyond your means?
Investing: Are you taking advantage of retirement plan options available to you? Where should you be investing?
Having Enough: Do you have enough money at retirement to retire stress-free?
Goals: What are your goals during retirement, or even along the way to retirement?
A Way To Synthesize It: How can you put all of this together and make sense of it?
As for that last point, "A Way To Synthesize It," WealthTrace has got you covered. Here's a peek at what a plan looks like in WealthTrace:
See all of the blue dots and horizontal lines at the top of the picture? Those are adjustable. Once you have entered in the information mentioned in the list above--saving, spending, investing, and goals--it appears here. You can make changes right on the page and see what the results of those changes would be. (Sign up for a free trial and see for yourself!)
The Best Of All Worlds
With WealthTrace, your plan is yours; as long as you remain a subscriber, you can have access to it anytime, and make modifications to it anytime. And if there's something you don't quite grasp--a concept having to do with saving or investing or insurance or taxes, for example--we can advise you on an hourly basis. (Support for the software is always free.) No commission-based fees, no account minimums, no annual charges based on how much you have in assets. Like we said in a previous post, with this approach, you pay for what you need, and not for what you don't.
You might need some advice now and then. But putting together a plan for retirement yourself is a great learning experience--and a way to save a bunch of money.
WealthTrace can help you get on track for retirement. Sign up now for free trial subscription.