By J Aubin

<strong>Young married couples</strong> and debt are common however, they also form a cocktail for marital ruin. Often with a young married couple, one of the partners will hide certain financial things to prevent confrontations and getting help. As soon as the unfaithfulness begins, it usually does not stop until it hits the point of no return. At this point, financial debts become too big to hide and either the partner will reluctantly bring it up or the other partner will discover it on their own, which will bring with it feelings of great frustration, bitterness and often is the beginning of the end for the marriage, especially if professional help is not seeked out immediately.

Men seem to be less apt to handle the financial unfaithfulness then women and when it is discovered that their spouse has been financially unfaithful then a battle will often begin. So what is a young married couple to do to avoid this disaster?

Be accountable to one another and help each other prepare and maintain a budget. When only one spouse has their hand in control of the cookie jar, temptation can often cause for the hand to dip in more then its fair share. This can often start out innocently but quickly grows into a problem while the other partner sits by innocently unaware of the financial burden that is starting.

If a young couple is set on only having one person in control of the budget, that is fine however it is wise to site together once every week and review the income and expenses and allow for open questions and answers. This will provide that additional step of accountability that is often more then enough to keep the temptation of financial unfaithfulness at bay.

Marital problems that are caused from a lack of financial maturity do cause many best friends to become bitter enemies and in any marriage, it can certainly be the brutal destruction of the foundation for which it stands. If you are hiding financial problems from your spouse, come clean with them immediately and seek out financial guidance. If you are not sharing the budget responsibly currently, then start.

Marriage Guidance and Divorce Prevention Advice for Young Couples at http://www.marriage-and-family.com

Tags: Financial Advice, Married Couples

By Jason Bauder

Financial advice is literally everywhere. Everybody has an opinion to give it seems, friends, family, neighbors and even strangers. A lot more people therefore are going to financial planners. They consult these advisers in the belief that these people know better.

Here are some things you would want to know about your financial planner

1. Is the person qualified?

Anybody can say that he or she is an expert financial planner. No particular degree or experience is required. There is no department of government that oversees planners. Of the quarter of a million financial planners, only an approximate of 40,000 are CFP (Certified Financial Planner). The CFP is the most acknowledged designation for financial planning.

Even with this certification, there are no guarantees. It takes experience and continuous education plus a high degree of ethics and integrity to be a professional planner.

One excellent option is to check his CFP status as well as his PFS (Personal Financial Specialists) and ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultants) status.

2. Is he looking after your interest or his?

Professional financial planners take their duties on your retirement plans seriously. Your needs are ahead of his or hers. Unfortunately, most of the so called financial planners are just trying to sell you investments. They are not obligated to provide the best retirement plan but are only prevented from selling you an unsuited plan.

The best option is to ask the financial planner to furnish you a printout of code of ethics that he needs to comply. It is a difficult read, but knowing the standards which your planner abides is a must.

3. How is your planner getting paid?

Several financial advisers still get most of their income through commissions. Many gracefully slide through the commission tag by giving themselves the title fee-based financial planners. They also simply duck the compensation subject.

Commission is not really bad, but it does create a complexity of interest with the retirement planner. Your retirement planner should voluntarily tell you how he gets paid, or at least give a direct answer when asked.

4. A slice of the pie or the whole thing?

An excellent financial planner takes into account the whole financial situation of a client, including their plans for estate and budgets. That is the only true way of looking at a comprehensive retirement plan.

Most of these financial planners simply focus on a single projection of a clients financial situation. In most cases, they focus only on the area in which they have received any training.

When your adviser focuses on a single or only a few aspects of your retirement plan, get one that will take into account your entire situation.

5. This is what Im selling. This is what you must buy

Financial planners that do not have the necessary education in comprehensive retirement planning often rely on what their companies require them to invest in. For example, a stockbroker may possibly hard sell certain mutual funds or individual stocks. This is also true even when the best utilization of the money is on paying the mortgage or raising the emergency fund.

Your retirement planner must be able to discuss intelligently about methods other than his recommendations. If he is not able to, or simply insists that his way is the best way, look for another adviser.

Jay is the web owner of http://www.retirement-in.com Retirement Calculator, a website that provides information and resources about retirement, planning, systems and more. Also visit his website at: http://www.personalinjuryattorneysatlaw.com Accident Attorneys for information on finding an attorney.

Tags: Financial Advice, Retirement Planning

By Richard hill

The short answer is to use an Independent Financial Advisor , investigate them thoughly and make sure you understand any product you buy .

However many people are unsure exactly what is a Independent Financial Advisor or IFA so I will explain the types of Financial Advisor, how an Independent Financial Advisor is different from the other types of advisor and their obligations to a client.

What is a Independent Financial Advisor

An Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) provides financial planning, offers unbiased advice and recommends suitable financial products from the entire UK market.

All IFAs are regulated by The Financial Service Authority (FSA) which requires them to hold strict qualifications and show a high level of competence.

The term Independent Financial Advisordates from 1988 when the UK government introduced a polarisation regime where an Advisorwas either tied to a single insurer or was an independent practitioner.

Since 2005 the UK market has been depolarised. There are now four type of Advisor.

1)Independent financial Advisors who work with products from the whole of the financial market and allow their customers the option of paying by fee or commission.

2) Whole of market Advisors, who work with one company but only on a commission basis.

3) Multi tied - work for more then one financial organisation.

4) Tied - work for one organisation, typically a high street bank.

When choosing a financial Advisor ask whether he or she is independent, multi-tied or tied.

What qualifications does a Independent Financial Advisor need?

There are no set entry requirements for becoming a financial Advisor.Many employers consider a strong background in sales, financial services or customer service to be more important thanformal qualifications. However for a person to be allowed to practise as an Independent Financial Advisorthe Financial Services Authority (FSA), requires the following qualifications.

The entry level qualifications are the

Financial Planning Certificate
Certificate in Financial Planning (CertPFS

Both are issued by Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and are about equivalent to a challenging GCSE. Treat them accordingly.

The most common advanced qualifications are

Advanced Financial Planning Certificate (AFPC)
Certified Financial Planner licence.

IFAs with higher level professional qualifications may have the letters APFS or FPFS after their names.

Chartered status

The highest professional status for a IFA is a Chartered Financial Planner which was recently introduced.

In addition to these qualifications the FSA requires all IFA to undergo Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to keep upto date with developments in the profession.

Throughout their career an IFA may take many advanced and more specialised qualifications to develop specific areas of expertise. You should ask your IFA about them because he or she will gain the more advanced qualifications as their career progresses making qualifications a useful benchmark of an Advisors specific expertise and experience.

How are Independent Financial Advisors paid

The vast majority of IFAs are paid by commission either in full or in part. The obvious problem with this is that the product offering the best commision may not be the best product for your interests.

The FSA recognised that this might be a problem and since depolorisation of the market in 2005 has required a financial advisor to provide clients the choice of either paying commission or a fee for advice. Despite the conflict of interest, consumers have been reluctant to pay for something they see that they already get for free.

Today there are three main ways an IFA recieves payment.

Commission: Typically the advice of the IFA is paid for by a commision from the product provider. The size of the payment must be made known to the client. It is possible to obtain a rebate of part of an IFAs commission in some circumstances, most commonly in Execution-Only cases. The size of commission and whether it is included in the price of the investment or deducted from the amount you invest depends on the product. This is not free advice. The client pays for the commision in the cost of the product.

Fees: Offered by all IFAs, this can be cheaper than paying commission if the product is large, complex or specialist. Paying a fee for advice removes any incentive for an IFA to recommend a wrong product. This makes it a good way to ensure that the advice is impartial.

Combination: It is possible use a combination commission and fees. The IFA will refund part of the advice fee when a product is bought..

It is usually easy to find the cheapest option for each investment bcausue the FSA require that the size and type of any payment to an IFA are made known to a client.

What are an Independent Financial Advisors obligations to a client?

FA are obliged by the FSA to provide the most suitable advice for your particular personal objectives, situation, requirements and appetite for risk.

To do this they usually conduct a 'factfind' of a your financial position , preferences and objectives. It is important to be frank and open about your financial situation during this process. This is much easier if you have a personal rapport with your IFA. Using a planned method for choosing a suitable financial Advisor help make this more likely.

Once the fact-find is done they are able to advise the most appropriate action need to meet the objectives and possibly recommend a financial product.

The FSA requires every IFA to tell you about the service theyre offering and provide you a 'Keyfacts- about our services' document. Insurance brokers may give you this information in another format. The document describes

1) The service on offer;

2) Whose products they choose from

3) Whether youll have to pay a fee for the service or if theyll get paid by commission on what they sell you.

'This document is important - it can help you shop around and compare services, product ranges and costs, so make sure you are given one and if youre not, ask for one.'

How to go about Finding a Financial Advisor

You can ask family of friends for a recomendation of someone they trust. Alternatively you can ask another professional you have experience of dealing with for a refferal. Professionals tend to know other profesionals and a have an opinon about them.

You can investigate any IFAs before doing business with them. Check that the firm is on the FSA Central Register and is allowed to give financial advice, .

The Central Register is available on the FSA website at.
You can also make checks over the phone on 0845 606 1234.

In summary

Although the UK consumer financial market is among the most heavily regulated and thus the safest in the world, It is your responsibility to understand the terms on which you do business. You can avoid many of the most common pitfalls by following these steps.

Only use an independent financial advisor listed on the Central Register

Choose an IFA you feel comfortable with

Ask them about their qualifications and specialist areas expertise and choose on suitable to meet your goals.

Investigate whether you are better paying a fee rather then a commision.

Before purchasing a product or signing anything you must make sure you understand what you are being told.

Read the 'key facts' documentation they will provide you. If they dont provide this, ask for it.

If you are unsure about something clarify it.

32 years old English.

Tags: Financial Advice, Market Advisors