Can you spot a Bad Financial Advisor?

[Beltway Explorers]

Thanks Annie and Matt. We only have about $325K in investments, all in retirement accounts (only seems like a weird term to use since I only have a couple friends with higher balances!). Since we don't have huge numbers it seems like in some ways we don't qualify for a financial advisor/planner, but maybe I'm using the term wrong? Obviously it would be great to have a roadmap of how we should allocate our money in the future between extra mortgage payments, 529 accounts, retirement, etc. Maybe I should just start with a personal finance review thread?

 

[Matt]

Thanks Annie and Matt. We only have about $325K in investments, all in retirement accounts (only seems like a weird term to use since I only have a couple friends with higher balances!). Since we don't have huge numbers it seems like in some ways we don't qualify for a financial advisor/planner, but maybe I'm using the term wrong? Obviously it would be great to have a roadmap of how we should allocate our money in the future between extra mortgage payments, 529 accounts, retirement, etc. Maybe I should just start with a personal finance review thread?

Yep- that would be a great way to start!

 

[GettingReady]

Speaking of fees, it's amazing the difference 1% can make over time. Years ago, I came across a chart/link that showed the difference on 500k and 1m over different time frames. With 500k, over 30 years, a difference of 1% expense ratio is a difference of over 510k! That's based on an annual return of 5%.