Financial Planners Help Put Your Goals Within Reach
by Eddy Demirovic, CFP Board
Whether you’re contemplating retirement, buying a home, a child’s education, or want to eliminate debt in order to get on the path to saving, you may find that working with a competent and ethical financial planner can help you reach your life’s goals.
The financial planning process involves gathering relevant financial information, setting life goals, examining your current financial status and coming up with a strategy to meet your goals given your current situation and future plans.
Financial planning provides direction and meaning to your financial decisions. It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances. For example, buying a particular investment product might help you pay off your mortgage faster or it might delay your retirement significantly. By viewing each financial decision as part of a whole, you can consider its short and long-term effects on your life goals. You can also adapt more easily to life changes and feel more secure that you are on track to meet your goals.
“A financial plan allows you to take charge of your financial choices and achieve a sense of financial well-being,” says David G. Strege, CFP®, and Chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors. “It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances.”
Choosing a financial planner may be one of the most important decisions you make, so take the time and care to select a trustworthy financial planner, one on whom you can depend for professional advice and services. One of the most trusted credentials for financial advisers is CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification (also displayed as CFP® certification). This designation is granted by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) only to those individuals who have met its rigorous standards of education, examination, experience and ethics. To learn more about financial planning, or to look for a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ near you, visit www.CFP.net.
To give Washington-area residents a first-hand look at the benefits of financial planning, CFP Board is holding a free Financial Planning Clinic Saturday, September 13, at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel, 1000 H Street NW. The free event, to be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. is designed to give area residents an opportunity to ask financial questions to professional financial planners who can help you find the answers you need at no cost. You can meet one-on-one with volunteer CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals who are highly qualified to discuss your financial issues and attend 50-minute educational workshops on popular personal finance issues. The information provided by financial planners is free, and there will be no sale of products or services and no strings attached.
The Clinic is organized by CFP Board, a non-profit organization. In addition to its functions in certifying and upholding the standards that guide CFP® professionals, CFP Board works to educate consumers on the benefits of financial planning and to make ethical financial planning accessible to those who don’t have access to it. CFP Board’s goal for the Financial Planning Clinic is to educate as many people as possible on the benefits of financial planning.
The Clinic also will feature a dozen 50-minute educational workshops presented by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals on topics such as Managing Debt from Credit Cards to Foreclosures, Launching a Financial Plan for Young Professionals, Financial Planning for Special Needs Family Members, and Planning for Long-Range Goals.
While walk-ins to the Financial Planning Clinic are welcome, admission will be granted first to those who have registered online. We expect a large crowd, so CFP Board encourages residents to register early. Online registration is available at Whether you’re contemplating retirement, buying a home, a child’s education, or want to eliminate debt in order to get on the path to saving, you may find that working with a competent and ethical financial planner can help you reach your life’s goals.
The financial planning process involves gathering relevant financial information, setting life goals, examining your current financial status and coming up with a strategy to meet your goals given your current situation and future plans.
Financial planning provides direction and meaning to your financial decisions. It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances. For example, buying a particular investment product might help you pay off your mortgage faster or it might delay your retirement significantly. By viewing each financial decision as part of a whole, you can consider its short and long-term effects on your life goals. You can also adapt more easily to life changes and feel more secure that you are on track to meet your goals.
“A financial plan allows you to take charge of your financial choices and achieve a sense of financial well-being,” says David G. Strege, CFP®, and Chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors. “It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances.”
Choosing a financial planner may be one of the most important decisions you make, so take the time and care to select a trustworthy financial planner, one on whom you can depend for professional advice and services. One of the most trusted credentials for financial advisers is Certified Financial Planner™ certification (also displayed as CFP® certification). This designation is granted by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) only to those individuals who have met its rigorous standards of education, examination, experience and ethics. To learn more about financial planning, or to look for a Certified Financial Planner™ near you, visit www.CFP.net.
To give Washington-area residents a first-hand look at the benefits of financial planning, CFP Board is holding a free Financial Planning Clinic Saturday, September 13, at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel, 1000 H Street NW. The free event, to be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. is designed to give area residents an opportunity to ask financial questions to professional financial planners who can help you find the answers you need at no cost. You can meet one-on-one with volunteer Certified Financial Planner™ professionals who are highly qualified to discuss your financial issues and attend 50-minute educational workshops on popular personal finance issues. The information provided by financial planners is free, and there will be no sale of products or services and no strings attached.
The Clinic is organized by CFP Board, a non-profit organization. In addition to its functions in certifying and upholding the standards that guide CFP® professionals, CFP Board works to educate consumers on the benefits of financial planning and to make ethical financial planning accessible to those who don’t have access to it. CFP Board’s goal for the Financial Planning Clinic is to educate as many people as possible on the benefits of financial planning.
The Clinic also will feature a dozen 50-minute educational workshops presented by Certified Financial Planner™ professionals on topics such as Managing Debt from Credit Cards to Foreclosures, Launching a Financial Plan for Young Professionals, Financial Planning for Special Needs Family Members, and Planning for Long-Range Goals.
While walk-ins to the Financial Planning Clinic are welcome, admission will be granted first to those who have registered online. We expect a large crowd, so CFP Board encourages residents to register early. Online registration is available at www.CFP.net.
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