Finding The Right Professionals To Guide You Through Retirement

You only retire once. That’s why it’s important to build a comprehensive financial plan that will help you live comfortably throughout your retirement.

Luckily, financial services professionals assist people every day in building their retirement plan.

However, there are so many different professionals out there who provide a wide range of financial services.

For a common person, it can be difficult to decide who to approach for help and who can best fulfill their unique retirement needs.

In this blog, we’ll discuss 3 types of financial services professionals, each of whom have a unique value to offer – an accountant, a financial coach, and a financial advisor. We’ll discuss the difference between them and how they can each contribute to your ideal retirement.

Read on to learn how you can find the right professionals to guide you along your retirement journey!

1. Accountant

In one of our recent episodes of Retirement Revealed, we joined Kathy Bue, CPA, owner and master financial coach at Bue Financial Coaching. Kathy shared her experience in working both as an accountant and a financial coach.

As an accountant, one of the key things that Kathy helps her clients with is tax preparation.

It’s not just plugging in numbers into various forms and filing a return. A good accountant can also assist you in making major financial decisions. Through a monthly or a quarterly review, accountants can ensure you’re on the right track so that you might not have to face tax penalties later.

If you approach them well ahead of time, they can help you minimize your taxes by planning for any major financial events expected in the future.

For instance, you might be selling your business, transferring your estate, or even making a significant charitable contribution –– all of which have huge tax implications.

Plus, accountants are more likely to keep up with any changes in tax laws!

While searching for the right accountant, you can always ask them about the number of returns they file every year. If it’s an unusually large number, such as 500 returns per year, then they might not be able to provide the best service.

Good accountants often restrict the number of clients they serve so that they are able to provide quality service to every individual. (In fact, this holds true for every financial services professional!)

2. Financial Coach

Did you know that you can have a high income and still end up poor?

Oftentimes, a lot of people reach the end of the month and are surprised when all of their income is spent. Some of them even end up with credit card debt.

It’s because they did not plan for or monitor their spending throughout the month.

This is where a financial coach can help you. They are mainly involved in the behavioral aspect of financial planning. In other words, why do you behave the way you do with your money?

Kathy Bue and her husband had set a goal for themselves to be debt-free by age 40 – and they accomplished it! Now, they help their clients achieve the same through financial coaching. They have also completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Coach Master Training, which further enables them to provide quality financial coaching.

Remember, it’s all about the mindset –– being more disciplined with your money and sticking to your financial plan. A financial coach can be your guide to achieving that mindset!

3. Financial Advisor

Most people use “financial coach” and “financial advisor” interchangeably. But they are completely different.

A financial coach can’t help you with investments, insurance, portfolio management or other technical areas. This is where an advisor comes into play.

Simply put, an advisor primarily deals with how your money works for you by investing it, while a financial coach covers the behavioral aspect of finances.

Depending on your unique financial situation, you might need a coach, an advisor, or even both!

If you want to learn how you can find the right financial advisor for you, check out: 3 Things You Should Know Before Choosing A Financial Advisor.

Break the Money-Talk Taboo

In working with our clients, we often find that a lot of them never got a chance to learn about managing their finances while growing up. One of the reasons is that money-talk was always considered a taboo.

While it’s gradually changing now, there are still some households where parents hesitate to have open money conversations with their children, let alone with an advisor.

Once you break the money-talk taboo, you unlock the path to achieving your financial freedom.

This situation is more common among women. Many women still rely on their spouse to make a major financial decision. To learn how you can overcome this money-talk taboo, listen to our podcast: Women, Money, and Power: Why It’s Time to Break Your Money Silence – With Kathleen Burns Kingsbury.   

Learn more about Kathy Bue, CPA and her financial coaching services by visiting Bue Financial Coaching. You can also book a free 30-minute coaching session with Kathy.

If you have any questions about finding the right professional for you, or how you can achieve your ideal retirement, feel free to contact us!