We all need a little help now and again

We all need a little help now and again. We all go to different people depending on the help you need. How many times do you hear that the bloke down the pub, street said this is the best thing to undertake - but is it?

Is it time to think about getting financial advice?

While friends and family will do their best to help, they can have an emotional bias. They’ll also usually lack the qualifications and experience of a professional financial adviser, so might not be the best place to turn to when making important financial decisions.

Relying solely on informal chats with your friends to make financial decisions might not give you the best results.

To get the personalised or in-depth recommendations you’d get from a financial adviser is invaluable.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider speaking to me, and make sure you’re not being led up the garden path. Trusted advice is crucial.

It’s not always easy to talk money

This can be especially true when going to your family for advice.

Everyone wants to see their family members doing well financially. Older members of the family who’ve ‘been there and done that’ might speak from experience to try and give you advice. But it’s likely times have changed since they needed to make the decisions you’re facing now.

Your family are also likely to be the ones you speak to at sensitive times, like after a divorce or the loss of a loved one. There’s usually financial decisions to be made at emotional moments, so it’s easy to take advice from family and friends just to get it off your plate.

Although your family will have your best interests at heart, a financial adviser is more emotionally removed. They can offer clear-minded advice that your family might not be able to. They’ll still treat your situation delicately, but by helping you make decisions, they’ll be able to take some of the emotional weight off your shoulders.

Everyone’s situation is different

Our finances are a personal subject, and it’s likely information like your salary are only known by a select few.

Because of our reluctance to share too much with our friends and family, they’ll never get the full picture. Any advice they give might not help your financial situation as much as you first thought.

A financial adviser is impartial and discrete. This lets you share more detail with confidence. With more information at their fingertips, an adviser can help you build more of a complete strategy.

Past success isn’t a measure of future success

Whether it’s advice on your career or on which car to buy, lots of the advice we give our friends is anecdotal.

The world of investing moves quickly, and no one knows what’s going to happen today or tomorrow. Not even an adviser with years of experience can predict what stock markets will do next. So, don’t listen to anyone who claims to know what’s around the corner.

You can’t make predictions based on past performance. Just because someone you know might have made money on an investment in the past, it doesn’t mean it’ll happen again, or that it’ll suit what’s best for you.

Instead, I will look at your attitude to risk, but also look at your finances as a whole and make sure your investments fit in with your goals to help you succeed over the long term.

The New Year can be a good time to review your finances, needs and objectives or even make new investments. If you’re not sure where to start, ask for help.