Free Financial Advice
Of course, you can’t get something for nothing, and that is especially true of advice regarding your money!
Here are ways to identifying advice scams to avoid being taken advantage of:
A Cold-Caller Makes You an Offer to Cut Your Payments in Half! A stranger calls you at dinnertime and tells you that s/he can get you out of debt by managing your cash flow. The standard opinion is that cold-calling debt consolidation should be banned. There are 2 basic ways to pay off your debt as quickly as possible: 1/ You can make extra payments. 2/ You can try to negotiate a lower rate of interest. If anyone else promises you any different, they’re just trying to make money off you.
Used Car Dealership Loans: You cannot trust a used car deal to sell a car! Why would you trust one to recommend a loan? Just say “No!” It may be convenient to get your loan at the same place you get your car, but it will cost you! It is advisable to conduct your own personal research. Only purchase what your budget will allow, and always refuse financing at a car dealership.
Financial Planners Offering “Free” Advice: Understand that a person offering free advice is just trying to sell you a product in return for commission. It‘s not free! Obviously, a person on commission will give biased advice, so don’t listen to it! It’s best to pay a standard price for a genuine advisor. Over time, this investment could save you tens of thousands of dollars.
Mortgage Brokers are Similar to “Free” Financial Planners: While they may take care of all the legwork, it is unlikely to result in the lowest possible interest rate. The reason for this is that low interest mortgage providers don’t tend to pay kick-backs. It’s better to save your money by doing your research yourself. Then you can put that money saved into your mortgage.
Frequently, we tend to want to get our advice for free. Fee-only financial planners may work out to be the most cost-effective, even after their hourly fee is taken into account, as they are working just for you, and don’t need to sell products in order to earn commissions.
