How Often Should I Meet with My CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional

If you are reading this, that means that you have already done the hard part in vetting, selecting and meeting a financial planner! 

You researched, asked your planner a variety of questions and learned about the services they will provide you. Then you addressed some of your financial missteps and prepared for your first meeting. So now that you have a plan, how often should you expect to meet with your financial planner?

The simple answer is as many times as you need to achieve your financial goals.

Your CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional will want to meet with you as often as needed to help you create good financial habits and develop a plan to reach your financial goals. Whether in person, through virtual meetings or telephone calls, your CFP® Professional will update you on your progress toward achieving your goals. Knowing you are on track to reach your goals can provide peace of mind and encouragement. A CFP® Professional has met rigorous qualifications and is committed to high ethical standards, meaning they will put your needs ahead of their own.

Why Meeting with your CFP® is Important

I have worked with clients who have failed to regularly meet with their prior financial advisor, and they’ve made little to no progress toward reaching their goals. Their investments were poorly allocated, and they spent more money than they anticipated. Overall, they were farther behind in their achievement of goals and a few periodic meetings could have made a significant difference.

You should meet with your CFP® professional at a minimum of once a year. Just like an annual visit to a medical doctor to assess your health, an annual visit to a CFP® professional will assess your financial health. Visits to your financial planner are the perfect time to discuss your budget, savings and investments and assess the status of reaching your goals.

A CFP® professional acts as your coach, constantly reminding you to complete the next task while monitoring the progress. If habits need to be changed, the sooner we make those changes, the greater positive impact on your life.

When Should you Make a Financial Plan?

You don’t need to wait until you have a lot of money to create a financial plan. You can benefit from some level of financial planning at any life stage. So, start the new year by scheduling your annual financial check up with a CFP® professional and plan to meet with them regularly.

LetsMakeAPlan.org provides many checklists and educational articles to help you choose the right CFP® professional to work with. Learn about the data you will need to provide and understand the planning process that you will begin.