Don't Wait Too Long: When It's Time to Get Help From a Financial Counselor | Ep. 237

• Tiffany explains that as an AFC, she specializes in short-to-medium term goals (within 5 years) like budgeting, debt payoff, and savings for vacations, houses, or cars.

An AFC accredited financial counselor like myself helps you with your short to medium term goals. So things that you're trying to accomplish, I would say within the next five years or so.

• The key indicator is being on a 'hamster wheel' - not making progress toward goals or lacking financial goals entirely. This applies across all income levels.

If you don't have financial goals, I can help you get those hammered out and help you create those.

• Most clients are people living comfortably but not directing money toward their goals - making minimum payments or not making headway on debt or savings.

I like to look at myself and practitioners like me as a personal trainer, right? So you already know how to do your jumping jacks, how to do your sit-ups... But you need someone to teach you the right technique and to hold you accountable.

• Financial counselors provide clarity, help getting on track, and support staying on track - even for those already making progress but struggling with consistency.

• CFPs are appropriate when you have financial goals, are on track with them, make good money, have basics down, and need someone to manage assets and ensure retirement security.

If you are already on track with all your financial goals, you make pretty good money and you got the basics down and you just need someone to manage your assets... that is when you would reach out to a financial planner versus reaching out to me.

• Using the wrong type of financial expert can result in being ghosted. CFPs may not respond to clients who aren't ready for their services, leaving people feeling rejected when they were simply mismatched.

What I don't want is for you to reach out to a financial planner or financial advisor and then they never contact you back because they don't think that you're a client that would benefit from their services.