As professional planners, we hear some responses repeatedly from pretty intelligent people:

“I don’t need financial planning because I have no money to invest.”

“My planning has to wait till I get a higher paying job.”

“I have an accountant, why should I need anything else?”

“Financial planning is only for rich people.”

“I’ll think about it when I get time to think.”

And: “I can do my own planning, but I’ll do it later. I’m too busy now.”

Are you one of these people? If so, better watch out. People who procrastinate about their finances usually wait till a crisis forces them to get down to work. Even the most skilled professional cannot extricate you from a hole dug really deep. For most people, putting off the process is just a way of not facing their financial problems. “If I ignore it, maybe it will go away” is a common attitude. Alas! That does not really happen, even if you get a windfall from an inheritance or win something in a game show. A remarkable number of lottery winners had squandered all their winnings in less than five years!

In my opinion, people who have a great deal of money, have it because they planned for it to be managed right. People who are rich probably could survive even if all their millions were stashed in a money market account earning 2%. If you do not have a few million to spare you should get down to work right now. It’s like exercise. Everyone knows it’s good for him or her but no one wants to get down to it right away. Those who do look pretty good don’t they? The same holds true for your financial health. Do it now and the job is going to be a lot easier than if you waited three years.

The other question is whether you can do this stuff yourself or do you need help from a professional. If your family income is over $100,000 the chances are pretty good that you need professional help. That’s because successful people have very little time for themselves. The job takes up 90% of their energies. What is left should be used to have a life and catch some fun. Also, at that level there is complexity, which may be beyond a DIY (“Do It Your self”) approach. If you make a lot less, you still need to do financial planning, perhaps even more so, but some of the work may have to be done by yourself. This is also possible because some very simple computer programs are available for do-it-yourselfers. Some banks offer advice, though most of it tends to be sales oriented. It’s hard to find high caliber planners who are willing to work with lower income clients.

What do you need if you are high income and still want to do it yourself? Well, it’s like anything else, not everyone can learn to put in a whole kitchen with tools from Home Depot, and not too many will be any good at fixing the transmission of their car. However, some do succeed. Ask yourself the following questions. Do you have the time to educate yourself? Are you willing to spend some money to buy the research and the software? Can you systematically monitor and adjust your finances to changing parameters? Do you really enjoy this stuff so that you can become really good at it? If the answer is a resounding YES to everything, go for it. If not, find yourself a qualified, competent and CARING professional. Do it NOW rather than later!

Mr. Sen CFP is a registered representative with FSC Securities Corporation, a registered broker-dealer, and registered investment advisor, member NASD/SIPC and member AIG Advisor Group.