Financial planning provides direction and meaning to your financial decisions. It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances and your future financial security. Financial planning provides you with goals and a means of monitoring progress towards those goals. This gives you the ability to adjust your plan if there are changes in your life or investment performance. You can also adapt more easily to life changes and feel more secure that your goals are on track.

Financial Advisors
In addition to being qualified to provide you with general financial planning services, many financial planners are also registered as investment advisers or hold insurance or securities licenses that allow them to buy or sell products. Other planners may have you use more specialized financial advisers to help you implement their recommendations. Below are some resources for selecting a financial advisor.

• List of the different types of financial advisors
• Best Practices - When Approaching Financial Planning
• Checklist for interviewing a financial advisor

If you would like to receive a free copy of the Certified Financial Planner Board's Questions to Ask When Choosing a Financial Planner, call CFP Board at 1-888-CFP-MARK or visit its website at www.CFP.net.