Personal Finance News Monday 7/16

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Your Adviser Did What?!
By KELLY GREENE and JOE LIGHT/The Wall Street Journal

What are you getting for that hefty annual fee you are paying your financial planner?

In an era of belt-tightening, it can pay to ask for more.

Wilson Matthews, 36 years old, sells fine men's clothing in Birmingham, Ala., but turned to his planner to haggle with a car dealership. The planner, Irvin Schorsch III, president of Pennsylvania Capital Management in Jenkintown, Pa., managed to get the price of an Audi A4 reduced by $6,100—and got another $1,000 knocked off the shipping fee.

Mr. Schorsch says he offers to negotiate all kinds of big-ticket purchases for clients, from cars and boats to retirement homes and weddings.

Says Mr. Matthews: "Why not take advantage of the free help?"

Financial planners typically help investors manage their money and plan for retirement. But with the stock market stuck in a rut and interest rates near record lows, they are finding it tougher to justify their price tag. Fee-only planners—as opposed to brokers who are paid on commission for stock or bond sales—typically charge a flat 1% annual fee on assets up to $1 million and 0.75% on assets larger than that, according to the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, a group for fee-only advisers.

To read the entire article from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303292204577519183016464916.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_PF16


Scripture of the Day from Dave Ramsey.com:
1 Timothy 6:9 — People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

Please listen to the Dave Ramsey show live on WOR 710 from 2-4 PM EST. You can also listen to the 3rd hour 4-5 PM EST. at Dave Ramsey.com.