Question: New Year after New Year has passed and so have my resolutions. However, it seems I can’t move forward especially when it comes to growing my money. I have been stuck in what Americans call the payday-to-payday treadmill. I do not intend on becoming a multimillionaire; I just want a comfortable life for me and my family. What is the best way to get out of this rut?

Answer: When you ride a public tricycle, jeep, bus, boat, or even airplane, do you first question whether the driver or pilot can get you to your destination safely? No, right? You instinctively place your trust in the driver or pilot because it is his profession to ferry hundreds of people from point A to point B on a daily basis.

When you avail of health maintenance organization (HMO) benefits for your health care, you just show up at the clinic with the proper authorization from the HMO provider without doubting whether you will be in good hands. You know that the HMO has already vetted the various clinics and medical professionals under its wings.

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When you want to worship in a foreign land, you go to a place of worship with the same denomination as you even though the pastor is a total stranger. You know that, after being ordained, that pastor will lead you to the right direction.

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In all cases, you trust the “professionals” who handle a lot of customers/clients. And it should be no different when it comes to managing your money. So, before you even jump into action, take a step back and do some planning. Making a New Year’s resolution is already jumping into action.

To help you with making that plan, consult a financial planner who will sell you advice first (even though one may offer a financial product later but only as an offshoot of the advice given). And please note that I did say “sell you advice” because the advice of an objective financial planner is golden.

The recommendation applies to students from preschool to college, both public and private.

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A lot of years of training and experience back up financial planning experts. Their advice, even though they may cost some amount of money, will be more than offset by the gains you make and the losses you avoid in your pursuit of financial freedom.

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For example, when you ask an objective financial planner about the best investment, he or she will say that you should not ask whether an investment is good as all legitimate investments are good. Rather, the financial planner will say that you should ask what good an investment can do for you.

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A financial planner who provides good investment advice can only be one who has managed other people’s money because he or she would have experienced being answerable to others and not just to oneself. This experience makes one more circumspect in giving out advice.

An added bonus is if the planner has a globally recognized training certification and/or is a member of an independent consulting group.

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Moreover, a financial planner worth his or her salt will not just give you advice and then disappear into oblivion. One will not only provide tools to help remind you of your action steps and monitor your progress but also check up on you a few weeks or months after your consultation.

More importantly, you will know a great financial planner if he or she provides unbiased, comprehensive, and numbers-based advice that is tailor-fit just for you instead of just mouthing rules of thumb and motherhood statements.

So, forget about laying out 12 round fruits and wearing polka dot clothes on New Year’s Eve. The only people who get rich are those who sell these items. What you do in one day will not dictate your fate for the rest of the year.

Rather, have a chat with a financial planner this 2025, not for him or her to tell you your future but to help you build it.

May you be financially blessed this 2025!

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Send questions via “Ask a Friendkingbet, Ask Efren” free service at www.personalfinance.ph, SMS, Viber, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Efren Ll. Cruz is a registered financial planner and director of RFP Philippines, a seasoned investment adviser, a bestselling author of personal finance books in the Philippines, and a YAMAN Coach. To consult with a YAMAN Coach, email [email protected]. To learn more about personal financial planning, attend the 109th RFP Program this January 2025. To inquire, e-mail [email protected] or text 09176248110.)

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