One Senior Place: Financial advisors can help you save more, invest wisely or reduce debt

Support local journalism. A digital subscription is incredibly affordable and worth its weight in gold. Click here and subscribe today.

Q: What can a financial advisor do for me?

A: Many people I meet with are reluctant to talk with a financial advisor. I get it. Not everyone needs an ongoing relationship with a financial planner or investment advisor. But, it's good to know someone you can talk to and count on for help.

A financial planner helps to create a plan for meeting your financial goals and guides your progress along the way.

They can help you save more, invest wisely or reduce debt. The first conversation with a financial planner should cover all your goals and priorities, not just financial ones: Family priorities, career status, paying for future health care costs, where you might want to live, future travel plans, starting a business, how often you like to buy a car, planning for college — and more.

Previous three One Senior Place columns:

Long-term planning: Options for health care surrogates for those without close family

Clinical trials: Why do people take part in clinical trials? For many different reasons

Be thankful: Expressing gratitude can help you feel and function better

If you are close to retirement, there is real value in having answers to questions like:

• What will my expenses be in retirement?

• What resources will I use to provide income?

• What is the right level of investment risk when I stop working?

• Will I have enough money to last my lifetime?

Most people plan for their most active retirement years, but fail to address key issues that come afterward. Things like housing decisions, changes in health, potential need for long-term care and shifting family dynamics.

"Longevity planning" is increasingly important, with people living longer and longer.

Our financial lives are unique to each of us, with the best outcomes for the future requiring thoughtful planning (and options).

A guiding hand along the way to monitor progress and keep us on track is a good thing. And that is what a financial advisor can offer. Because whether you have millions of dollars or a few thousand, your money needs to work for you, to grow — and be there when you need it most.

At One Senior Place, we have a group of financial planners that can guide you through the process.

On Jan. 26, a three-week series will begin on "The Nuts and Bolts of Personal Finance."

These free seminars will go through balancing a check book, budgeting (which I never do!) and include a talk on credit cards and debt.

So if you're wondering about how many pairs of shoes you can afford to buy, or how often you can get a manicure and pedicure, call us at 321-751-6771 to sign up for this series! All joking aside, an enjoyable retirement is more than just luck.

You are creating the life you will live.

One Senior Place is a marketplace for resources and provider of information, advice, care and on-site services for seniors and their families. Questions for this column are answered by professionals in nursing, social work, care management and in-home care. Send questions to askOSP@OneSeniorPlace.com, call 321-751-6771 or visit The Experts in Aging at OneSeniorPlace.com.

Barbara Fradkin is a Social Worker, Certified Care Manager and the Director of One Senior Place, Viera.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Financial advisors can help you save more, invest wisely, reduce debt