I want to address a question that I get a lot from prospective clients and wealth-curious who are on the fence about teaming up with Four Points Wealth.
And that is: when does a person really need a wealth advisor?
Over the years, I’ve been able to narrow down my answer into five key parts. There are essentially five reasons to hire a financial planner or wealth advisor. If you’ve been playing with the idea, but aren’t ready to take that leap, you’ll want to read this.
1. You Are Busy
Look, it’s very likely that if you’re a working professional in today’s cultural landscape, you’re busy. This is especially true if you are raising a young family. And the way I see it: busy is good. You have your family, a career, a spouse, and an active lifestyle where you want to go do things on the weekends.
You want to be able to enjoy whatever time you get to claim for yourself, away from your major responsibilities. It makes sense that you want to be present with your people. But there’s only 24 hours in a day. And you care about maintaining your finances, too, because you want your wealth to grow. You want to do what’s best for everyone you care about.
A lot of what I hear from my new clients is that they’re burning the candle at both ends. As your life gets busier and more complicated, so do your finances. Suddenly you have people depending on you (i.e. your children and/or spouse) to make financial decisions. Oftentimes, your spouse wants to be on the same page as you are, and they are wondering if your finances are sustainable. You’ve done enough research to be dangerous, but you’re also second guessing some decisions or know there are things that could be done better.
You shouldn’t have to shoulder this responsibility on your own. I often see one partner in a relationship taking on the burden of managing the finances and it’s a huge stressor. Especially if the market is having a down moment and your spouse is looking at you to be the ‘expert.’ It can create a major strain in your relationship to do it all yourself.
When life gets busy, or complicated, it’s a great time to outsource. A fiduciary financial advisor is going to be able to give you solid insights, guidance, and serves as an excellent neutral third party in the relationship. They’re not going to be involved in your day-to-day (which is probably a good thing), but they’ll be able to give you the guidance, insights, and management to help you implement a strategy to give you confidence in your day-to-day financial life.
2. You Keep Pushing Your Financial Planning Off “Until Tomorrow”
I always get a kick out of those cheeky signs that you see in a lot of bars that say, “free beer tomorrow.” Tomorrow never comes, right? Oftentimes, with regard to financial planning, it works the same way. We keep telling ourselves, “we’ll get to it tomorrow.”
When financial planning falls into the third, fourth, or sixth place on your list of priorities: that’s a great time to outsource.
Not everyone loves to spend their time thinking about financial outcomes! It’s so easy to let a week, a month, a quarter, or a year go by without cleaning up your budget or reconfiguring your investments. Life happens and things get in the way. That’s okay! But you don’t want so much time to go by that certain issues fester; or worse, you miss out on a major financial opportunity.
One of my clients, a married couple, came to me a few years ago when they were in the midst of transition. They both had burgeoning careers, one of them was switching jobs, and they had two small kids. The husband had an investment strategy that he was using, but he wasn’t doing it consistently, so his returns weren’t very good. Ultimately, by pushing their financial planning and investment management to the side, they weren’t able to be as successful. Once they hired Four Points Wealth, they were able to create a much more efficient and effective strategy to invest and build wealth.
A trusted financial advisor also has insights into updated laws and regulations, furthering our ability to work your portfolio to your advantage. These changes can be easily missed if you are putting off doing serious financial planning.
If managing your finances isn’t something you enjoy doing or you’re procrastinating, hiring a wealth advisor is a necessity. Wealth advisors can lay everything out for you in one clear vision. They offer clarity, they offer focus, they stay on top of what works, and they can map out all the decisions you need to make in organized bullet points.
3. You’ve Outgrown Your DIY Financial Plan
I’ve noticed this often with younger clients who are hitting their stride both professionally and financially. Not only are their lives getting busier and more complicated, but it is becoming less and less possible to manage their finances on a single spreadsheet.
Early on, in your 20’s or 30’s your wealth (or lack thereof) was easy to track. However, As wealth grows, so does the complexity of what to do with it. I’ve noticed my millennial clients were struggling to stay on top of how to manage their investment accounts; they were confused about how their tax situation was changing; and they wanted more understanding of their financial liabilities.
You know the line, “more money, more problems”—there’s truth there. When a system becomes more complex, there’s a greater likelihood of a failure point.
You want to identify those failure points early. If you’re outgrowing your DIY approach, it’s very important to hire an advisor. If you’re wondering what “outgrowing” your DIY approach looks like, I’ll tell you:
- It looks like you’re trying to keep everything on track, but you can’t keep all your financial data in one spreadsheet or in one file, anymore.
- Maybe you have a file that has 20 different files across multiple folders that are all related to different things (a mortgage, an asset, taxes, an estate plan) and you can’t figure out how it all connects.
- It’s becoming harder to picture what your life will look like going forward. In your 20s and 30s things were pretty straightforward. You had a 401k, your income, some basic investment accounts. Now you have equity income or ISOs or you own your own business and suddenly there’s a K1 involved.
- Maybe you have multiple income streams: 1099s, W2s, K1s, and you’re not sure how it will affect your taxes.
- You’re raising kids and suddenly you’re trying to keep track of college planning because you don’t want them riddled with the same debt your generation carried.
- You’re losing track of how to manage your financial goals. You aren’t sure how many years it will realistically take to buy the mountain house or to retire.
- You’re not having the financial conversations with your spouse—or those conversations are getting heated and confusing and you’re tired of carrying the load.
To all of these points, I say: offload this to somebody else. Offload it to somebody who has been through all of the scenarios you’re confronting multiple times over. As a financial advisor, I’ve seen it all and I know how to navigate it all.
I often tell my clients that I’ve retired 150 times with clients in the past. I’ve seen the process and what it looks like. I’ve helped dozens of kids get their 529s set up and countless families do so many different things.
Rather than learning-on-the-go, set yourself up with someone who’s already been through the growing pains. I’ve seen the failures; I know how to adjust course towards success.
4. The Stakes Have Never Been Higher
You are building your financial life. And so far, most millennials have seen a pretty tremendous market, both in terms of the housing and stock markets, save for the few short-lived rocky market cycles. We’re seeing some challenges emerge, but by-and-large, most millennials haven’t experienced the challenges we saw with the Global Financial Crisis, 9/11, or the dot-com bubble burst. I say this because: if you’re not taking advantage of it now, when will you?
When I began my career in 2009, it felt like stepping onto the battlefield just after the last shot was fired. I met people who had just seen 40–60% — sometimes more — of their retirement savings wiped out. Many told me the same thing: ‘I wish I’d met you before things got bad.’ That experience shaped my perspective. The best time to prepare is when things are going well. By being proactive in good times, we can create a foundation of stability for whatever comes next.
And this applies not just to the potential downturns in the markets, but also those acute family situations. Like when somebody loses someone. Or someone gets sick. Or someone loses a job. These are very real, very financially difficult scenarios. If you are on top of your financial portfolio and plan, you can build an infrastructure that helps cover you when these natural challenges occur. For example, this could be ensuring that you have adequate savings, life insurance, or disability insurance, to name a few. You don’t want to wait for something awful to happen and try to fix it retrospectively. You’ll feel like you’re pushing a boulder up a hill.
I was talking to a client recently who wrecked their car. It was about 10 years old, and insurance gave them $8,000 for a vehicle that costs close to $60,000 new. That was a shock to them. But guess what? We built a safety plan into their financial portfolio, so they have cash reserves. They have the flexibility to consider whether they want to finance something new or pay cash. If they had been blindsided by this accident without a safety net, it could be life-changing.
At Four Points Wealth, we start by giving you a clear diagnosis of where you stand — both in your financial plan and your current investments. We look at whether your portfolio aligns with your long-term goals and whether the level of risk you’re taking makes sense for where you’re headed. The truth is, the best time to plan is when things are going well. That’s when you can make calm, thoughtful decisions — driven by logic, not emotion. Waiting until your back is against the wall often leads to rushed moves and costly mistakes.
Don’t wait to be in fight-or-flight mode. Do it while you’re clear headed. Make sure you can make decisions in the right way and with the best information available.
5. You’re Worried a Financial Advisor Will Make You Surrender Your Control
This might be a sensitive topic, especially for men in a certain stage of life — but it’s one I’ve seen come up often, and I can relate. Many men feel a deep responsibility to be the provider and the financial decision-maker. There’s a belief that they should carry that weight alone. And while they want to stay in control, there’s a fear that seeking help or outsourcing any part of it means giving up that control. In reality, the right guidance doesn’t take power away — it gives you more clarity, confidence, and peace of mind.
It makes sense to feel a responsibility about being a provider. It makes sense that you want control over your finances. It makes sense that it might be hard to admit when your finances are getting overwhelming. It also makes sense that handing over your financial information can be unnerving.
Think of it like a heli-skiing or guided backcountry trip. The guide isn’t there to ski the mountain for you, they’re there to help you read the terrain, understand the conditions, and choose the best, safest line down. You’re still in control, making the moves, feeling the thrill — but you’ve got someone watching your blind spots and helping you make smarter decisions along the way. That’s exactly how I work with my clients. You’re not handing over the reins — you’re gaining a partner who helps you navigate with more clarity and confidence.
But the good news is: when it comes to financial planning, you can have it all. You can be a capable provider and hire someone to do the grunt work for you. You can be an amazing partner and parent and get overwhelmed sometimes. You can excel at your career and not have the clarity or confidence to manage your finances alone.
Also, when you are working with a fiduciary financial advisor—and it’s important to ensure they are a fiduciary—you aren’t actually relinquishing all control of your finances. You still get to make every single financial decision. You still move the money on your own terms. You just have someone showing you all the options and explaining which ones are likely to give you the best return on your investment.
I think it’s helpful to reframe ‘help’ not as something that proves you ‘can’t’ do it alone, but as a really savvy move that offers you more bandwidth for everything else. Nobody has more than 24 hours in a day. Spend that time excelling at earning. Let someone else help you manage the wealth you earn.
I experienced this, myself, a few years ago. It took me two days to mow my lawn because I hadn’t plugged in the mower and the battery died. Then life got busy. And I said, “you know what? I like mowing the lawn, but this really isn’t a good use of my time.” So I hired out. It happens. And it feels good to be able to outsource. I’m still in control of whether the lawn gets cut—I just get to use my time doing everything else that needs doing.
Fiduciaries Will Always Put Your Interests First
Here at Four Points Well, we aim to give you clarity and confidence about your financial decisions. We also care about building relationships with our clients. I’ve created very long-term relationships with most of my clients with very little turnover, and I think that speaks to the work we do here and the trust we’ve garnered.
It also speaks to our ability to assess each individual clients’ needs. I’ll have clients call me up when the market dips and say, “what should I do?” and I’ll make a suggestion that suits their goals.
One client called me up who had cash to invest and we decided it made sense to put some of it in the market while it was low. On the same day, another client called me up with the same question and I assessed his situation: he’s done well in commercial real estate, but he is expecting a baby and he is moving into a new home. I told him, “you know what? We shouldn’t be investing the money during this time of transition in your life. Let’s hold off on investing and instead, let’s keep some of your profits in a high-yield savings account.”
That same client did end up experiencing some unexpected costs with his new house and he was really grateful to have those funds available. It lowered his anxiety and the pressure in his life. He said, “Wow, I can’t believe you said no to taking more of my money.” But, as a fiduciary, offering advice that suits my clients’ best interests is very, very important.
Ultimately, hiring a financial advisor helps you understand what’s best for you.
Financial advisors help you build the best strategy for your family.
If you have a house, kids, family, a complex financial and family life—especially if you are breaking $200,000 per year on annual income—it’s likely that a financial advisor can be a huge asset for you.
Do it before something breaks, before there’s a failure point. When you work with Four Points Wealth, you’ll get a very clear breakdown of our process. We start with a discovery session where we learn who you are and what your goals are. Then we’ll build what’s called a ‘Scope of Planning.’ I haven’t seen other financial advisors do exactly this, but it’s a very clear document that breaks down what we are going to analyze and influence.
You get to decide how much control you want to partake from there. Maybe you take our plan and execute on your own. Maybe you ask us to take certain actions on your behalf. We offer three levels of service so you get to decide what works best for you.
Once we observe and analyze your financial landscape, the next phase is all about execution. We map out your action items and implementation. And then we can go through that execution process for you, which is really helpful for our clients. Again, you don’t lose control here because you’re still making the decisions.
By hiring a financial advisor, you’re actually gaining more control over your financial life. You’re setting yourself up for financial success. When your eye is on the end-game, outsourcing is an excellent asset to help you get there faster.
Four Points Wealth Management
About the Author: Taylor Leary is a Certified Financial Planner in Denver (CFP®), specializing in guiding professionals through the complexities of wealth-building and financial planning. With his dynamic, relatable approach, Taylor provides tailored strategies to help his clients achieve their personal and professional goals. Whether it’s navigating real estate investments, retirement planning, or cash flow management, Taylor brings clarity and confidence to every financial journey.
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