<p>It’s been my experience that with any major life decision – be it college choice, finding a new house, investing for retirement, etc. – that the only way to know if a so-called “expert” is giving you sound advice is to become a semi-expert yourself. It would be hard to know if a college counselor knew his/her stuff if you didn’t have a pretty good idea what was going on already. If the expert is able to confirm what you’ve manage to figure out on your own, then you probably have someone who knows what’s up and can give you guidance on things that you might not have considered or been aware of.</p>
<p>I recently bought my sister-in-law a subscription to a financial magazine because she is using my parents-in-law’s financial advisor, and I don’t think she knows enough to determine if he is giving her good advice. I hope that she’ll read the magazine, and decide if this guy knows what he is talking about. Based on some problems my in-laws have had with their finances, I have my doubts.</p>