A recent article on MSN Money reports there are nearly 176,000 people who call themselves financial advisers.

As with any profession, there are plenty of bad apples and weeding through them isn’t easy. After the Bernie Madoff Ponzi-scheme scandal and the latest complaints about Ameriprise Financial (which is accused of investing employees’ 401k’s in underperforming mutual funds), there is good reason you will want to thoroughly check out any financial adviser.

A June 2011 survey from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the regulatory organization for advisers, found that few Americans have a written financial plan. If you’re in the market for a financial adviser, proceed with caution and consider these nine caveats. Read more here.

Here’s a new twist on an old New Year’s Resolution: If you want to give yourself the security of financial independence, try budgeting the way many wealth accumulators do.

The secret? They don’t budget.

Your first reaction might be, “Of course these people don’t budget! They have so much money, they don’t need to.”

That may be true for some of those who have money today, but I’m referring to people who want to remain wealthy or those who are “wealth accumulators.” These are people who don’t start out with money, but who build up significant wealth over time.

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In a December 16 article in the online magazine Mainstreet, Kristen Colella discusses some innovative ways to give financial gifts. She goes beyond ideas like college funds or cash for grandkids to consider stocks, collectible items, and even remodeling projects. Rick is one of the financial planners she interviewed for the piece. It offers some creative suggestions for last-minute Santas, especially those who have generous budgets for stocking stuffers.

Read the entire article here.

Salvation Army bell ringers. Angel trees. Appeals in the mail from charities, churches, and community organizations. Office and club gift exchanges. The family Christmas list that expands year by year.

This time of year, the spirit of giving gets a serious workout. For some of us, it can quickly turn into a spirit of frustration as we feel overwhelmed by requests and obligations.

Maybe one answer to make the season more manageable is to become more conscious about your giving by creating a “giving portfolio.”

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“People aren’t always rational when it comes to their financial decisions.” This statement by Dr. Sonya Britt, cited in a December 12 online article in The Wall Street Journal, certainly won’t come as a surprise to any financial planner. Dr. Britt, an assistant professor of personal financial planning at Kansas State University, is president of the Financial Therapy Association.

Financial reporter Veronica Dagher uses examples from several therapists and financial planners, including Rick, in her excellent piece on financial therapy. She describes financial therapy as a “growing field . . . which seeks in part to help clients understand the emotional triggers and experiences that may prompt them to make poor financial decisions. Financial therapy may help clients communicate better about money, uncover irrational financial fears and empower them to follow their adviser’s recommendations.”

Read the entire article here.

Retirement is a word I’ve tried to purge from my vocabulary. Few people really know what it means anymore. Instead, I like to think of retirement as being a stage in life where you get to choose what you want to do, when you want to do it, and with whom. It can also be that time when you attain financial independence and no longer intend or need to earn an income to support your lifestyle.

Sometimes, however, “early retirement” can throw us a curve ball before we’re prepared for it or ready to become financially independent. This often comes in the form of a job layoff, termination, or health issues that require we no longer work for an income.

Here are some action steps for an unexpected early retirement:

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“I need to share a secret with you: financial advisors aren’t perfect.” That’s how financial planner Tim Maurer opens an article published online in Forbes on December 7, 2011. He goes on to explain that “anyone trained to be an advisor in the financial services industry proper . . . is likely given more instruction on molding your perception than on actually advising you.”

Maurer is an advocate for financial planners having their own planners, and he quotes Rick on the topic. You can read the entire article here.

If you had half a million dollars and invested it in mutual funds, chances are you would leave $25,000 a year of potential income on the table. Over 20 years, that underperformance could cost you over $1,000,000 when you include reinvestment.

This conclusion is based on a recent study by Dalbar, Inc. It found that mutual fund investors (individuals and investment advisors) consistently earn below-average rates of return. This group’s average annual rate of return for 20 years underperformed the average by over 5%.

The study concluded most of this underperformance has little to do with sound investment strategy and everything to do with psychological factors. It outlined several behaviors that contribute to poor investment decisions such as badly-timed buying and selling.

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