How do you select a good Finanical Advisor?

Well first of all, don't expect magic. Unless you have a great deal of income that you're not spending, you won't need investment advice. What he's going to tell you are things that you probably don't want to hear: save as much money as you can, don't buy things that you cannot afford, and pay off your credit card at the end of each month.

If you have extra money, and are carrying a credit card balance, the best investment you can possibly make is to pay off that balance.

After putting two or three month's salary into a money-market checking account, and the maximum amount you can into IRA's funded through your employer, then you can start worrying about things like stocks and bonds. Best advice is to ignore both; use an index-based mutual fund, Vanguard is good, but I suspect that you're not at that stage.

All of this sort of thing is available in books and on the Internet; your bank can probably recommend a book about how to run your budget, and I think you'll find some very good advice on various US Government websites, probably starting with the US Treasury.

If you have financial entanglements that require the advice of someone who understands investments, you'd want to look for someone who uses the letters 'CFP' after their name. This means 'certified financial planner,' and it means that they've been certified by an organization that watches their behavior rather closely.

You're best off with someone who charges a flat fee for writing you a financial plan. Ask what the charges are up front; expect to pay better than a hundred bucks. The advantages here are that the financial advisor then does not have to be a salesman for things like mutual funds that pay him a commission. Commissioned financial planners can be perfectly honest and independent, but I kind of like the fee-based version better.

Not sure you will find someone who does what you want. If don;t have much in the way of assets not much use. If need investment help it is 1 thing - fees as % of assets and usually too high. I could help on that but if neede someone to build a budget for you that is tough. Feel free to contact via answers with more detail on what you need.

Your local bank will help you with the matter, if you wish to involve them just ask. This is best for you if it is your first time investing. Fees don't usually exist for the lower investment services. This is because the banks make their money on the lump sum of the investments they hold. You will generally be given interest on your savings. Look for risk levels you are willing to take to determine what is best for you.