One of the biggest questions in the world of finance right now is simple: are financial advisors really necessary in the digital era? With the rise of the Internet and the rise of free information being everywhere we look, it’s tempting to just assume that there’s no more need to have anyone looking into our financial lives. We can always just Google or hit up a message board, right?

Actually, that’s not as true as you might think. You see, it’s really more about being able to get trusted advice that comes from not just one or two experiences, but dozens of experiences. That’s what you’re actually paying for when it comes to a financial advisor. You’re not paying for someone on a massage board that may or may not really know what they’re doing. You’re paying for someone taking the time to educate themselves about every aspect of personal finance that you can think of. A lot of smart people go into the world of financial advising because they really want to help people. Of course, there are scammers in every industry, and the personal finance advice industry is no exception to that. Even if someone is certified, they might be more interested in commission than actually helping you. That’s where it helps to get advisors that work on a fee basis — that way you can tell that their advice is less biased.

You can still always go online and chat with people that are just as interested in finance as you are. It really doesn’t have to be a one-or-the-other approach.

Getting a financial advisor is also a plus when you run into a situation that’s complicated. Dealing with wills and estates can be a time where you want an advisor rather than just random people online. When it comes to “tough love”, the financial advisor might be able to make more of an impact on you and how you will handle the situation.

However, when it comes down to it, you’re still going to have willpower. You’re still going to have to stand up for the things that you want. A financial advisor can only guide you to the decisions that they think are best — you’re still going to have to take action and actually mean it. You don’t want to just dive in assuming that everything is going to be handed to you. In fact, if you’re serious about getting into the world of finance yourself; you might want to take the time to learn more about what the financial advisor is telling you. For example, if you want to become a stock market investor your financial advisor can help you, but only to a point. It’s going to be up to you to take the advice they give you and then build your own strategy. When you do this, the lessons tend to stick in your head a lot more than if you were to sit down and only be spoon fed information.

As mentioned before, you can still go online and get help — it might be best to combine both methods for maximum success. Why not start today?