Useful to have a financial or insurance adviser

I suggest the following approach for the ordinary lay person:

* learn about the basic aspects of financial planning (eg read my FAQs)
* use a low cost financial or insurance adviser

The adviser who can help you to make the best decision for your circumstances. If you do not take up a lot of their time, they can give you the advice for a low fee or to earn a modest rate of commission. For example, the advisers from NTUC Income falls into this category. By using the adviser, you can save a lot of time, and make a better decision.

For example, I can buy shares through the internet. But, I find it useful to go through a stockbroker. The fees have now come down to 0.3% (down from 1% a few years ago). I find it to be a fair rate of commission for the time spent by the stockbroker.