4 Questions to Ask Before Meeting with a Financial Advisor

There’s no bell that rings when you’re ready for a financial advisor. For most people, it starts after the basics feel, well, too basic. Usually, you know it’s time when you’re paying bills, staying organized … and starting to quietly wonder what’s next.

Before meeting with a financial advisor, it helps to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. These four questions are built to bring clarity to where you are, where you want to go, and how to stay aligned along the way.

1. Where Are You Now?

Take the MoneyEdu Financial Wellness Assessment.

You know how people say that awareness is the first step to real change? That’s true here, too. Take a few minutes to assess your finances—how much you have, what your pain points are, that sort of thing.

If that sounds like a daunting (or exhausting) task, don’t sweat: ICCU’s MoneyEdu Financial Wellness Assessment, a free tool, will get you started.* It offers a quick snapshot of how you’re doing across four key areas: spending, saving, borrowing, and planning. These are the building blocks of financial health, and together, they tell a much clearer story than a single number ever could.

The assessment asks a handful of straightforward, multiple‑choice questions, then shows you how your habits stack up in each category, giving you a score out of 100. You’ll see where you’re feeling strong and where you might want to focus your attention next.

Most importantly, the results give you practical next steps you can take right away, whether that’s tightening up a budget, building savings momentum, or simply confirming that what you’re doing is working. If you’re curious about where you stand today, this is a great place to start.

2. What Do You Want to Do?

Decide if it’s time to work with a financial advisor or continue tackling your financial growth on your own.

It’s both reassuring and eye-opening to see your financial habits laid out clearly. Maybe your results confirm that you’re doing a lot of things right. Maybe they highlight an area or two that you haven’t thought much about before. Either way, awareness has a way of changing how you think about your next move.

Now it’s time to decide your goals. What matters most to you, both right now and in the long run? Are you focused on preparing for retirement, funding big milestones, protecting what you’ve built, or something else?

For some people, the next step is simple: Keep building what’s working. For others, that snapshot sparks bigger questions about how to make your money work a little harder over time. That’s usually when a financial advisor steps in.

And that’s where knowing your options matters. Understanding what tools, resources, and professional guidance are available helps you choose your next step with confidence, whether that’s continuing on your own or bringing in a team that can help you plan for what’s ahead.

3. What Do You Need to Get There?**

Get familiar with ICCU Wealth Management services.

This is where things get fun. With your goals in mind, your focus shifts from awareness to action. And if you work with Wealth Management, the services and strategies you need are at your fingertips.

Each service below is centered on a different part of your financial life, and they’re designed to connect, not compete. When these pieces work in sync, so do your finances.

Cash Management

Cash management focuses on the money you use every day. Your paycheck, monthly bills, savings transfers, and spending habits all play a role in how confidently you can plan for the future.

When your cash is working with you instead of against you, everything else gets easier — easier to plan ahead, handle changes, and make confident decisions without constantly second‑guessing yourself.

Goal Funding

Goal funding helps turn financial goals into something more concrete. Instead of keeping goals in your head (or on a vague to‑do list) it anchors them to a clear plan for saving and investing over time.

By looking at your timeline and priorities, goal funding helps you understand what it will take to reach your next major milestone. It creates forward momentum and helps ensure your money is actively working toward what matters most to you.

Asset Allocation

Everyone’s comfort level with risk is different. Asset allocation reflects that by aligning your investments with both your goals and how you feel about market ups and downs.

With a thoughtful approach, your investments can grow while still accounting for risk. It’s a way to stay focused on the long game, even when markets shift.

Tax Strategies

Tax strategies connect everyday financial decisions to the bigger picture. They consider how savings, investments, and future income may be taxed, and how timing can make a difference.

Rather than chasing quick fixes, this approach focuses on long‑term efficiency. When taxes are part of the plan, your progress toward your goals can feel more steady and predictable.

Risk Management

Risk management is about protecting the progress you’ve already made. It looks at potential financial disruptions — like illness, injury, or unexpected life changes — and how prepared you are to handle them.

With the right safeguards in place, risk management helps ensure that one unexpected event doesn’t derail your long‑term goals. It helps build resilience into your financial plan so you can move forward with confidence.

Estate Planning and Preserving Wealth

Estate planning can bring clarity to the future. It looks at how your assets are titled, who’s named as beneficiaries, and how wealth is transferred, all with the goal of minimizing confusion and stress for those you care about.

Preserving wealth is about what you pass on and how it’s protected along the way. This approach helps ensure your financial decisions today continue to support your goals and values tomorrow.

4. How Do You Stay on Track?

Decide how often you need to review your finances.

A financial plan isn’t something you set once and forget. As your life changes, your strategy should have room to adjust with it. That’s where ongoing check‑ins come in.

For members who work with a Wealth Management Advisor, staying on track usually means reviewing financial statements together on a regular basis. These reviews help ensure things are still aligned with your goals, highlight any changes that may need attention, and provide an opportunity to ask questions or make updates as needed.

How often those reviews happen depends on you. Members with more complex finances may meet quarterly, while others may check in annually, so it’s helpful to ask yourself what your expectations are and what frequency you’re most comfortable with.

Either way, the goal is the same: make sure your plan continues to reflect your priorities and keeps moving in the right direction.

From Questions to Confidence

Wealth Management isn’t about having everything perfectly figured out. It’s about understanding where you are, knowing your options, and feeling confident about your next step, whatever that looks like for you.

Some people start by making small adjustments on their own. Others reach a point where having a team in their corner helps bring clarity and momentum to bigger goals. There’s no right timeline or one‑size‑fits‑all approach.

If you’re curious about where your finances stand today, the Financial Wellness Assessment is a great place to begin. And if your results spark bigger questions about planning, investing, or protecting what you’ve built, the ICCU Wealth Management team is here to help you explore what’s possible.