I got a financial plan from the NAB four years and it cost me $300. It was a sound plan and created a lot of wealth in the last bull run. Of course, the NAB recommended all their products. But I had a great strategy and picked out what I needed from the plan.
I have not used a financial planner since as I do a lot of research myself.
If I were to use a planner I would use a planner that charges by the hour. And if the hourly fee seems expensive than shop else where. I can only guess that you might be able to get a plan for around $600.
I would not use a planner that takes a commision because their advice is likely to be conflicted. That is, a financial planner is most likely to recommend products that will give him or her the most commissions.
There is a great article from the smh and reinforces the points from above:
My advice for you would be to shop around, based on the above, for a planner from the Financial Planning Association Website.
I just looked in the FPA website and found "10 questions to ask a prospective financial planner" http://www.fpa.asn.au/FPA_Content.aspx?Doc_id=1016 I think the 10 questions suits your circumstances.
