Handing your hard-earned money to a financial professional can be like lending someone your car and they return it with a huge dent, or like trusting your home to a house-sitter while you're away and returning to a tank of dead tropical fish and beer-colored carpet stains.

Our mantra is and always will be: Nobody else takes care of your things with the loving care that you do, and that includes your money. That's the whole basis of Dolans.com. But we also know some people prefer to work with a financial pro, so we want to give you some advice on how to find one you can trust.

An Important Distinction

Let's begin with a distinction, so that you'll know where to start. What's the difference between a financial planner/adviser and a broker?

The similarity is that either one could leave you "broke-er" if you don't select carefully! But a good financial planner helps you devise a complete life plan: vehicles for college savings, retirement savings, how much to spend when you buy property, even a plan for putting money aside. A broker, on the other hand, advises you on investments and executes the transactions for you from your account.

Do you need both? No. Either one will handle your investment transactions.

Whichever you choose, finding a broker or financial planner who knows what he or she is talking about, is more concerned about your financial well-being than about his or her commission, and helps you take control of your financial future is nirvana for any investor. But if you don't know anything about finances, you're going to be helpless in some financial adviser's hands, like a lamb at the slaughterhouse. Don't think we're exaggerating.

A lot of people call themselves "financial advisers." Some CPAs are now doing it to drum up year-round business. Many insurance brokers do financial planning. Duh—what do you think their agenda might be?

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