How should you go about getting a used car loan right now? What are the best sites for comparison shopping and what can you expect. Tune in to today’s Money 911:

Today on Money 911, I took a great question from a viewer who wanted to know how to go about finding and hiring a trusted Broker or Financial Advisor. Where do you start?

My very first rule when it comes to hiring a financial professional is to get a referral. There’s no reason to start your search from scratch. Most likely, you already know someone who has a great financial advisor. You just need to ask.

But who should you ask and what do you ask them? A logical place to start is with your accountant and/or your attorney. Most likely both will be able to offer you more than one referral. (If possible, ask each for at least three names.) Another great way to get an excellent referral is to ask the wealthiest people you know. They don’t have to be close friends. They could be people you respect–your boss, a friend of a friend, etc. The wealthier they are, the better, because the rich tend to have top-notch advisors, and the really rich tend to have the best.

Just asking someone if they like their financial advisor, however, is not enough. A casual question will generally get you a casual answer, and unless you press them most people will tell you that they “love” their financial advisor…along with their doctor, their hairstylist, their attorney, and whoever else you ask them about.

To get a useful referral, you need to go deeper by asking very specific questions:

- Why do you like your advisor?
- How long have you worked together?
- What specifically have they done for you?
- Did they provide a written financial plan?
- How often do they meet with you?
- Do they call you or do you have to call them?
- How do you pay them?
- Do they provide you with a performance statement that shows how much you earned or lost on a quarterly basis?
- Have you had any problems or complaints?
- How is their customer service?
- Will you be compensated for this referral? (This question should be directed to your accountant, attorney, or any other professional who provides a referral.)

If you don’t know any wealthy people, start your search by talking to friends of yours who seem to be good at making smart financial decisions. Chance are the reason they are doing well is that they have someone who helps them. So ask them who they work with. And remember to ask all of the questions above as well.

If you want to know more about hiring a financial pro download my Ten Golden Rules to Hiring a Financial Advisor audio program. This is a free resource on my site. (You’ll need the free version of RealPlayer to listen.) While you’re there, take a look at my Financial Advisor Questionnaire and my Financial Advisor Gradecard.

SO many questions about retirement plans in this economy…and such IMPORTANT info for you to know. Questions like: Should I cash out my retirement plan to start a small biz? Is my retirement plan protected if I file for bankruptcy? My employer is going out of business – is my 401k money safe? Should I cash out of my retirement plan to pay off my credit card debt? Watch my ABC segment. Q and A is at the end so stay with it.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week on the results of a study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute on the accounts held by six million workers who consistently participated in a 401(k) plan from 2003 through 2008.

>>The average balance dropped 24% in 2008 (in comparison to the 37% decline in the S&P 500 in 2008…)

>>Over the five years tracked, average account balances for these workers rose about 7% annually, even including the stock-market crash in 2008—thanks, in part, to market gains in the years preceding the crash, but also thanks to workers’ and employers’ continuing account contributions. (This data don’t include market fluctuations in 2009.)

>>The average account balance for these consistent savers rose to $86,513 by the end of 2008, up from $61,106 at the end of 2003. The median balance rose about 11% annually, to $43,700 at year-end 2008 from $25,507 at year-end 2003. (Note: that doesn’t necessarily mean 401(k) investors outperformed the market. The data include worker and employer contributions; that money goes a long way to improving balances, and has a particularly strong effect on smaller accounts.

I hope you stayed consistent with contributing to your 401(k) over the past two years. Have you? A February 2009 survey by AARP showed that nearly 4 out of 10 workers had cut back on the amount they were saving in their retirement accounts and 1 in 5 workers over the age of 45 said they had cut out their retirement contributions entirely!

Giving up like this is one of the worst things you can do right now. If you’re among those who have backed off from your retirement savings plan then you need to hear this:

Given the economic surge that usually follows a deep recession, you couldn’t pick a better time than today to recommit to a wealthy future by saving and investing for retirement. Get back in the game!

Here’s a really fun offer that I’m so excited to share with you. Spend some time LIVE on UStream with me and Gary Vaynerchuk!

My friend—visionary entrepreneur and soon-to-be bestselling author—Gary Vaynerchuk has a brand new book coming out that I know you’re going to love. It’s called Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion and it comes out October 13th.

While meeting for coffee together the other day, Gary and I realized that Crush It! and my new book Start Over, Finish Rich (coming out December 29, 2009) share an amazing synergy. So if you pre-order both books on Amazon.com, BN.com or any of your favorite online bookseller before Midnight on Monday 10/12, you’ll receive an invitation to take part in our live, interactive UStream video chat. (Date and time to be announced.) Together we’ll be taking YOUR questions on business, money, success, brand building and whatever else is on your mind.

Are you ready to go from surviving to thriving?

Over the last year or two, many of us have experienced a lot of uncertainty in both our personal and professional lives. With the struggling economy, we’ve been stuck in survival mode—doing what we can to pay our bills, stay in our homes and keep our jobs. In Start Over, Finish Rich I’m going to show you how to go from surviving to thriving. The truth is that we’re about to experience the kind of opportunity for building wealth that we haven’t seen in decades. But what’s key is that as our economy recovers, you’ve got to be set up to recover with it. In Start Over, I’m going to take you through the ten crucial moves you must make in 2010 to get back on track and recapture your dreams of a richer future.

I call this RECOMMITING TO WEALTH. Gary Vaynerchuk calls it CRUSHING IT!

Gary agrees with me that economic downturns represent a huge opportunity for everyone to get their focus on and start to crush it. In his book, Gary is going to take you through the massive changes in business, technology and society that are happening right now—and how these changes present a huge opportunity to create wealth and personal fulfillment for every one of us. In Crush It!, Gary goes into why building a personal brand though social media is crucial to professional survival and advancement, no matter what your field. Don’t think you need a personal brand? Think again. The reality is that the world is changing at lightning speed and you simply cannot afford to ignore Gary’s message!

Here’s How to Join Us—LIVE!

So here’s the deal. Order both Start Over, Finish Rich and Crush It! before Midnight, Monday 10/12 at Amazon.com, BN.com or any online retailer. Then simply forward your receipt via email to Liz@finishrich.com. We’ll then be in touch via email with the details for the live UStream chat with both Gary and me—where we’ll be taking your questions on business, money, success, brand building and whatever else is on your mind. Hope you’ll join us! (We’ll record it too, in case you can’t make it live.)

And please…feel free to share this offer with your friends!

Until next time..

Live and Finish Rich…Your friend,

David Bach

PS. For more information on Gary and his new book, Crush It!, visit www.crushitbook.com and www.garyvaynerchuk.com.

For more information on Start Over, Finish Rich, visit www.finishrich.com.

Did you catch yesterday’s Money 911 segment on The Today Show? On yesterday’s show we met Jean, a retired widow from Ohio, who like so many others has some real concerns about her retirement money and what to do next.

Of all the terrible ways in which the recession affected people’s lives, one of the most painful was what the Wall Street meltdown did to our retirement savings. Upward of 50 million Americans are putting aside money for retirement in one way or another, and with most people’s 401(k) accounts and IRAs heavily invested in stocks, virtually everyone took a major hit.

If you’re contributing to a retirement account (and I surely hope you are…), your nest egg probably lost close to a third of its value between the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2009–maybe more.
This has led a lot of people to throw in the towel. In fact, a February 2009 survey by AARP shows that nearly four out of 10 workers said they had cut back the amount of money they were putting into their retirement accounts. Even worse–one in five workers over the age of 45 said they had cut out their retirement contributions entirely!

Giving up like this is one of the worst things anyone hoping to finish rich could do. So if you’ve backed off from your retirement plan, then you need to get back in. Do it now. You owe it to yourself.

Have you ever taken a payday loan? What was your experience? Did you know the average payday loan customer borrows only $325 but winds up paying back $793?! Bottom line: you must know the facts and the costs w…hen it comes to payday loans. Do just about anything else before you turn to a payday loan as a solution to short term cash needs.

How often do you use your debit card? Statistics show Americans are now using debit cards 20% more often than credit cards. But did you know Americans also rack up about $9 BILLION in overdraft fees on our debit cards – in ONE year!? I just did a seg…ment on responsible debit card use for ABC News.

I really enjoy doing the Money 911 segments on The Today Show. We’ll be posting the video replays here each week in case you miss the live airing.