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.

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.