One of the best things I've ever done in my life was to start working with a financial advisor. The key is you have to find the right person/firm to work with.
There is no doubt that you will get 50 different opinions on this from various members on this board, and those folks will have their own biases as to what has worked for them.

The important thing to remember is, don't think there is only one right way or only one wrong way. There are many paths to success and I'll share what has worked for me. Obviously you can use bits and pieces from my advice and also follow the path of others to see what works best for you.

In regard to a financial advisor - unless you have boat loads of time to do the research, follow the trends of the market, etc., it's very difficult to stay the course on your own. What an advisor did for me is to set up the blueprint for investing. They set up my monthly withdrawals, they gave me my goals on what I needed to invest in each month, they gave me my retirement goals, they set up my 529 plans for my kid's college education, they advised me on the type and amount of life insurance to get, and they made sure that I follow and reach my monthly targets.

When I first went to meet them, I was worried. I was worried that they would budget my wife and I, tell us not to spend money on the things we wanted to spend money on. But frankly, the initial meeting was not about how not to spend money. It was more about, 'Hey, you are spending this much; what do we need to do to make sure you can maintain this lifestyle in retirement.'

What you should look for in an advisor are the following:

- They don't sell you anything - If my advisor was selling me insurance, I'd be leery. If they were selling me real estate opportunities and get-rich-quick schemes, I'd be worried. Advisors simply advise. After we met and discussed life insurance, for example, I went out and got my own quotes on my term policy.

- Advisors should not be actively trading stocks - No one can beat the market on a regular and consistent basis. If your advisor is telling you the latest and greatest hot stock to buy - run. They should have a plan, and they should invest regularly for you.

- Advisors get paid a flat percentage - Mine takes 1 percent, and less on amounts of more than $500K. If they are making money on commissions selling stock, insurance or anything else, buyer beware.

- Advisors should be available to you to help you plan - I call mine on a regular basis (included in my 1 percent) and get advice on all sorts of things, from real estate and business transactions, to tax planning, etc.

Find a fee-for-service advisor - When I was making $13K a year as a resident, it wasn't really important to me to worry about what I was doing with the few hundred bucks that were left over each month. Today, when I make a lot more money, I need a team of professionals to help me manage.

My financial advisor is part of my team, which includes my attorney and accountant. I work with Mercer Advisors, and have been very happy, but there are other great suggestions on these boards for other firms that do a similar service.

By working with my advisor and building up my portfolio, it has allowed me to have the savings and cash to be able to invest in other businesses, real estate and anything else that I want. If I'm business- and real-estate rich, and cash poor, it really limits what opportunities I'm able to take advantage of.

Good luck.