When one assesses successful individuals against ordinary individuals there is often more than luck to be thanked for their success. Generally a successful person has a plan and sets both financial and personal goals for themselves. Hiring a personal tax consultant or financial planner might be the best decision you can make for yourself and your family.

Your personal financial planning must be structured in a way that takes external factors into account whilst maximising on what you can do to better your situation. Taking advantage of tax incentives, Investment planning and detailed budgeting can be important elements in maximising wealth and ensuring long-term financial stability.

A top tax consultant in Ireland recently stated that personal financial arrangements could be much better managed if you paralleled the functions to that of a country planning its economic activities. Managing your personal economy as a 'small nation' can be narrowed into 5 main themes namely

1. Capital Spending ('Weekly Expenditure' for individuals)

2. Foreign Borrowings ('Financing & Debt Control' for individuals)

3. Taxation ('tax planning' for individuals)

4. Savings Incentives ('Retirement planning' for individuals)

5. Government Bond Issue ('investment decisions' for individuals)

Managing only one aspect of the above would not result in great personal economy. For example: hiring a tax consultant that only focuses on legal compliance. The route to successful financial planning encompasses all of the above items and requires realistic but intuitive goal setting strategies.

Ideally you would want to manage all the above at one service provider for an integrated approach. Of course choosing the right service provider comes with its own pitfalls.

Here are a couple of tips on how to choose a financial planning partner and avoid the common scams/pitfalls.

Immediately cut off contact with financial sales consultants who press for immediate answers and cannot adequately simplify their service description into everyday language. Scam artists often bury their victims in jargon and put time limits response times from you. Never judge an individual's work ethic based on their appearance or mannerisms. Con artists are often polite and great with people.

When choosing a financial planning expert they will quick often have to be registered with your country's Financial Regulator. Ask for their registration details and do your research on the company both online and offline. Don't be scared to ask for references either.