While the good news that many more people are taking interest in their personal finances is welcome, one of the ways that it is being expressed is through the hiring of financial planners to either help them in their decisions or confirm that what they are doing or contemplating is the right choice for them.

There is a good report on this that asks the right question:

The question is: Do you have to pay a lot to get the best advice?

Consumer Reports found there are some good low-cost options for consumers. To test what's out there, the publication sent three employees from Consumers Union to get retirement advice from banks, mutual fund companies, online planner networks, a Web-based software service, and discount brokers. Consumers Union is the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, which is an independent publication that accepts no advertising in order to be as unbiased as possible.

The testers used companies that offered free plans. They also paid for retirement planning advice that was priced from $250 to $3,000.

The three testers represented a range of ages and financial needs: a 42-year-old with a stay-at-home wife and children age 2 and 6; a 63-year-old married granddad with grown children, including one in college, and with his eye on early retirement; and a 48-year-old married working mother with one child in middle school.

First of all, the good news is that all the advisors gave quality advice for all of the participants. And even better news is that it didn't matter whether the advice was free, low-cost, or very expensive.

Second, there was another insight that is one of the most important to consider in any advice you get: What are the assumptions that the advice is being based upon?

All people, including advisors, base what they do and say upon certain ways of looking at the world. In the area of finance this is true also. We must ask and investigate what the reasons behind these assumptions are. It is our responsibility to do so.

That way you can trace their thinking so that you can measure the possible strengths and shortcomings of the advice given. Keeping this one thing in mind can be a great check and balance in all the decisions you make.

The bottom line in all of this is that expensive doesn't mean better. And all advice needs to be checked concerning why those are the options offered. Do this and you should have a profitable relationship and results with those advising you.