This One's for You (and Barry Manilow Fans) if You're Asking, 'Am I Really on the Right Financial Track?'

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"I think we're doing OK … but I'm not completely sure."

I hear that sentiment more now as markets stay unsettled, the economic outlook keeps shifting, and geopolitical tensions make even simple financial decisions less predictable.

When all that happens at once, even people who have been doing everything right start to ask: Are we really on the right track?

They've saved, invested and made good decisions over time — but such moments have a way of bringing blind spots into focus.

What many people seek isn't a new strategy or a major portfolio overhaul. They simply want to sit down with someone highly qualified and experienced, walk through their decisions and understand how the pieces of their financial life fit together.

A deep-dive 'financial check-up'

Just like getting a second opinion from a doctor or asking a home inspector to look at a property before you buy, a financial check-up is a chance to review the big picture — your savings, investments, retirement accounts, taxes and goals — to make sure everything works together the way you expect; there are no ongoing fees, no long-term commitment.

Sometimes the conversation confirms you're on track; others, it reveals a few small adjustments can make a meaningful difference.

The reality is that most people don't have this kind of perspective. They might rely on a human resources representative or the basic tools in their retirement accounts at work, which often provide little more than a probability score.

Those tools offer some answers, but they rarely help people ask the right questions.

While the financial services industry is largely built around ongoing advisory relationships, not everyone wants to hire an adviser for the long term. What they need is clarity.

What surprises many people is how useful these conversations can be at specific turning points in life.

Here are key questions to help ensure you're doing as well as you think.

Early career: The habits that set the trajectory

Younger professionals often assume they don't need financial advice yet, but the early years are when a few key choices can shape decades of progress.

The questions to ask at this stage are simple but powerful:

• How much should I be saving for retirement right now?
• Should I choose Roth or traditional contributions?
• How aggressively should I invest my savings?

The answers don't have to be complicated, but getting them right early can create enormous long-term advantages. The earlier you begin, the more you benefit from the power of compounding.

Midcareer: When the pieces multiply

By the middle of your career, finances rarely stay simple. This is when many people start juggling multiple priorities at once: Retirement contributions, college savings, company stock, mortgages and growing investment accounts.

At this stage, the most helpful conversations often revolve around such questions as:

• Am I saving enough for retirement given my lifestyle goals?
• How concentrated is my company stock risk?
• How should my investment strategy evolve as my assets grow?

The biggest benefit of a financial review here is bringing all the pieces into one clear picture.

Five to 10 years before retirement: Turning savings into income

This is where the questions begin to change.

Instead of focusing primarily on saving and investing, people start thinking about how retirement will actually work, questions like:

• How will my savings translate into retirement income?
• When should I claim Social Security?
• What order should I withdraw from retirement accounts?
• How should my investment strategy shift as retirement gets closer?

Working through these questions in advance can dramatically reduce the anxiety many people feel as retirement approaches.

Right before retirement: Does the plan hold together?

After decades of saving, many people arrive at retirement with substantial assets. Yet this is often when uncertainty peaks.

People want reassurance that the pieces of their plan truly work together:

• How much can I safely spend each year?
• How will taxes affect withdrawals?
• How should investments support income instead of just growth?

A thoughtful review at this stage can turn uncertainty into clarity.

Why financial check-ups are hard to find

One reason many people never have these conversations is structural. The financial industry is largely built around ongoing advisory relationships, in which advisers manage investments over time.

That model works well for many people, but many individuals simply want an experienced professional to review their situation, answer a few important questions and provide an outside perspective. You can find an adviser who will help you with this one-time financial plan on my Wealthramp network.

Sometimes a single conversation provides the clarity someone has been looking for.

Sometimes it reinforces that the decisions they've been making all along are already moving them in the right direction.

Either way, taking a step back to review the bigger picture can make a meaningful difference, especially at the moments when financial decisions start to matter most.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.