10 Money Mistakes Clients Make: Advisors' Advice

Experienced advisors know a key part of a successful financial planning process is the development of an accurate, actionable budget that guides and contextualizes clients' spending behaviors. Experienced advisors also know that clients — and their less experienced advisory industry peers — often assume the budgeting process is simple and straightforward. In reality, budgeting is a complex exercise, one that involves an honest look at past spending behaviors and a willingness by the client to question their assumptions about discretionary versus mandatory spending. With this dynamic in mind, ThinkAdvisor recently asked a stable of advisory professionals associated with the Financial Planning Association to share the most common mistakes that clients make in the budgeting process. See the above slideshow for their responses and to learn how to guide clients through the challenging but crucial budgeting process. Some answers have been edited for length.