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In a world where cost of living is rising, tariffs are enacted and then pulled back, and relief isn’t on the horizon anytime soon, managing your money feels more critical than ever.

In the first iteration of our “Ask An Expert” series, readers voted in our poll to ask an expert how, with economic uncertainty and advice coming from every angle, they can be smart with and take advice from smart people about their money.

The Dispatch spoke to two local financial advisers on the topic. Here’s what the experts had to say:

Focus on debt and putting away savings first

Nick Daniel with Columbus Wealth Management’s advice is simple and often repeated, but for a reason. Focus first on paying off debt, especially loans you’re in danger of defaulting on: credit card bills or high interest loans like for a car.

“That’s going to be more prevalent right now, when interest rates are higher and we’ve had inflation, people tend to have higher debt in those time periods that they need to be paying attention to,” Daniel said. “So I would definitely say make that a priority.”

It’s the best first step if you want to building up wealth and savings, Daniel said.

When you are in a place where you can be saving, Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management, suggested aiming for 14% to 16% of your income.

Don’t take advice from social media

Koos and Daniel agree: influencers do not make good financial advisers.

“Every day I see something where, I’m just like, that is not accurate at all,” Daniel lamented. He’s had clients come to him asking about building real estate portfolios and and cryptocurrency, because they’re touted on social media as a way to build wealth fast. But neither Koos nor Daniel would recommend them, even if those online are showing off the spoils of their efforts like sports cars and fancy homes.

“Don’t look at people online and think that they have everything figured out and they found a way to get rich quick because if they had, everyone would be doing it,” Daniel said.

A quick way to spot sketchy financial advice? If they’re trying to sell you something alongside, or in exchange for, their advice.

“There are more people than not that are not looking out for your pocket, unfortunately,” Koos said. “Really the best piece of advice is to try and make sure that you’re hiring somebody or getting advice from somebody who is truly unbiased.”

If you want sound advice, you should be looking for a financial adviser, or fiduciary, that’s fee only, Koos emphasized. If a financial adviser is fee only, that means they only make money through client fees for services, not on commission or through third party deals, so they don’t have any interest other than yours in mind.

Don’t let what politicians are doing drive your decisions

In a stressful news cycle, Koos wants you and his clients to take a deep breath.

Since President Donald Trump took office, Koos has noticed his clients wanting to make more drastic financial decisions, like selling off all their assets for cash, in response to what they see on the news or what a politician is proposing.

His advice is, don’t. It could all change in a matter of days.

“There’s so many things that happened over the years where, you know, at the time, it feels like the sky is falling, but then we forget about it six months later,” Koos said.

That’s why it’s important to have a financial plan to stick to, Koos said, likening not having one to driving from Ohio to California without a GPS.

If you can’t afford a financial adviser

If getting a financial adviser to help you with that plan isn’t in your budget, Koos and Daniel have some suggestions.

Some financial advisers do pro-bono work. If you find someone with the right credentials, it doesn’t hurt to call around and ask.

Daniel also suggests sticking with government websites for advice, such as mymoney.gov, investor.gov, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com

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