In this issue: How to find the best cell phone deal

Dear Mia: Considering that many professionals - from brokers to accountants to insurance agents - market themselves as financial planners these days, your confusion is understandable. What you want is a person who will look not just at your stocks or your taxes or your insurance needs, but also at your current net worth and your long-term goals.

Generally, planners are compensated three different ways:

Fee-only planners charge an hourly fee (typically $100 to $250) or project fee (usually $1,500 and up) to assess your needs and put together a comprehensive plan. They don't sell securities, however, so enacting the plan will be up to you.

Commission-only planners receive commissions on the mutual funds, stocks or insurance they sell you instead of a fee. The inherent conflict of interest is that some products may pay them more than others, but this one-stop-shopping approach is a more convenient way of doing business.

lFinally, there are fee-plus-commission planners who charge both ways.

All three have pluses and minuses, so your goal should be to hook up with the right person. I've found that the best place to start is by asking for referrals from colleagues at work. Because you're likely to have similar salaries and job-related issues and to be around the same age, a planner who does a good job for one of your co-workers probably will be a good fit for you, too.

You also can get lists of planners near you from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, the fee-only association (1-888-333-6659), or the International Association for Financial Planning (1-888-806-7526).

Once you have three or four names, sit down and conduct face-to-face interviews. You want a planner who's been in business for at least a few years, who works most often with people similar to you financially and who understands your risk tolerance.

If you find yourself talking to a planner so enamored of buzzwords and financial lingo that he might as well be speaking French, say merci - and au revoir.

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How to find the best cell phone deal

Readers often write wanting info on getting great deals on cell phone plans. The problem: Cell phone plans, like real estate prices, are regional. Here's a brief list of some of the best national deals and a Web site to help you compare them with the regional bargains in your area.

Important things to keep in mind as you shop: 1) Sign up for one of these flat-rate deals and you pay for minutes you don't use. The closer you get in minutes to your actual use, the better the deal. 2) You pay for incoming calls, so take them into consideration. And 3) you also have to buy the phone. It'll run anywhere from $79 up.

AT&T Digital One Rate (1-888-290-4613) offers 600 minutes a month for $90 (15 cents a minute), 1,000 minutes for $120 (12 cents a minute) and 1,400 minutes for $150 (10.7 cents a minute). There are no long-distance or roaming charges.

Sprint PCS' Free and Clear (1-800-480-4727) sells 600 minutes for $70 (11.6 cents a minute), 1,000 minutes for $100 (10 cents a minute) and 1,500 minutes for $150 (10 cents a minute), which makes it cheaper than AT&T. But roaming costs extra, 39 to 69 cents a minute.

To compare these with the plans in your area, go to www.wirelessdimension.com. It has information on plans in the top 50 markets.