Before you meet with a financial planner, you need to determine what you want to accomplish in terms of long and short-term goals.

Take an evening or weekend to write down your specific money-related goals, whether it be buying a bigger house, paying off debt, or setting up a college savings plan for your child. It also may be helpful to list where you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, even 20 years.

Don’t forget about saving for retirement. Be sure to include a few goals regarding where and how you want to spend your retirement years. If charitable giving is important to you, write down your goals regarding your ability to give away money in the future.

This will give a financial planner a more well-rounded view of where you’d like to be financially. Then they can help you get there.