You’re doing the right things. You’re putting away a good chunk of your paycheck into your company’s 401(k).

Unlike 60 percent of credit card users, you don’t carry a balance. you know what you spend in a typical month, and you have three to six months’ worth of expenses set aside in case you or your spouse loses a job.

Still, you wonder: Should I be using an IRA, not just the 401(k)? Which kind? How can I get a better return but still have low risk on money I need in the next few years? After all, money market accounts and CDs are paying so little, they’re not even keeping up with inflation.

Maybe it’s time to consult a financial adviser.

But how to find one? and how do you know who’s good?

Don’t pick one out of the phone book. there are no rules preventing anyone from calling themselves a financial adviser, without any education or training.

Tips For Managing your Money

For years, consumer finance educators recommended that people ask their friends, congregation members or relatives.

“That’s one means. perhaps these might be people similar to you. At the same time, I’m thinking about some recent scandals,” said Faye Griffiths-Smith, a new Haven County cooperative extension educator in family economics. After all, many Bernie Madoff investors put their money with him because their friends raved about him.

“Just because your friend has someone they’ve been happy with … that doesn’t mean necessarily that person will do the same for you,” said Griffiths-Smith.

Also, it’s important to consider where the adviser’s loyalty lies.

Financial advisers can be paid three ways: through commissions, through a combination of commissions and fees, and through fees only.

Picking someone who doesn’t charge directly seems tempting, but it could end up costing more in the long run. An adviser who is paid through commissions has the incentive to sell whatever his company is pushing, not what makes the most sense for investors.. and some of those products could have high management fees, which will eat away at returns over time.

Griffiths-Smith recommends looking for the “certified financial planner” designation, but not to stop there.

For one, check that the planner really is certified. Go to cfp.net, type in the last name and the state. The site will affirm the person’s status and show if there has been any disciplinary action by the certification board.

If you’re worried that the insurance company or brokerage whose products you’re considering could influence the adviser to consider his or her own pay more than your financial health, stick with a fee-only adviser.

The website NAPFA.org shows a list of those fee-only advisers, and is searchable by ZIP code.

Rebecca Green, a certified financial planner at Asset Strategies inc. in Avon, is one of those fee-only advisers. she started out at Charles Schwab, where she was compensated to sell certain products. When brokers work at places like Schwab or Merrill Lynch, they are required to consider whether a product is suitable, but not required to act in the customer’s best interest.

The fee-only advisers pledge to act in the customer’s best interest only.

“I think we’re in the minority,” Green said, but she thinks more brokers are moving in that direction. “The biggest misconception is that all financial planners are the same.”