(MONEY Magazine) – You can't blame Corwin Harper, 32 (relaxing in his chair at right) for seeking help last September. Although the Fresno HMO administrator and his wife Terrye, a 32-year-old nurse, pulled in a combined salary of $100,000, more cash flowed out than in. The couple faced mortgage payments on homes in Indiana and Texas (one is rented, while the other sits empty waiting to be sold), rent on their current house and $14,000 in credit-card debt. And that doesn't include $600 a month in day-care expenses for their daughters Morgan, 7, and Meghan, 3, and saving for retirement. Under those circumstances, who wouldn't want guidance?

Like Harper, even the most determined do-it-yourselfers can feel overmatched by their finances at one time or another. How do you know when you've reached that point? The answer, of course, will differ for everyone. But there are common money problems--involving everything from budgeting to taxes--that can stymie a lone wolf. Recognizing when you're facing one can mean the difference between meeting your goals and falling short.

For example, Corwin Harper turned to a financial adviser for help in juggling three houses. "At first, I tried to handle everything myself," says Harper, "but I realized that one big mistake would put my family's security at risk." So in September, the Harpers hired Donovan Brouwer (pictured standing behind Corwin), a Fresno financial planner. Under Brouwer's guidance, the Harpers dropped the asking price on their Indiana home by $20,000, which attracted a buyer this summer, so they could start building a $25,000 emergency fund and save for the children's college.

To identify financial circumstances that warrant paying for advice--and the right pro to hire for each--MONEY spoke to more than three dozen financial experts. Here's their advice on how to tell when it's time to call in the pros.

--Budgeting. Getting a handle on your expenses is the first step to managing your finances. "Simply keeping track of where your money goes teaches you to save more," says Robert Tull, a Norfolk financial planner.

But before you pay for budgeting guidance, try tracking your expenditures yourself. Armed with a notebook and a bean counter's mind-set, record every penny you spend for three months or so. Personal-finance software packages such as Quicken ($24.95 and up; 800-446-8848) or Microsoft's Money 97 ($34.95; 800-426-9400) will categorize every expenditure you enter and allow you to summon and analyze the information on demand. However, notebooks and computer software can't inspire discipline or devise creative savings ideas, as a good adviser can do. So if simply learning where your money goes isn't enough to channel your cash flow productively, consider hiring a financial planner to give your finances a bumper-to-bumper inspection.

In theory, planners are the generalists of the financial services professions, who are trained to develop an overview of your financial situation. Your best move is to stick with one of the 30,000 or so certified financial planners (C.F.P.s), a designation given to planners who meet educational, experiential and ethical requirements. A C.F.P. license is no guarantee of competence or honesty, but it suggests some commitment to the profession.

Some planners make their living off commissions on the financial products they sell. If you're not in the market for products or don't like the commissioned planners' built-in conflict of interest, you may prefer a so-called fee-only planner. You pay such planners either a fixed amount by the hour (median rate: $100 an hour) or by the plan. A comprehensive plan runs $700 on average, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education, and typically includes a full assessment of your finances and a step-by-step guide to reaching your goals. A less detailed $300 one might tackle just a specific issue such as buying a home. "When you walk out the planner's door, you should usually have a concrete plan for the next two years or longer," says Kyra Morris, a Charleston, S.C. financial planner. To find a fee-only C.F.P. near you, ask friends or co-workers for referrals or call the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (888-333-6659).

--Investing. When you start socking money away, chances are you can manage on your own, especially if the sums are small and most of your investing is through an automatic option such as your company's 401(k) plan.

Even if you want to pick your own individual stocks and funds, a pro remains fully optional (except, of course, you'll have to pay a commission to either a discount or full-service broker to place stock trades). Most libraries have stock and mutual fund research on CD-ROM or in print. Value Line Investment Survey details 1,700 publicly traded companies, and Morningstar Principia analyzes more than 8,000 mutual funds. So why not go it alone? For one, you may want to share responsibility for the outcome, especially if you have a lump sum to invest all at once, such as an inheritance or a company payout.

In addition, even if you enjoy choosing stocks or funds, you may be leaving holes in your strategy. For example, can you give a reason for owning your stocks or funds? Do you have a plan for selling each? Do you know what your investment allocations are? Do you even know how you did last year? "Most people who manage their own investments have no idea what rate of return they're getting," says Ron Roge, a financial planner in Bohemia, N.Y. If you're one of them, see the story on page A5. And if you can't answer these questions, consider paying for investment pointers.

You have two options. First, get a one-time portfolio tune-up. C.F.P.s charge around $300 on average to analyze your portfolio and recommend funds. Increasingly, brokerages and mutual fund companies such as Dreyfus and Dean Witter will structure a portfolio for you, often for around $100 and sometimes gratis--though of course they try hard to sell you their products. (For more on brokerage services, see June's "Smart Ways to Shop the New Financial Supermarkets.")

Second, you can pay someone to manage your money. With a wrap account at a brokerage, you usually pay a money manager a flat 3% of your portfolio each year to buy and sell stocks, bonds and funds. You could go directly to a money manager yourself, but don't be surprised if you have a hard time finding a manager who will accept a portfolio of $250,000 or less.

--Taxes. If you file a 1040EZ, you can meet the April 15 deadline just fine without hiring an adviser to hold your hand. Even if you start taking itemized deductions or filing extra forms such as a Schedule D to report capital gains, low-cost tax software can provide all the expertise you need. The two leading software packages are Block Financial's Kiplinger TaxCut ($19.95; 800-235-4060) and Quicken's TurboTax ($34.95; 800-446-8848).

But if you, say, open a business, invest in real estate or start taking retirement distributions, you'll probably need a real live person to solve your tax problems, such as pinpointing allowable business deductions or depreciating rental property. For tax problems that are a true Gordian knot, you should hire a tax accountant, who'll charge about $80 an hour. Call your state's Society of Certified Public Accountants to find a qualified pro near you.

--Insurance. As long as you know how much life insurance you need and what kind of policy you want, you can bypass an advice session with a pro. A service called Quotesmith (free; 800-431-1147; http://www.quotesmith.com), for example, will search a database of 316 insurance companies to find the cheapest policy. As a very rough rule of thumb, your life insurance coverage should be five times your salary, and term insurance gives you the most coverage for your premium dollar.

But if you are not sure you fit this mold, perhaps because you've recently divorced or started taking care of aging parents, you may need more customized insurance help. One option is to consult with a planner, who can advise you on the amount of coverage you need but will probably not sell you a policy. If you prefer going directly to an insurance agent, who earns a commission on the policy you buy, call the American Society of Chartered Life Underwriters and Chartered Financial Consultants (888-243-2258) for a referral. Getting a pro when you need one most is the best insurance for meeting your financial goals.