I would not recommend a financial planer at all. Most of the advice they will give you is common sense and the majority of financial planers are not worth the fee they charge.

Most people will be able to achieve what they thought they need a financial planer for on their own.

Maybe you should make a list and write down why you think you want the assistance of a financial planer. Then I would suggest that you do some research and see how many points on the list you will be able to handle alone. See what's left on the list. Like I said most people are better off not to waste money on a financial planer.

Maxing out your 401k and getting company match is a good start to save for retirement. After all the company match is free money and everbody should take advantage of that.

Since you mentioned that you have 'a little finanical leeway' it should be a priority to decide what to do next (maybe that's why you thought about wasting money on a financial planer).

My suggestion is always to invest money, regardless of strategy as long as people invest. I don't think there is no better way to gain financial independence then through investments. There are many forms and strategies out there and all depends on personal preference. All strategies have pros and cons.

If you decide to invest ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is my investment purpose?

2. What is my risk tolerance?

3. What is my time horizon?

Since you are young it makes sense to take on a little more risk now. Maybe you want to diversify between a low-risk low-return portfolio (i.e. mutual funds, long-term investments, MMF, bonds, etc.) and a high-risk high-return (i.e. individual stocks, hedge fund approach short-term investments, etc.).

Do some research and you should find a strategy that will be the right fit for you.

If you want to invest in mutual funds, open an account with the fund that you want to invest with.

If you want to do Money Market Accounts or Money Market Funds yhou should be able to that with your home bank. You can shop around at bankrate.com to find the best deal.

If you want individual stocks open an account with an on-line broker. You could choose a company that wil assist you with your investments (you will have to pay a fee for that). Never listen to you brokers recommendations (they may push their investments which could benefit them but not you) or follow 'well-known' analysts (any analysts) as they are the worst stock pickers.

One thing to always keep in mind when you invest:

Never get emotionally attached to your investments as that is geraed for failure and may include heavy losses.

There is no right or wrong investment strategy just a good and bad one.

Hope this helps.