Get Your Computer to Build Your Financial Future

You know you need to start saving. Your toddler will one day come to you with an acceptance letter from Dartmouth. You need a car. And retirement looms.

We may know we need to save, but those of us who don't have financial assets well into the six figures probably don't have a financial planner helping us make our savings and investment decisions.

Never fear! At virtually every stage in the financial planning process, a free or inexpensive online financial-planning service can help put you on the track to financial success.

Not that everyone's accessing them. A scant 44% of recent or soon-to-be retirees with less than $100,000 in assets have financial plans, according to a recent report from the Aite Group. More than 90% of those without plans aren't willing to pay for the services.

But online financial planning services stand to help fill the gap between those who need financial planning services and those who are able to pay for it, says Alois Pirker author of the Aite Group report.

No longer are these products limited to telling you "This is what you need. Good luck," says Pirker. "They really offer you the next steps to improve your situation [and to] make consumers feel a lot more comfortable about their situation."

So what are these services and how do you find them? Here's our step by step process to identifying your financial planning needs and finding an online service to help you meet them.