Need financial advice? Consider a professional

— -- Q: I'm recently widowed and I'm still holding onto an investment my husband made in a stock mutual fund. The fund is down 50%, but I need the money for living expenses. What should I do?

A: Unfortunately, the answer to your question isn't as simple as buy or sell, and isn't something I can adequately answer here. You need to analyze your complete financial situation, stage of life, financial goals and needs before you can arrive at the answer. For instance, is this the only investment in your portfolio or is it part of a diversified portfolio?

You have several options. Depending on your interest and experience, you can try to educate yourself on financial matters. Many investors are able to manage their own finances with little or no professional help.

With that said, many need help these days. In theory, you probably could fix and maintain your car, too. But that would take study, knowledge and experience. And that's why most people decide to take their car to a mechanic. And that may be what's necessary for you.

If you have a simple portfolio, and this is your only holding, you might consider finding a fee-only financial planner who can study your finances and give you ideas on what to do in this instance. Otherwise, you might look to form a relationship with a certified financial planner who can advise you over time.

If you need help finding a financial planning professional, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards offers a lookup service here: http://www.cfp.net/search/.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY and author of Investing Online for Dummies. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com. Click here to see previous Ask Matt columns.