The public has a problem with paying for good financial advice, according to The New York Times. This may be troublesome for advisors who strive to do good work for clients while earning a decent living.

Recall LearnVest's recent purchase by the insurance giant Northwestern Mutual. This suggests it's difficult for firms to grow on their own by charging low fees for personalized financial planning, the article reports. LearnVest, launched in 2009, has a subscription model now charging $299 up front and $19 a month — and fewer than 10,000 clients on its standard service.

Other upstarts mentioned in the article, like the XY Planning Network and the Garrett Planning Network, each offer participating advisors a common overarching brand and similar fee-only payment structures. XY Planning, founded in 2014, consists largely of advisors and clients in their twenties and thirties. The Garrett Planning Network, started in 2000, has advisors who work on an hourly or as-needed basis.

Why doesn't the average American flock to these kinds of firms?

In part, it's shame, according to the Times. People may feel abashed that they need help or embarrassed they'd dawdled so long before reaching out. These feelings may even trump concerns about the price of advice. For example, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund had 5,300 claimants who were eligible to receive financial guidance from the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs — at absolutely no cost to the claimants. The Times tells us only 78 people stepped forward.

Another reason people hesitate to pay for advice may be that they are unable to decide which kind of financial guidance to follow. Fee-only planners, brokers who take commissions and online-human hybrids like Vanguard Personal Advisor Services are all different models, the article reports. Asking friends about their advisor isn't always a safe move, either. That practitioner could be inept or a crook. The author of the Times article says the first planner he used later wound up in prison for theft.

So what's the solution? How can advisors get more people to seek the financial guidance they need? The article says advisors should put clients' interests first, use index funds, do away with commissions and lay off complex insurance products. Odds are many advisors, including the tens of thousands working at wirehouses, will hold off on making at least some of those changes for quite a while to come.