The first psychic reading I ever got was over the phone. I was just out of college, broke, unhappy with my job, single with no dating prospects on the horizon…. I was a mess and a friend suggested that I call a psychic.

It was amazing. It’s like she knew right away what was going on with me. She picked up right away that I wasn’t working in the same field that I’d gone to school for. She knew that I’d never had a “serious” relationship. But more importantly, she gave me some hope for the future and some direction.

Only you can decide if a psychic reading is right for you, but if you decide to take the plunge,  here are some tips to help you find the right psychic. There are tons of online psychics and almost as many phone psychics. Each has their strengths the question is what do you feel best suits your needs?

1. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. This seems really obvious, but I can be one of those people who takes things at face value — things like customer ratings on telephone psychics. You have to realize that it’s easy to game that system and that ratings aren’t going to help you much. There are some sites out there where every single psychic has a 5 star rating! It’s a miracle!

2. Read the fine print. There are a few places online that tout their “money back guarantee.” Read the fine print to find out how they define “guarantee.” You’d be amazed at the interpretations of that word.

3. Trust your gut. You know if you’re being played. What is that psychic really telling you? Is it generic? Obvious? Were you genuinely surprised? At $3-$5 a minute, you should be getting something amazing. You just spent, say $30 for a 10-minute chat. Are you a better person? Have you grown? Would you spend $30 for a bad haircut? Or better put, if you spent $30 on a haircut and you weren’t thrilled, would you go back to that salon? Of course not! Psychics are no different.

If you’re contemplating having a psychic reading, it probably means you are at a crossroads. Life isn’t what you want it to be right now and you’re looking for guidance. At the risk of sounding like a cheapskate, why not try a little quiet contemplation before you pull out the credit card? Take a few minutes when you first wake up and think about your situation. Ask for guidance from within. You just might surprise yourself and you’ll have $30 to spend on something else!