Really? So that Hermes Birkin bag at a bargain basement price of $7,000 was a worthy investment? You think it’s a symbol of wealth when in reality it’s more likely a symbol of financial mismanagement.
With a straight face you tell me that you can’t afford a financial planner – or that you don’t trust them. After all, the reputation of the financial planning industry is in tatters.
There may be good reason for the distrust some of us have in financial planners, but that doesn’t mean that we can dismiss the importance of managing our financial affairs and relegating it into the “too hard” basket.
Let’s look at the options you have when it comes to financial responsibility and who manages your money.
Do nothing
By far the easiest option, deciding to do nothing takes the pressure off completely. For a while anyway. You may have a bank account, credit card that’s under control, rent that is never late and a superannuation nest egg that is growing a little too slowly, and you decide that’s enough.
And you may be right. For now. But there may come a day where you look at that little nest egg and are thumped by the realisation that it won’t tide you through 30 years of a comfortable retirement.
Then, after possibly attending to your love affairs for many years, you can be at liberty to decide when you are ready to attend to your financial affairs.
Outsource
We think nothing of outsourcing our housework because we don’t like to do it, or even outsourcing childcare because you need to go to work, so if you just can’t bear to look your finances in the eye, why not outsource it?
A bank manager can be a good start, but this is where a good financial adviser can come into their own. Not one who dishes out cookie-cutter plans with the name of another client inserted where yours should be, but one who takes the time to understand where you are at, what’s important to you and takes steps to improve your situation. A good one will also explain what they are recommending in a way that you understand.
Get educated
Some people find waiting for a bus to take you somewhere to be tedious, especially when you can drive yourself there. Similarly, handing over the reins of your financial plans to a financial adviser is just something you don’t want to do. And that’s okay. We don’t all need to take the bus.
Just like driving yourself to your destination requires knowledge of road rules and a licence to drive, the same diligence is not required when managing your own money. Perhaps this is how some of us get caught in “get rich quick” scheme that double as “how quickly can you lose it” schemes.
Taking this route means you need to get educated. And that means taking an interest in your money. You don’t need to enrol in finance at your local university to take the self-drive option, but you do need to learn some basics.
If this seems tedious and boring to you, decide to turn it into a hobby. Start with one thing, such as finding a suitable high-interest bank account for your savings, or consolidating your superannuation to avoid paying two lots of fees. And read up on the views of experts.
You may find that your interest will snowball from there – in more ways than one.
Moneylogue 