If you were fortunate enough to have parents who cared about you, you can probably recall times when they gave you advice you absolutely did not want to hear.
It might have been when they told you not to buy that cool car you wanted so badly. They could have warned you about choosing a university solely based on the fact that your boyfriend or girlfriend would be going there. Or maybe it was positive advice to take a job that did not sound like fun but would be a good opportunity.
Your parents did not enjoy making you feel bad. They just wanted to help you avoid the mistakes that might have consequences for years to come.
As an adult, you now pay professionals to tell you things you might not want to hear. People like your doctor, car mechanic, and financial advisor.
Javicia Bowser, a reporter for Business Insider, interviewed financial planner Don Grant about the kind of money advice his clients never want to hear.
Here are Grant’s top three.
1. You need to save more. Grant cites two scenarios where this comes up. The first is when clients want to retire early. They have to keep in mind that if their shorten their working years and lengthen their retirement years, they will need to set more money aside. A second scenario is when parents assume their athletic youngster will be able to pay for college with a sports scholarship. This is much less likely than people imagine, and they should be putting money aside for tuition.
2. You need to diversify. When short-term volatility is rocking the indexes, it’s tempting to want to move your money out of the markets and into something “safe” like CDs. But this is just trading one risk (dropping values) for another (losing to inflation). While rebalancing may be appropriate, leaving equities in a downturn usually means losing out on the recovery. Grant has also found that small business owners often need to diversify beyond their own company.
3. You shouldn’t pay that much for a house. Grant says this conversation comes up when clients are looking to buy a home—whether their first house or trading up to their dream home. Grant says that while owning a home can make sense, it’s an asset that will never generate income and can come with a lot of unforeseen expenses. So it’s unwise to take on payments that make home ownership a financial burden.
Some people may be hesitant to talk to their advisor because they think they’ll get a lecture on why they need to give up what they enjoy to be financially responsible.
It’s true that your trusted advisor, as a fiduciary, is committed to telling you the truth about your money. But they also know that you are unique. And they are looking for ways to help you achieve long-term success that fit your current life situation.
If you ever have any questions about your investments or retirement plans, please feel free to give me a call at 801-545-0696.
Regards,
Mark Lund
Stonecreek Wealth Advisors, Inc.
10421 South Jordan Gateway, Suite 600
South Jordan, UT 84095
Sources:
1. http://go.pardot.com/e/91522/nts-never-want-to-hear-2024-11/96dp6f/2683965108/h/d52WZgTlNa-jhjrM5NHSwhzRmPc2RtF3M7sKl2S2cZE
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