What do you do now? One possibility is to stop at the local convenience, buy a map, and figure it out from there. There are several “What if” questions that come from this situation. What if the map was done before the new construction in Kansas? What about the bridge that got washed away last week in Illinois? The thought of buying a map to travel somewhere so far away may seem silly, especially given all of the technological advances. Yet, almost everyone does the same thing when they look at their finances. We go through a financial planning process, where essentially a map is drawn for our drive to San Diego.
Through the years of being in business, we have met some of the nicest financial planners. In no way is this conversation an attack on them. The problem with financial planning is the process. You have hundreds of software packages to choose from, thousands of strategies to fill in problems and answer questions, and tens of thousands of investment choices and products to answer the needs of the client. The possible combinations are endless and we haven’t even added in what all of your needs could be!
Financial planners set a roadmap for you, but the journey and the risks are on your shoulders only. The biggest problem is that there is NO MANAGEMENT that continues along. There is something inherently wrong when a plan allows you to lose 30% or more of your money and the only explanation is that this is a long term strategy.
The financial planning process has become a sales tool. It allows an agent to point out problems and offer you solutions from a limited pool of choices. These choices never answer the question of “what if the bridge is out”.
To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)
To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)
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