We pay for all kinds of services: physiotherapy, massage, hair cuts, dental work. But financial advice is different. Financial advice has unique qualities - it's very personal, the stakes are high, and the benefits can be hard to measure. In the next two blog posts, I'm going to address the intangible nature of financial advice: why it's worth paying for, how to measure its value, and how much you should pay. There are no straight-forward answers to any of these questions, but they are important to examine and talk about.   

Well worth paying for

Financial decisions are highly personal and unique to each person. You can learn the facts and lingo online or in a book, and that’s important, but the complexity of your specific situation requires more than just facts. You need a human being who can look at your financial picture in its entirety, taking the numbers and facts as the base, and overlaying your goals, personality, and life situation to figure out the best way for you to maximize what you have. Spreadsheet meets vision board. 

Knowledge, objectivity and a small push

When you pay someone to help you figure out your finances, you are paying for three things: their knowledge, their objectivity, and their ability to overcome your inertia.

Good financial planners, advisors and coaches have built up their knowledge, experience and skills through formal education, work experience, reading, listening to podcasts and webinars, and managing their own finances and maybe those of family members. You are paying for all of its knowledge accumulation. 

Objectivity is impossible to value. Money often comes with a tangle of emotions and that can make it hard to objectively figure out what you need to do. A third party who isn’t emotionally involved with you or your money provides an objective and rationale viewpoint, taking away the risk of acting out of fear or worse, not doing anything at all.

And lastly: it gets your butt in gear. If you’ve been thinking about doing something about your money but just never get around to it because you keep pushing it to the bottom of your to-do list after “clean out the garage” and “remove stain from couch”, you might need a little push. A financial coach is particularly good at this – their job is to motivate you and keep you moving forward, which may include a little friendly nagging.

When you're ready to get some advice, get in touch with me. We may be a good match and if not, I can send you in the right direction.