Your Courageous Life

This might be the oddest thing for me to suggest one “tries as a new thing,” yet it is something that was new for me to try, and something that I’ve found really valuable: hiring a financial advisor.

My interest in hiring a financial advisor began at the time that I started working for myself. I knew that I frequently had questions about my assorted money options, and I knew that I wanted to feel like I had more of a plan for my finances. I am not “rich” by comparative standards of The United States or California (I’m always careful when making statements about myself financially that I am not getting too out of touch with how rich, in fact, the majority of us in the 1st world really ARE), but I do feel it’s important to save money and plan for my future. It hasn’t escaped my attention that we are in the midst of a rapidly changing economy, and furthermore was feeling pretty pressed for time–quite pressed, in fact–and sensed that without some outside accountability, the day when I would actually head to the library, hunt down the books, and then read them, would be too easily put off.

Now here’s the thing–I totally could do this on my own. I could go snap up some Suze Orman books like it’s hot, maybe check out a little CNBC programs on money. Who’s that guy who’s always yelling and screaming when he gives stock tips? I think I’ve seen them making fun of him on The Soup. Nonetheless, through a series of serendipitous turns, I was given a recommendation for a money manager and decided to go in for the free consultation that she offered.

I went out to her office, a little fearful I noticed, and when I got there it quickly became apparent that she would not only save me the time that it would take for me to read up on how I want to invest for retirement, but she was also someone who wanted to work with clients on their emotional responses to money.

Basically, it’s like…money therapy! 

And it’s money therapy that comes in an affordable package–about $100 a month. This includes a 2-hour consult with my financial advisor in which we have gone over all of my finances to create the most accurate picture possible of where I stand, established goals, and discussed some of the triggers that I have around money and what to notice about those next. Bonus round? Because she’s been doing this for 20 years, she can offer me, the new business owner, a lot of informal perspective on trends, business growth, etc. I really don’t have anyone else in my life who can offer that–certainly, my own coach can offer stress-relief around money, but he doesn’t have the business background.

Finally, I see this as a positive step towards really being an adult with my finances. Instead of money being something that I deal with when I “have to,” it shifts and becomes something that I am making a conscious effort to give time and care to. I feel more present and the sessions help to keep me focused.

So, try something new: start dealing with your money. Whether or not that means hiring a financial advisor is a personal choice for you to make, but at the very least, set up an appointment with yourself once a month to look at your finances and figure out where you’re at and where you want to go and to assess whether you are on track. Give money some attention–the good kind, not the, “Ick, I hate dealing with you please go away” kind.

What steps will you take next? What resonates for you as a new thing to try involving money?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 6:00 am |