subject: Should You Bring In Someone Else To Manage Your Finances? [print this page] There was a time when we lived in a do-it-yourself world. Once upon a time we could fix a leaky pipe with duct tape. If our roof sprung a leak we could call on our neighbor's cousin Bill to repair it. Remember when you could set up your home computer easily by yourself and when it didn't work right all you needed to do was reboot?
Those days are long gone. Now technical advancements grow by light years not little tweaks here and there and we are at the mercy of specialists in just about every phase of our lives.
Consider that today a leaky roof isn't the problem. Paying for the house with the roof is the problem. This means trying to hang on to some vestige of financial security is our main goal. To hang on we must have an inkling into financial management as it pertains specifically to our own financial lives.
Rewind back to the day of the specialist, when financial advisors were blooming out of the woodwork. That's great when you've got enough finances to justify having someone to advise you about them, but when you're scrambling to find two pennies to rub together to start a fire so you don't have to run up your heating bill, that's one more bill you really don't want on your hands.
Managing Your Own Finances
There's a lot more to managing your finances than just sticking some money in a savings account. At least, there is when you're talking about your long-term future, a conversation that can, and should, include words like stock and long-term investments. The question you should ask at this point isn't whether you should put your finances in someone else's hand, but rather if you have the experience to effectively manage those investments yourself?
If you aren't comfortable that you can manage on your own, it's time to call in an expert at least for a while.
You Can Learn From Your Consultant
You learned how to change a tire on your car because it was your car and you needed to learn or you weren't going anywhere. Your finances are a similar situation. You need to know something about finances before you hire someone to help you. In turn, you can learn a lot from them while you add your semi-educated input while listening to their advice.
It is, after all, your money. The last thing you want is to see it mismanaged to the point that there's no turning back. Which means you can't afford to be clueless. So by all means, let someone else manage your finances in the beginning. But make sure you learn enough along the way to be able to take the reins when the time is right.
by: Cameron Stein
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
