You Go To A Doctor For Surgery, So Why Not Work With A Professional For Your Finances?

If you are sick and in need of surgery, you usually don’t think twice about seeing a doctor and relying on their expertise. Unfortunately, many people don’t treat their finances with the same seriousness as they do their health. Let me explain why this matters.

DIY Or Professional Services?

I recently had a conversation with one of the smartest people I know, a doctor who is highly skilled in this position. In the course of our conversation, he mentioned that he gave up on investing in the stock market since he had been burned by the markets in the last two recessions. He wanted to take his money into his own hands and did this by investing in tangible things, like real estate.

But in his next breath, he told me that he has a 401(k), a 403(b), and a 457 plan, which are all employer-related retirement investment accounts. In other words, he most definitely does have money in the stock market. I’ll give this doctor credit since diversification can be a wise strategy, but as he tried to justify his actions and talked about his co-workers, their financial situations, and the investor group he was in, I had an “aha” moment! This doctor is incredibly intelligent and a master in his specialty, but that doesn’t make him a master in the financial world.

Let’s take the doctor example further to see how it relates to your money. If you have a close family member who needs a major organ transplant, you have three options:

1. Study transplants and try to do the surgery yourself, hoping you get things right and have the correct tools to do the operation. Unfortunately, your family member’s odds of survival would be slim to none.
2. Watch a YouTube video of this type of operation, research the details involved, and attempt to handle it on your own. Again, the chances of success are close to zero.
3. Take your family member to the hospital and have a surgeon who specializes in transplants do the surgery. The survival rate would be considerably higher than options 1 and 2.

This is a far-fetched example, but you get the point.

Finances Are A Focus

When was the last time that you heard of a family member, friend, co-worker, or anyone other than a trained doctor perform a transplant surgery? Instead, they go to the person who knows what they are doing. Do surgeons have a 100% success rate? No; so just because a financial professional can’t guarantee your account will reach a specific number doesn’t mean you can’t trust them. Do you have to pay for hospital facilities and the surgeon’s skills? Of course—and it’s worth it. Aren’t your finances worth it as well? If more people relied on trustworthy financial professionals to guide them in their financial life, retirement success rates would most likely increase. Instead of adopting a do-it-yourself mentality, find an educated and experienced professional who is passionate about seeing you work toward success. It could make the difference in your financial health. Schedule a call and meet me virtually to see how Point Wealth Management can help you.