When I was a kid, we had a neighbor who owned the perfect yard.
Seriously, the folks at Augusta National could take lessons from him.
When I bought my first house, I tried to be just like him.
I fertilized, aerated, verticut, seeded, mowed, and watered.
I read no less than five books on landscaping. I even took a three-hour seminar at Lowes.
And still, by late July, my lawn looked no better than the local landfill.
What I thought was grass was truly crabgrass and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t kill the dandelions.
Frustrated and embarrassed, I finally gave up and hired a pro.
I know what I’m good at. Yard work isn’t it.
Even if I had the expertise and time, I have no passion for it.
Other than losing our title as Best Lawn on the Block, an ugly yard doesn’t create a lot of negative consequences.
Other “do it yourself” endeavors can be far worse.
Similar to yard work, I meet people all the time who believe they can handle their own personal finances.
They read the books, attend the classes, spend hours online, listen to Dave Ramsey and watch Jim Cramer religiously.
And yet, their results are awful.
They chase hot classes, sell when prices are low (vs. high), and have no idea of the taxable consequences they face.
Judged by their actions alone, they engage in what can be at best-described gambling and speculation.
I asked one such person who recently attended my seminar, “Do you agree that news is unpredictable?”
After he agreed, I asked, “Do you believe that investment markets react to news?”
Yes, he said.
“Okay,” I asked. “So if news is unpredictable and markets react to news, then isn’t it correct to say that markets are unpredictable?”
Of course, they are. And yet, we see time again people stock picking, market timing, or worse…buying products that do it for them.
And when markets get volatile, logic rarely wins. Emotion takes over, leading people to sell low.
Perhaps I shouldn’t say you can’t handle your own finances.
But you know what…you probably can’t. It’s not that you aren’t smart enough. Far from it.
It’s that your own natural intolerance for pain drives you to act in ways that are anything but logical.
And even if you were logical, are you willing to commit the necessary time to do it right?
Let me show you a better way.
If you call me within the next three days, I will give you a 25% discount on my planning fees.
If you qualify, I’ll show you exactly how we overcome the trappings of “Crystal Ball Investing,” develop a strategy for a tax-free retirement and protect our clients against rising health care costs.
No one is going to give you an award for the “Best Retirement Strategy,” but you may not even care how your lawn looks while you’re traveling the world.
Best,
Dan Cuprill
PS: Taxes are worse than crabgrass. Kill them now by clicking below to schedule a free consultation.
