Why Fear Advice PART 2

This is Part 2 of a 2 Part Series. Read Part 1 here.

In this second article I explore a few more “fear factors”.

4. Fear of our own shortcomings

One of the things about money, and personal finances in general, is that everyone has to deal with it, so we should all be experts right? We seek advice in relation to our health from the medical profession, in relation to our teeth from the dental profession, in relation to our wills and estate planning from the legal profession, in relation to our taxes from the accounting profession. If the lights don’t work, we call an electrician (mostly), if the pipes leak, we call a plumber, if the car won’t go, get on to a mechanic. Why is our financial situation any different? There are people out there with better skills training and expertise in money matters than we have, but perhaps we don’t want to admit that this is true, and prefer to “just do it ourselves”.

“When you look at the dark side, careful you must be, For the dark side looks back.”

5. Fear of the time needed

We are all busy people, and we juggle family commitments, careers and a little personal time. If you ask me to spend hours working out what I spend, days calculating my retirement needs, months finding all of my superannuation information, weeks getting all of my bank statements in order, how am I ever going to have a life? Tell you what, how about I sort all of that out in my Christmas holidays, and make an appointment to see you when I’ve got it done. The reality is that this is just an excuse, and there will likely be a number of Christmas breaks before you get around to it, after all its unlikely that you will be less busy next year.

“Always in motion is the future”

6. Fear of the unknown

A relatively small proportion of people have ever had any direct content with a financial adviser, and as a consequence, most have no idea what to expect when they seek advice. Am I going to be asked a whole bunch of questions I can’t answer, am I going to be put down because I have no idea what my household budget looks like, will I be criticised for my maxed out credit cards. Should I already have accumulated half a million in super, why didn’t I increase my life insurance, how much is all this going to cost to put right. Until I can answer all those questions, best not to seek advice isn’t it?

“Not if anything to say about it, I have!”

This is part of my mission to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to obtain advice if and when they need it. In my next article I discuss some strategies you can use to overcome the fear of advice, and why you really should do so.

“Ready are you. What know you of ready?”