You’ve heard the expression, “Everybody’s a comedian?” Well, times have changed, and I guess the life of a comic isn’t as fulfilling as it once was – maybe the pay isn’t any good. Today, everyone is a financial
planner. From your local banker, insurance agent, stockbroker - even accountants and lawyers call themselves financial planners.

Thirty years ago stockbrokers and insurance agents looking to achieve a dramatic change in their image created a profession known today as “The Financial Planning Industry.” The founding fathers of this industry decided that if they could create a “profession” through which they could conduct sales, they would be perceived with the same level of respect that the public holds for doctors and lawyers. The ultimate goal of this industry is still to sell products - which is the source of the lion’s share of the revenue that supports most financial planners.

Thirty years ago people were not willing to pay financial professionals an hourly wage for their expertise. Most consumers are happy to pay a doctor a lawyer a plumber an auto mechanic in order to benefit from their training or talents, but the media continues to espouse the mantra that it’s not necessary to pay fees to manage the most important aspect of your life - your family’s personal financial wealth and security. Nick Murray’s famous conversation about the "no load" cardiologist is a good example of the general thinking on paying a professional to manage your personal wealth (after all, would you want a doctor operating on you because he needed the practice?). If you have a heart problem or a brain tumor, you wouldn’t shop for the cheapest doctor let alone operate on yourself. So, why is it that we believe we can manage our money better and with more expertise then someone who spends 50 hours a week in the financial services industry?

Although the logic behind this thinking is questionable, the reasoning behind this cultural belief is explainable. Financial planning is not a product as most people understand products. Financial planning is nothing more than research.

In order to begin to maximize your wealth, you need to take a long, hard look at where you stand today financially and then evaluate your current position against your personal and professional goals as explained in these blogs. The analysis and strategies to meet those goals are the educational component your will gain from reading up on personal finance issues. The tool we will use in the process of achieving those goals is called the blueprint to financial freedom.