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November 27, 2006
Should you pay for financial education?
Name me a skill or expertise you have acquired for free. Can you do it?
It is highly unlikely. Every skill we possess has cost us something -- either money, time, or more likely both.
Some people are reluctant to pay for financial education. I hate to be the one to break it to you. You are already paying.
Financial education has become critical in this country. Increasing choices and access to information makes our primary job as Family CFO, planning and funding 30 years of retirement, like navigating a baby carriage through a minefield. One wrong move and something very precious and fragile is going to go up in smoke.
When it comes to your money your choices are:
1. Hire someone to manage it for you - this is very costly in terms of money and poor performance -- you pay a lot and get very little in return.
2. Trial and error - also known as the school of hard knocks. This is very costly in terms of time and poor performance. Those lessons don't come cheap. I know. This is the way I did it.
3. Pay for education - pay someone to teach you the skills and knowledge they have acquired. This is, in my opinion, a nice balance. It should cost less money than paying someone else to do it for you and less time than the school of hard knocks. Your performance should be better too because you eliminate conflict of interest and many of the costly mistakes.
So how do you get through a minefield? Do you want to figure it out with trial and error or do you want to follow in the footsteps of someone who has already mapped the minefield and navigates it successfully day after day?
As always, I'd like to know what you think -- not only about the three choices above, but also about the future of financial education. Is it necessary? Where is it going to come from? Who is going to provide it? Leave your thoughts and comments below.
Kim Snider, Kim Snider Financial Communications, Chronim Investments and/or Snider Advisors make no representation that the information and opinions expressed are accurate, complete or current. The opinions expressed should not be construed as financial, legal, tax, or other advice and are provided for informational purposes only. Call 866-952-0100 to request the Snider Investment Method™ Owner's Manual, which includes a description of the Snider Investment Method, investment objectives, risks, suitability and other information. Please read and consider carefully before investing. All investments are subject to risk including possible loss of principal.
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Focus of This Blog
Kim Snider is an author, speaker and host of Financial Success Coaching, Saturdays at noon, on KRLD Newsradio 1080, Dallas - Fort Worth. This blog is primarily devoted to empowering individual investors with information to help them be good stewards of their money. Above all, it is about achieving true financial success. Kim's book, How To Be the Family CFO: Four Simple Steps to Put Your Financial House in Order is in bookstores now. Order yours from Amazon or other fine booksellers today.
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