Monday, April 26th, 2010
Never underestimate the value of having an expert ‘do things’ for you that you have limited or no expertise in.
An attorney I know was out of work for over a week (ironically the stock market was up that week) after injuring himself, and when I got the chance to talk to him I asked what had happened. He explained he was in the process of remodeling an upstairs bathroom and on the wall was a huge mirror. Knowing he was going to probably break the mirror when he took it off the wall, he took the time to tape it up to prevent the glass shards from going everywhere. But what he didn’t think about – that a professional likely would have – was where the plumbing pipes were sticking out of the wall.
When he removed the mirror, he lost control of it and accidentally sheared off the ends of the pipes. So he now has water spewing all over the floor. He ran out of the bathroom – which was on the second floor – and headed for the stairs, which were made out of ceramic tiles. Which were now wet. You know what happened next! He wound up falling down the stairs, and while he somehow managed to avoid the mirror, he ended up with two cracked ribs and a bruised kidney.
All this so he could save a little money on a remodeling job!
This story kind of reminds me of the folks who had to go through the 2008 market meltdown on their own. It was the equivalent of them sliding down the stairs, cracking ribs and bruising kidneys.
As we survey and speak with clients and talk with other financial advisors across the country, in general terms, it seems like we ended up doing better than most in the down turn. Losses weren’t as severe and we definitely recovered more quickly compared to what our clients are telling us about their friends and from me speaking to other advisors.
Sometimes, doing it yourself can lead to disaster! Don’t be afraid to bring in the experts when necessary.
Tags: brian Fricke, certified financial planner, finance, financial advisor, Financial Management Concepts, financial planner, Financial planning, retirement, retirement planning, wealth management
