Handling your personal finances and investing is not near as difficult as you have been led to believe. From simple investing to saving for college to debt reduction to retirement planning, it appears as if everyone is outsourcing these personal financial matters and is paying dearly for it. It does not need to be that way.
I was a stockbroker / financial advisor for many many years and one of the most difficult issues I faced was not convincing people what they needed to do but was convincing myself that I was actually providing something of value for the large fees that I took!
Consider that a 1% fee over a period of forty years will cut your investment results in half!
Whether you are struggling to pay the bills or are very comfortable financially, one of THE most important items to watch is the fees you pay, for everything.
There is nothing wrong with paying professionals and experts for their advice and counsel however, you need to pay attention to the fees you are paying and make sure that what you are paying for isn’t something you can do for yourself.
I remember a time when people thought that pumping your own gas was silly; now paying someone for that service is a rarity and an oddity. Why pay more for the same service you can do for yourself?
Getting back to personal finance , you have a responsibility to yourself and that is that you need to handle most or all of it yourself and not just because you’ll be saving on fees and expenses that really add up but because let’s face it, not everyone is looking out for your best interest, that’s your job!
The most common excuses I hear are lack of time and lack of education.
Most people spend more time planning a vacation that on personal finances so you do have the time. What if I said that complete personal financial mastery would take minutes a month!
As for lack of education, the Internet has leveled the playing field in almost all areas and personal finance and investing is no different. There are plenty of free resources that will walk you through for free what used to cost thousands of dollars.
I invite you to join with me here on SelfGrowth or my blog and learn all you need to know to become self reliant in the area of personal finance and investing .
Scott Barclay is a respected financial writer, sought after speaker, workshop facilitator and investment coach who frequently contributes to BusinessWeek, Yahoo Finance, Self Growth and many other publications and blogs both online and in print.
Barclay's current book ''How The Investment Business Really Works'' is in the hands of over 100,000 readers.
Very few authors in the area of money and personal finance actually worked in the industry as a stockbroker.
Scott is uniquely qualified to write on this topic and shares insider industry knowledge that will empower you to become more financially savvy and help you to invest by yourself for yourself. www.howtheinvestmentbusinessreallyworks.com