After hearing that I want to retire early several people have tried to talk me out of it – saying that I just haven’t found the right career or job. “What do you like to do?” they ask. “Personal finance” I respond. “Why don’t you become a financial adviser?” they say. My original response was that I do not like the idea of my pay being linked to giving biased or bad advice.
Since financial adviser/planner/investment adviser are just the names of salespeople and most financial professionals have no fiduciary duty to put their clients needs above their own paired with the fact that companies give most of their salary as commissions based on what they can sell customers: there is rampant dishonesty. I don’t want to be a part of that. I don’t ever want to be tempted to give bad advice to line my own pocket or to pay my rent. I also literally do not understand greed, but I imagine it seeps in somewhere in this equation and like hard drugs I have no interest in finding out.
Then I landed this adviser and blogger gig with the finance start up I mentioned in a previous post. The founder asked if I would be interested in giving personal finance advice to her customers and told me she’d pay me for my time. I agreed. In the meantime as an adviser the person who I’ve been giving the most financial advice is actually the founder. She comes from a different background and does not know a lot about investing or personal finance. While helping her and a few other people I am not close with I realized something: this doesn’t feel the same. When I help the people close to me with their finances and I see their joy at achieving their goal or making a plan or making money investing I feel warm inside. It feels good to help. I love doing it.
I don’t feel the same way about people I don’t have a baseline relationship with. I have a certain level of respect for the people I am close to and their intelligence. I listen to all of their concerns and consider them carefully. Strangers that ask for help do not get the same consideration. I realized this after I was frustrated after someone asked me what I thought was a particularly stupid question and reminded me of something a penny stock broker would say while looking to make a quick buck.
I’m so happy I discovered this distinction now. My original answer was “I’d love to give financial advice for free by word of mouth” and I think I’ll stick to that model. So far it’s brought me joy. The friends of people I value have been just as eager and intelligent as the friends they came from. I’ve helped several of them and been motivated and happy to do so. I’m going to draw the line there for the sake of my sanity 🙂 and the fact that I don’t need the money. What a novel concept.
I understand where you’re coming from. I happen to be very good and genealogy (self-taught) and I really enjoy helping people I know research their families. People tell me I should get a credential and make it a business. But I know that would take the fun and enjoyment I get out of it if it was a “job.”
I’m still figuring out a plan to make the particular knowledge I’ve gained researching families in my hometown available to a wider audience. It might also lead to another income stream, but not where I’m paid by a client.
I’m really enjoying your blog and I’m determined to become more educated about my own investments. Thank you!
Right?! So glad someone else understands. There’s a fine line where something enjoyable seems to take on the burdens of a job and ‘clients.’ Helping those close to you just feels so much better.
Let me know what you end up doing with your knowledge! I’m super curious about it. If you make it an income stream that works for you – all the better!
So glad you’re enjoying it! If you want any recommendations for books, blogs etc. let me know. I’ve read basically all of them at this point 🙂 . Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the offer of suggestions! I would find that extremely helpful. I love to learn and I’m quite a reader so I promise I’ll read whatever you suggest.
I have a Roth 401K through Schwab. I’ve got no idea what it’s invested in, what the cost to me is, etc. I picked a Roth 401K because Susie Orman said Roth is better than a regular 401K. I’m currently saving only as much as the company match. I am paying off $3000 that I plan to have paid off by the end of the year, then I can start putting $500 a month into other savings, but I don’t know where I should put it.
By the way, I also still have a $8,000 private student loan to pay off after I finish paying the $3000 personal loan. Do I pay the student loan first before putting more into savings? I know there is interest on the loan, but on the other hand, I’m losing out on compounding interest? I’m 59 years old, worked under the table a lot over the years (stupidly) and didn’t save much, so my SS check won’t be much and I will be working for sure until I’m 70. I actually don’t have a problem with that, as I have an easy job where I can work on my own hobbies and interests too.
I don’t know why, but I’ve also avoided learning about finances because it seemed unknowable to me some how, and I can’t figure out why I thought that. I don’t think it is because I’m female – the men in my family are just as ignorant. Maybe because we’re blue collar and “people like us” don’t invest? I don’t know, but I have three degrees and the student debt to prove it, so I know finance isn’t something I can’t comprehend. I’d actually like to learn more to help not only myself but my family.
Thanks for the invitation to write back!
No problem! And don’t worry about not learning before – financial companies have been peddling that it’s too complicated for us simple folk to understand since the dawn of time. They’re very convincing. For a quick overview of everything I’d suggest you go here: https://old.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/wiki/faq#wiki_investing
If you have more time I’d recommend reading The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins and Boglehead’s Guide to Investing.
Obviously this is just my opinion, but here’s what I would do in your situation:
1. Debt: To decide if you should start saving or pay off all your loans at once you need to know your interest rate. If it’s higher than what you’d get in the market (approx. 7%/yr with US stocks) you need to pay that off before investing in my opinion. If it’s lower it’s your call if you want to pay it off first. Personally I would because I dislike the idea of giving away money as interest.
2. Roth 401k: Do you remember why Suzie recommended that? I’ve always used a regular 401K because maxing it saves me $6,000 a year in taxes while a Roth wouldn’t save me anything. When you decide to start saving more down the line this is the vehicle I’d suggest you use since it will either save you taxes now (regular 401K) or later (Roth 401k).
Feel free to email me (apurplelifeblog@gmail.com) to let me know how you like the books and how you decided to tackle the above! Excited to hear from you 🙂