Seek advice from others Sometimes, it doesn’t matter what we do, what we know or what we tell ourselves – we’re just not sure about what’s going on, or what we should do about it. When those times occur (and they happen to even professional portfolio managers), successful investors know that it’s time to seek out advice and guidance from someone whom they trust. For some people, that second opinion could come from a qualified professional – a wealth advisor, a financial planner, a stock broker or someone in a similar role. For others, it could be a person who’s financially knowledgeable, but not necessarily working in the investment industry – maybe an accountant, an entrepreneur friend or someone in the family with a good deal of investment savvy. Or perhaps it’s just a close friend who can confirm good ideas, challenge bad ones and identify biases, assumptions and “blind spots” that you might have a hard time seeing yourself. Whoever that person may be for you, a second opinion can be a very valuable tool in developing your financial confidence. A second opinion provides a different perspective on the challenge you’re facing and that, in turn, can have a dramatic impact on the confidence which you feel going forward. Sure, if you end up working with a professional, you may end up paying more for their guidance and opinions than you would if you had just muddled through on your own. Even so, for a lot of snowbirds, the added confidence that comes from the reassurance that someone who really knows what they’re doing has taken a look at their financial situation, advised them about how to improve some areas and patted them on the back for doing a good job in other areas turns out to be well worth the money. A final word about confidence... It’s a funny thing, confidence. It’s tough to build – particularly during “interesting” times such as these. And it’s very easy to destroy. But the fact remains, confidence is as important to our long-termfinancial success as long-range planning, stock analysis, market strategy, or any of the many more “serious” financial topics and issues which we tend to read about in the newspaper, or see across our televisions and computer screens. If you find yourself lacking financial confidence these days, don’t let it set you back. Developing confidence isn’t a “one and done” kind of activity. Rather, it’s a lifelong work in progress, one that requires an ongoing investment of time and effort. Now that you think about it, you might realize that there’s a word for this kind of activity – one that takes a lot of up-front effort, but pays off in the long term. The word is investing. Which is only fitting, because investment in your own confidence is one of the best financial investments which you can make. Finance CSANews | FALL 2022 | 35
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx