…and what it’s in.
It can be hard enough to know where your money goes every month, let alone understand what your investments are in.
“I thought I made pretty good money; where does it all go?” is a common refrain I hear.
Admittedly, even I make it from time to time; and I eat and sleep this!
But that doesn’t let me or you or anyone else off the hook: You need to know where your money goes in order to know what you can accomplish with it.
Having a Financial Plan in place has parallels to knowing your cash flow: You won’t get very far without knowing, but more importantly understanding, what investments your money is in.
Educating yourself on what you own and why you own it is not an option, it is a requirement.
Otherwise you will have no gauge to determine whether or not what you own will help you reach your financial goals.
Whether or not you go the route of working with a Fee-Only Financial Planner or not, make sure they place their client’s financial education as a high priority.
Because if neither you nor your Planner do, you run the risk of not understanding why your investments are behaving differently than you thought they would, and not even knowing why you own them in the first place.