Confessions Of A Wet Rag I wimped out and it’s pissing me off. Thrilled to be invited by CNBC as an expert on a personal finance TV panel discussion I arrived dolled up and ready to share my Wealth Chef stuff. Propped on my chair next to the fabulous host Bruce Whitfield, mic wired up, green screen behind us, camera’s rolling I was ready to dazzle… Then it all went soggy… Unlike at live speaking gigs like in the photo and in my training programmes, I was a complete, bland wimp - as challenging and thought provoking as a wet rag! I gave predictable dull answers to great questions from Bruce. Answers that I don’t even believe. Answers that on my own journey to financial freedom were the kind that confirmed to me that investing and being great with my money is boring. Answers that were patronising and told me personal finance is for losers. Perhaps I’m over stating just how bad it was, but reflecting on the interview I am irritated at the missed opportunity to share what I really believe about becoming financially free and the financial planning industry. Why I believe financial literacy isn’t taught at schools, why most people remain financially illiterate all their lives never to experience the power of money working for them, why 95% of people never achieve financial freedom irrespective of what they earn and why I am so passionate about teaching people these skills. I can only assume that dazzled by the TV cameras, Bruce’s pink tie and charm, and never having met the “nice” financial planner sitting next to me, my “nice girls are polite and don’t rock the boat” persona took over, gagging the rest of me in the hope that we could just be liked. UURRRRGGGGG!! Well that “nice girl” doesn’t change the world and that “nice girl” isn’t all of me, so… Here’s the version the risk taking, independent, challenging, powerful woman within me wished she had said. The part of me that created my own financial freedom and helps thousands of others do the same. Without her I would still be following the crappy advice of financial planners, believing this stuff was all way too complicated and scary for the likes of the little “nice polite Ann” and that I couldn’t really have it all and should just accept that my dreams should stay locked in that bottom drawer. Question: Why is financial literacy not taught in schools? It’s not in the interest of the financial industry to have people financially savvy. If people understood how money worked, if they realised how straight forward it is to invest and get their money working for them they would have no need for the crappy TV diner investment products dished up by the financial industry. Products wrapped up with endless management fees, hidden costs, and trailing commissions. Products that are fantastic for the person who sells them to you but pretty disastrous if you actually want your money working for you. If people were taught these skills a whole industry would have to change and actually add massive value to exist rather than feed off ignorance and fear. Never again would someone fall for an Insurance/ Investment product all wrapped in one! Never again would someone fall for a Whole Life Insurance policy! Never again would a funeral policy be bought! Never again would a person accept a product with cancelation penalties and as transparent as a brick with no idea what the underlying assets are or how they are performing! If people really understood money they would never enter so readily into modern day slavery - in the form of consumer debt. Selling their future and freedom for a quick fix because they have no idea what the real cost actually is. Question: Why do people find investing and managing their money boring? Because 90% of the books, programmes and information out there are damn boring. The “chicken-little advice of play it safe, tighten your belt, put a little away in a safe pre-packaged investment product, deprive yourself now and think only about the long term, play it safe and small and plan for your retirement when maybe you can have some fun ….Blah, Blah, Blah…It’s dull and more importantly WRONG! It was only when I connected the dots for myself and realised I could actually live a seriously cool life now and make my personal wealth grow exponentially by understanding how badly money wanted to work for me if I just gave it a chance. By learning how to convert money into proper assets (not hideous retirement products and insurances). By investing in the stock market, creating an investment property portfolio and passive income businesses. By realising just how powerful and valuable each Rand, Pound, Dollar and Euro is and how I could get way more juice from my money by getting very clear on what actually juiced me, negotiating hard, and that I could have what I wanted for way less by being creative. In response to the “nice” financial planner stating that it was the role of financial planners to construct a safe financial plan for people… BS!!! I am sure there are some really great financial planners out there and yes, I believe they can have a useful role to play in some aspects of your financial plan, but to believe they are the ones that can construct your financial freedom strategy for you and teach you all you need to know it crazy thinking. I have never yet met a financial planner that explained all the asset classes to me in an empowering way or helped me understand the power of leverage and it’s role in accelerating my wealth pot growth. If the financial industry and government gave a damn about peoples financial wellbeing and really wanted people financially empowered, we would be required to pass financial literacy tests before being allowed to enter into any credit agreements. We would be taught about net worth and how to create assets. We would be incentivised to invest rather than consume. 90% of the investment products out there should come with huge warning labels like those on cigarette packets - SERIOUSLY BAD FOR YOUR WEALTH! I am fed up with all this “play it safe” talk. That investing is risky!!! The biggest risk is people never getting their money working for them. Never living their dreams and the lives they really want. Staying stuck in jobs and relationships they hate because they don’t believe they have any other option. Ending up at the end of a life spent working really hard only to discover there isn’t enough to even survive let alone live the life they had hoped to finally experience. At the risk of opening a huge can of worms, I’d love to know your answers to the questions I was asked. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 16:51:37 +0000
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