Welcome to another edition of Financial Fitness Fridays, where I share a few words of financial wisdom to help put YOU back in the driver’s seat of YOUR financial future.
This week I want to talk about procrastination, and more specifically, the epidemic of ANALYSIS 
PARALYSIS that leads to procrastination.
As many of you know, I am an educator at heart, and so I conduct a series of educational seminars & online webinars to help consumers identify challenges they face, as well as potential solutions.
This past week, I worked with an educational company to promote an online webinar called “Financial Strategies and Preparing for Retirement in a Post-Pandemic World.”
In the days following, I had many wonderful conversations, got great feedback, and have scheduled many appointments where it looks like I can help people with their financial goals. That is great news!
One of the alarming things – and it’s something that I want to share – is the number of people I spoke with who told me that they’ve attended many of these seminars/webinars over the last year and that they are just “gathering information.” Many even already have a person they consider their advisor.
So, what I am hearing is this:
- They have an advisor, but perhaps they do not have a good enough relationship/there is enough doubt, that people feel like they need to learn additional information and get a 2nd opinion
- They have gathered plenty of information at this point
- They are “reviewing” the information while gathering even more
- They have not yet taken action on the information to improve their situation
Learning and educating yourself is a great thing to do! And I certainly do not mind “shopping around” for an adviser. It is so important that you work with someone that you connect with, you feel comfortable with, and who has the same philosophies & goals as you. But it can go too far.
Here is why “gathering information” (too much of it) can be so damaging to your financial future:
- The average consumer has all of the information that they could ever possibly want right at their fingertips. Give them 15 minutes, a tablet, and they can research any product, plan, or strategy
- The average consumer does not know what this information actually means, or whether it is a good fit for their personal situation, or whether it is congruent with their philosophy & goals
- Even if they determine that it is, they do not necessarily know how to apply it properly
- When someone is not comfortable & confident, they do not end up taking action. They get bogged down with details. They get confused. They delay. They procrastinate. They are busy. Life gets in the way.
- Time passes. They miss out on potential savings opportunities, investment gains, compound interest, the cost of insurance policies increases, etc. etc.
- When they finally do take action, they likely have to pay more, save more, invest more… to get less.
As a financial consultant, who is in your corner and working on your behalf, my job is not just to educate. It is to motivate and get people to take positive action. That does not mean you will be able to commit and accomplish all of your goals right away. Life never works out that way, nor does it work that way in financial planning.
Sure, do a little research, do your “due diligence” if you must, but for your own sake, PLEASE! Consider whether you are putting this off because you are “gathering information” or getting bogged down in the Analysis Paralysis cycle.
Find yourself a competent consultant that you feel comfortable with, and then enlist their assistance to take positive action steps.
Your family and your future self will thank you!
P.S. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please stop by my mini online seminar How Retirees and Pre-Retirees Can Potentially Avoid Going Broke While Keeping Their Nest-Egg Secure! Tons of great information and bonus is it is 100% COMPLIMENTARY!
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