Financial Decisions Do Not Have To Be Difficult
Traveling can give a person added time to think and new perspective. I found this to be true last weekend while rushing through Philadelphia International Airport for a plane to Dallas-Fort Worth on Friday and then waiting what seemed like endless hours for my return flight from Dallas to Philadelphia on Sunday. The occasion for travel was the annual National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) “Unprogram” held each year in Grapevine, TX. Experienced elder law attorneys from throughout the US come together to describe strategies in dealing with finances, benefits, changes in government regulations, and other matters of concern affecting our clients. With so many changes in the elder law field, it helps to keep up with what attorneys are doing in other areas of the country and then adapt their techniques for clients we service.
Those issues will be dealt with over time. The immediate inspiration for this column, though, came from two more common every day sources.
Unable to sleep with the time difference on Saturday night, I flipped through channels in my hotel room and came across a “Suze Orman” advice program on finances. Suze, on my first viewing, was deeply involved advising callers whether to make certain purchases. I was mildly amused and my amusement persisted up to the point I came across my second inspiration. This was at the Airport terminal.
While waiting for the return flight to Philadelphia from Dallas-Fort Worth, I browsed through a book store at the terminal. One paperback book caught my attention. A photograph of the author, Larry Winget, was splashed across the cover. He should have been depicted wearing a cowboy hat. As it was, he was dressed in a cowboy shirt with shaded sunglasses, an almost balding head, folded arms and an earring to complete the picture. The inside cover declared that he is “one of the country’s leading business speakers” and a regular on Fox News.
Larry’s book is called “The Idiot Factor: The 10 Ways We Sabotage Our Life, Money, and Business.” If you are hoping for some deep philosophical or, alternatively, for some grindingly technical explanation of how we sabotage ourselves, Larry does not have this to offer. His list includes “People are ignorant. People are stupid. People are lazy.” and other observations along these lines. Still, the examples are interesting.
What the examples are saying is that it is not that hard to be where you want to be in life. We prevent ourselves from doing things that will advance our goals all the time. We make irrational choices when common sense solutions will work. I think, “people pay money to hear this.”
This returns me to the Suze Orman advice program. Caller number one shared that she had combined credit card debt with her husband to the tune of $21,000. She wondered whether it would be a good idea for her to buy a $1,300 watch. The next caller, with similar debt problems wanted to know whether Suze approved of her proposed purchase of a $3,400 camera.
Sometimes a listener might wonder if this is a set up. How could it be that the credit card debt woman at $21,000 would even think of buying a $1,300 watch? The interest on the debt alone should be enough to tell her that her choice would be irrational. Suze explained with appropriate emphasis that the watch would depreciate in value immediately on purchase. The same response was given to the amateur photographer. I thought that, if the second caller were going to use the camera to earn income, the answer might be different. There is a distinction between an expense and an investment.
This completes the circle by returning to Larry Winget.
On ignorance, Larry’s thought was:
“There comes a point when every person needs to stop pleading ignorance and figure out on his or her own what it takes to really get ahead. Come on! Pay attention. Look around and watch what other people are doing and get a clue about what works and what doesn’t work.”
On the “people are stupid” remark, he comments:
“ I contend that every person knows exactly what he or she should be doing in every situation for things to be better. You may not know all you need to do, but you know something you could do. But while people always know something they could do, they rarely do it.”
For myself, I figure Larry must know something. At least he knew enough to get me to buy the book.
About the Author Janet Colliton
Esquire, Colliton Law Associates, P.C. Janet Colliton has practiced law for over 38 years, 37 of them in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her practice, Colliton Law Associates, PC, is limited to elder law, Medicaid, including advice, applications and appeals, and other benefits planning including Veterans benefits, life care and special needs planning, guardianships, retirement, and estate planning and administration.