Making $ense out of Personal Finance, Our Thoughts and Perspectives

Making $ense out of Personal Finance,Our Thoughts and Perspectives is our forum of discussion to empower and educate readers in various facets of their lives to assist in their pursuit of personal and financial success.

Why Millennials and Gen X’ers aren’t getting the financial guidance they need to be successful!

Why Millennials and Gen X’ers aren’t getting the financial guidance they need to be successful!

        Nearly a month ago I developed a Facebook pole encouraging Millennials and Generation X individuals to participate in a small sample survey. The purpose of the survey was to determine their current familiarity with financial planning and investment management services, as well as their perception of how these services might fit into the bustling rat race we call life.

        From the data I collected I noticed a common thread amongst millennial participants in regards to why they haven’t sought out assistance with their finances. Now, these replies were equally as anticipated as they were troubling.  Of those who considered seeking out financial assistance, half of the participants felt the barrier between themselves and obtaining financial mentoring was that their income was too low to be relevant for a financial professional. As unsurprising as this perception was, it highlighted an obvious shortcoming which needs to be addressed; Millennials and Gen X’ers aren’t seeking the financial guidance they need to be successful when they need it the most.

        The average college graduate in 2014 walked down the alma-matter aisle with a $30,000 student loan anvil dangling over their head, with its thread fraying support rope ready to be hacked away six months from the moment they received their congratulatory handshake and empty diploma tube. Upon graduating many faced the realization that the age-old mantra of “get a college degree and you can do anything” was a reality of previous generations, but no longer applied to an over-saturated job market. The fact of the matter is, some of the financial hurdles we face are unlike those which previous generations dealt with, and many Millennials and Gen X’ers are allowing fear and a lack of understanding to keep them from the financial advice that could make a huge impact today, and prepare them for a successful tomorrow.

         When I speak to Millennials about getting financial advice the most frequent comment made is that they are too embarrassed to be honest about their financial situation with someone in my industry. These individuals are letting fear get in the way of potential prosperity. My typical response is that they should look at a financial mentor like they would a personal trainer. When you first start with a trainer you are embarrassed about your current shape, but understand that with their help you can better your situation. The trainer works with you, helps you stay accountable for your choices while helping you make the right decisions, and eventually due to the added guidance, you’re in much better shape and have accomplished something which you can take ownership and are proud of. Financial mentor-ship is an identical model, you may be embarrassed during your first meeting, but eventually together you will experience highs and lows, surpass financial milestones, and build something which you can be proud of.   

        -Matthew Hutton, CFP®, MBA-FP

        NBS Financial Services, Inc.

 

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Charging the Generational wave head on!

Charging the Generational wave head on!

 

           This past week I was in Boston, Massachusetts where I sat in on a seminar given by an MIT professor by the name of Dr. Joseph Coughlin. By any standard Dr. Coughlin was a truly engaging speaker whose modulating vocal variations coaxed genuine auditory conviction from even the weariest of seminar attendee. Over the course of an hour the good doctor imparted on us the MIT Age Lab’s research regarding various factors within client behavior, attention economics, and culminated the assemblage with his forecast for future of financial planning as an industry. Insightful research abound, I found that one aspect of his discourse seemed to resonate with me in more depth than the others. Portions of the research Dr. Coughlin presented were comparing and contrasting the three most impactful generations in our current society, in regards to their differing ideologies and approaches to work, lifestyle, and wealth. It is far cry from a revelation to assert that the baby boomer generation has differing values and beliefs from those of their technologically “plugged in” Generation Y decedents. However, having integrated into a successful Financial Planning firm whose foundation was built upon years of assisting this older generation achieve financial independence, I had developed a self-imposed narrowed view of the clientele who could derive the most long term benefit from the services I provide. The newer X and Y generations had deviated so greatly both ideologically and professionally from the conventional mold which most investment professionals consider “ideal” that they had, in large part, fallen off my radar for the time being. Never could I have anticipated the impact my attendance of this previously unassuming education seminar would have on my professional path, which in hindsight seems so organic. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Our company has a clearly defined path, with Dr. Coughlin’s unexpected help; I had found my trail to blaze. Financial Planning isn’t just for Baby Boomers anymore!

 

           -Matthew Hutton, CFP®, MBA-FP

 

 

 

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Thoughts for Thursday (11-19-2015)

Thoughts for Thursday (11-19-2015)

 

             

            As I was flying home from attending the Schwab conference in Boston Friday night, I happened to be on the flight that had personal television screens. I became a captive audience to all the terror and devastation that was taking place in Paris. For six hours I watched as the death toll climbed and the newscasters repeated the same information, I couldn’t change the channel to a lighter form of entertainment feeling as if I needed to somehow experience it along the French people. It was a bit surreal as they kept saying that this was France’s 9/11, and knowing I was on an airplane that had left from an airport from which two of the 9/11 airplanes had taken off.  I was struck by a segment where Geraldo Rivera spoke live to his daughter who was studying abroad, and had been in the Soccer Stadium when the first bombs went off.  Her fear was palpable, and watching him almost speechless asking her if she was alright and telling her he was coming to get her. I thought of all the families in Paris that night and what they must have been going through.

 

This morning I saw a video of an interviewer talking to a father and son at one of the memorials for the victims.  The little boy was probably around five and had said to the interviewer that now he would have to move because the mean men with guns would hurt him. His father said that they would not have to move, and that the flowers would fight the guns, to which the little boy questioned “the flowers and candles will protect us?” Both the interviewer and father said yes. It was a poignant moment when you witness adults trying desperately to shelter a child’s innocence. But, when I pondered the conversation, it is true.

 

When you watch the French people placing flowers and candles, you see people from all walks of life. When they are gathered there in mourning, there are no differences between them, they are all just the people of Paris, the people of France. That is the only thing that can fight terrorism, people of one country coming together to support each other. That is what happened to the US after 9/11, and that is what is happening now in France.

 

It is sad that it takes a tragedy for a country to band together.  I fear that these killers have only just begun their terror tactics.  I hope that we as a nation can look at France, and remember our own days after our own tragedy.  I hope that we can put aside all of our differences, and unit as one country to keep all of us safe.

 

I pray for the families of the victims of Paris and for all of the French people. I pray for the safety of all.  Please be safe, and aware.

 

 

 

Susan

 

Link to referenced video

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/little-french-boy-explains-bad-guys-to-his-dad-after-paris-attacks/

 

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NBS Financial Services, Inc.
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