My youngest daughter, Sammie, likes to play this new game. She rushes into my room just before she heads out for the day and ask “Mom, should I wear the ankle length blue sock with the ruffle, straight leg jeans and periwinkle top, or this fuchsia off the shoulder, top with leggings and mid length sock with my Converse?“
Now if any of you know me, I spent about a year transitioning to a minimalist wardrobe. This is for one reason only, I do not even know how to match an outfit.
The thing I like about minimalism, is that I have three colors in my wardrobe, white, black, and navy blue. I wear a button down top and a pair of black pants and everything matches.
I had stopped listening by the time Sammie mentioned the word, periwinkle, which I didn’t understand. Most of the rest of it could’ve been Greek.
I’ve seriously considered asking Skye, my senior administrative assistant , if she would volunteer to adopt Samantha and maybe they could answer these all important questions, because Skye always looks put together, matching, beautiful and accessorized, and I look very black-and-white. The difference between an ankle length and mid-length sock is completely beyond my comprehension.
In Samantha‘s world though, the absolute worst possible outcome is that she might “look stupid.” I haven’t bothered mentioning, that if she takes my advice, she probably will look stupid, but that’s mostly because she doesn’t actually listen to my answer and makes up her own mind anyway regarding these fashion emergencies.
I’m struck by the similarity between Sammie’s fear and my clients. So many people sitting across from me get the same slightly confused look when I am talking about a balanced allocation as I do when Sammie asks me to choose between Periwinkle and Fusica. They think probably everyone knows and they are afraid to “look stupid” so they don’t ask. So here are my suggestions.
1. Ask even if you are scared.
I love nothing more than explaining a financial topic and please remember I came into this job years ago with no idea what an IRA was – I have learned and I’ve done it mostly by asking questions.
2. Look it up.
I will say that there are not a lot of financial concepts that are explained in simple terms. A lot of times they go with the concept that many words with lots of syllables are better than plain English but usually you get enough of the idea behind the explanation that you can pivot to #1 and ask for a more in depth answer with some knowledge behind your question so you don’t feel awkward.
3. If you really want to learn something – read a book.
I’m not an expert on everything but if I read a book I usually can find enough context to know what questions I should be asking. I will say today you can also usually find a YouTube video or a podcast that explains what you are looking for, and I just heard that the average person read less than two books last year, which makes me sad.
4. Find an expert!!
I will freely admit that I know nothing about the latest fashion trends (a fact that is completely obvious when looking at my wardrobe) but I know someone who can talk for an hour on the colors, cut, lines, and don’t even get her started on shoes. A lot of times I just hand over my credit card, explain my event, and tell her I want to look “fabulous”
I encourage clients to know enough to be informed financially, but you don’t have to spend your days pouring over the latest market updates, that is my happy place, not yours. Ask someone who knows, and can explain the concept in English without looking at you as if “doesn’t everyone know this?”
I was asked just recently to go through an activity to describe my ideal client – and mine always has questions, is curious and wants to know more. Finance isn’t a super secret world that makes no sense, it is understandable and most concepts are simple at their core, you just need to ask. This doesn’t mean you have to be a finance geek like me, that is why you hire someone to manage your portfolio, but it does mean you have all the tools and resources to have a basic understanding of how your money is being managed, and you won’t look stupid.
