I am happy to report we are in the final stages of our patio/yard project at the Morton house!
On Monday evening, Gina told me the landscapers had come out to start planting grass seed. My immediate thought was: “Uh oh…I don’t have any sprinklers!”
So, I raced to Home Depot at 7:30 pm to purchase sprinklers and extra hoses. I came home and got them working, and until 10:00pm, I was going outside every 30 minutes to change the sprinkler position. Each time, I was slipping and sliding through the mud with my headlamp on while occasionally spraying myself in the face with the oscillating sprinkler.
The next day, Gina told me they came back and sprayed “green stuff” on the yard. I came home to find that green stuff…was grass seed.
I had spent the night before watering a yard of unseeded mud.
This home improvement project has been completed with tremendous care and professionalism by everyone involved. Now as it wraps up, there is a hand-off to my care as the homeowner.
And I immediately made a literal mess of things.
Why? Because I was too quick to react and just get it done without checking in on the overall plan.
It has become human nature to quickly “fix” perceived problems or risks in our lives. I have seen this type of knee-jerk reaction amongst investors attempting to apply a quick fix to the implementation of their financial plan. As CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™, we are obligated to follow a planning process. A required step of that process is to implement the financial planning recommendations. This process recognizes that to be successful in planning, we can’t race ahead to implementation, nor can we stop short of it.
In the case of my backyard, had I been patient and checked in on my plan, I would have saved myself some effort. Shortly after my fumbling through the mud, the seed was planted and I received detailed watering instructions.
The plan was always there, but I was in a hurry.
Here’s my takeaway lesson: When working with professionals, be mindful of the hand-offs. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and check in on your plan, because implementation is a part of the process.
P.S. To my landscaper receiving this newsletter – no, there is no photographic evidence. Hope it gave you a good laugh.
Three things on finance…
Ask the right expert. A study of returns from 7,800 U.S. stock mutual funds was conducted between 1991 and 2020. The results stated investors sacrificed $1.02 trillion in wealth by investing in funds mostly run by stock pickers instead of buying an index. Why? Because according to this article, fund managers face handicaps that individual investors don’t. The takeaway? Diversify those fields you are planting and have the right people in place to help you cultivate your crop.
Patience is a virtue. In 2019, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team had a game-saving penalty kick, sealing their seat in the World Cup finals (which they ultimately won). Statistically, a goalie is more likely to block a shot by standing in the middle of the goal, rather than diving for a save. This is completely counterintuitive to what we feel should happen at that moment. As a result, I wrote this piece on action bias and our propensity to do something rather than nothing. It’s important to understand when bold moves need to be made, and when it’s best to wait for the ball to come to us.
It’s not too late. Interesting results from a study of 12,000 retirees and pre-retirees identified the top challenges that threw their finances off course. The top two results: Widowhood and Divorce. In working with married couples, we find good communication and active involvement by both spouses are crucial to prevent complete derailment.
Aggressive Balance is a biweekly e-newsletter authored by Dennis Morton, Co-Founder and Principal of Morton Brown Family Wealth.
A gifted storyteller and financial advisor by trade, Dennis explores topics of leadership, finance, and the human condition in his writing as they relate to curating a life worth living.
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