More and more of our clients are doing better and better financially … to the point where they often seem to be rather less and less concerned about the performance (rate of return, tax efficiency, cost, suitability, etc.) of their important assets which have, of course, been central to creating their financial comfort. As a financial advisor/planner and a student of reality and rationality, I find this tendency to be very perplexing, which is why I am writing this little essay.

Once you finally “have it made”, it is certainly okay to relax, to coast, to not spend your precious time working to earn money anymore and forevermore. However, your money arguably always needs to keep on keeping on into the indefinite, unknowable future. And, if your money remains properly invested long-term, all you have to do is look at your statements and smile and have an occasional review meeting with us. (Or, if you don’t “have it made” quite yet, you and your money both need to keep on keeping on until you can eventually count on your money to do the whole job.)

Now, everything financial is arguably a cost/benefit analysis. In our various buying decisions, we all naturally, logically demand a nice level of benefit and an acceptable cost. We often (wait to) buy relatively little things “on sale” that we could have easily paid full price for. We make sure that we aren’t being overcharged or that the change was calculated and delivered correctly, and that our coupons and discounts are properly applied. We are sensitive to the sometimes obvious and distressing short-term inflation of eggs, gasoline, etc. We refuse to unfairly pay $5 for a $3 item, or $500 for a $300 gizmo, or $50,000 for a $30,000 whatever.

But, but … when it comes to our investments, sometimes we settle for much less that we should. We perhaps feel that we don’t need the extra money. We want to play it safe (in the short term). We over-estimate our level of long-term cushion. We can’t believe our good fortune. We have lost faith in the future, even though our future today is the same unpredictable future that we have always had to face.

Shucks, I don’t know all the reasons. But I think that I do know that this tendency amounts to grossly over-paying for big ticket investment stuff. And, the money that you are leaving on the table is going to someone else, not you and your loved ones. Imagine paying 50% or 100% more for the same thing. And, in the case of investing, imagine getting 50% or 100% less than you could/should have.

So, if way too much of your money has somehow ended up on the sidelines, not keeping up and keeping on, losing purchasing power, dragging the rest of the team down, then let’s make some needful substitutions. The speed limit on the long-term financial highway is a steady 75. And many of our more successful chauffeured clients are going a bit faster than that. Let us help you get up to speed. No, not too fast, but, more importantly, not too slow.