This issue is “for the kids” … a line you may recall from the 1990 Home Alone movie that my husband regularly quotes at the grocery store every time he reaches for a bag of candy…

 

Earlier this week, a great client of mine asked me if I would make the time to meet with his 17 year old daughter to help explain the world of finance to her. We both agree, as I suspect you do as well, that the basic fundamentals of budgeting, investing and credit should be taught in school - but it isn’t - so the result is lots of confused, misinformed or uninterested adults working hard to earn a living and then not seeing their money work hard in return.

 

Fortunately, you have finance professionals like myself who can help to make sense of things, identify gaps/opportunities, put an ongoing plan in place and educate you along the way.

 

So, as I sat down on Wednesday afternoon with this bright-eyed teenager, I realized that much of what I was telling her could be useful to everyone because while I think it may be common sense to me, it isn’t. I tell my clients often, especially those who admit to feeling embarrassed about not following along, that I have chosen to become an expert in this industry and if I were to take a stab at your world (be it medicine, teeth, accounting, law, cooking, operations, engineering, etc), I wouldn’t even know where to begin. That said, I have many clients who work in my industry, who arguably know just as much or more than I do, who have hired me because they don’t have the time (or emotion) to manage their own investments.

 

These are only two of many reasons as to why I am so passionate about what I do and why I take the time to write Word on the Street for you every Friday – knowledge is power and I want to share that with you.

 

If you’d like a refresher on the different types of investments available to you, check out this handy Investment s 101 fact sheet I’ve put together here. We also have a great Financial Literacy Kit built just for “the kids” that you can ask me for anytime.