The things people do that drive financial planners crazy.

Earning income is your greatest source of building financial security. And by the time the tax authorities have taken their slice, essential bills are paid, and you have some fun, there isn’t always a lot left over to put some aside to build financial security. But people can sometimes be their own worse enemy when it comes to doing what will be best for them in the long run.

Considering this, here are some of the things that drive me crazy when I sit with people to help them navigate their financial journey. Here is what people should NOT do:

1. Stop being a pretender – keeping up appearances is one of those self-defeating behaviours that robs people of building financial resilience. These are the spend-everything-now people that are so focused on impressing others, they fail to plan for their own financial future.  
2. Stop being an ostrich – this is another financial behaviour that can have such awful outcomes. The ostrich is one that buries their heads in the sand rather than put their financial wellbeing first. They can become an ostrich due to lack of financial literacy, fear of asking for guidance or have suffered a financial mishap in the past, they may be afraid to tackle issues. This can include actions a simple as claiming back taxes owed to them by Revenue, increasing an AVC at work, just to name a few.
3. Stop living in the past – these are people that always feel they have missed the boat. This can be someone that is fearful of investing because they think investment markets have peaked. This is proven to be a big barrier for people that may not have a full understanding of how investment markets really work and feel that everybody else has done better than them. The reality is that investment markets rise and fall. Remember, is not when someone gets into an investment market, but the time they are in it that really matters.
4. Stop listening to negative people – this is true in all walks of life. When it comes to your own financial wellbeing and long-term financial plans, your goals are yours. How you achieve them will be a journey that only you can take. Discussing it with people that are habitually negative can result in not taking financial decisions that are right for you. So, seek out qualified advice then it comes to planning for your financial future.
5. Don’t be nostalgic – this can be a big barrier for a lot of people in Ireland. Here, our history of having money, planning for out financial future can be biased by experience and other people’s experience. For example, property has played an outsized role in personal financial planning in Ireland. So too have a narrow band of equities. So, it continues to be big part of financial planning thinking. Unfortunately, both property and individual share ownership can be a lot riskier than say investing in a pension, or ETF. Another big area of nostalgia is where people apply every Euro they own to pay off a mortgage early…what a waste if it means they leave other critical areas of financial planning untended.
6. Stop living in fear – life will present challenges. Stop living like they will be the end of the world. If you take care of yourself, continue to protect your ability to earn income and build a financial resilience fund (3 – 6 months rainy day fund), things will turn around. So, make sure you continue to enjoy life.
7. Check your pride – this is another behaviour that I find can prevent people asking for financial guidance. They may feel others may judge them, or they may be a little too proud to ask for help when it comes to everyday financial matters.
8. Stop saying yes too often – some people put themselves last and others first too often. Saying yes too often can be as simple as giving in to pressure to join friends at nights out, trips away or other situations when you know it will mean putting your financial goals on the back burner. Doing this too often will leave your financial goals in tatters. So, learn to say no…and yes, but when it suits you!