I over heard this young financial advisor offering his expert advice to a few have nots on how to manage their finances. He earnestly told them that they must learn financial planning to manage their income and expenditure. If they don’t do financial planning, they would always be in financial difficulties. And the govt cannot help by giving them handouts. Giving them a few hundred dollars to tie things over is futile, not effective. It is all about financial planning.
The few have nots listened intently, kept nodding their heads to the good advice. Before they left, they thanked the finance advisor profusely for his wisdom.
After they have left, the couple of friends of the financial advisor turned to him and asked him why he wasted to much time explaining to the have nots about financial planning. The financial advisor smiled. Then he spoke again. I divided my clients into three categories. The first category was those who earned millions. For this group, no need to tell them anything about financial planning. They had all the money they needed, and more. Got financial planning or not, never mind. They could spent and spent, and lost and lost, but still got plenty of money left to enjoy life. Talking to them about financial planning was a joke. But he said that he still needed to give them some advices to earn his keep.
The second group was those that had some money and needed to manage them wisely or they would lose them and money became not enough. This group came from the middle income. To this group, financial planning was important and made a big difference to their finances.
The third group was the have nots. To this group, financial planning was a waste of time. How to make financial planning when eat also not enough, everyday trying to make ends meet? Telling them about financial planning is ‘seow’. They have no money to plan. Money in money out the next moment and still not enough. What they really need is a job that paid well. What they need was money, even handouts, charity.
His friends agreed. But why did you talk to the few have nots about financial planning? The financial advisor smiled. ‘What do you expect me to tell them?’ I got no money to give them, so it is best to con them about financial planning and they would think that it was their own stupidity, dunno how to plan, that was why they got not enough money. He burst into laughter. It was so easy to con the have nots and put the blame on themselves for their poverty. ‘Financial planning for the have nots? You must be joking.’
What a talented young man.
Chua Chin Leng AKA RedBean
*The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.sg/