Here at Tanis Financial Group, I have one golden rule for all of my clients.
Ask me the question no matter how dumb you think it is.
During quarterly meetings or annual reviews, I often ask clients, “what questions are you holding back?”. Funny enough, in all of my years doing this I have never once had a client ask me a question that was truly “dumb”. As soon as they ask the question, I can feel the tension release from them because they already feel better by asking.
How is that possible? I believe that we grow up in a world where we are not taught nearly enough about basic finances. So much data exists about high schoolers and college aged children saying they wished they had more financial knowledge. Yet, we still don’t teach our children about financial tools they will need throughout their lives.
I remind clients of this. I have the privilege of working with people in a wide variety of industries. They are arguably specialists in their profession. Where as they may spend their days in the medical field, chemistry labs, classrooms, or offices, I spend my days in the world of financial planning (aka my specialty). When you have professionals in front of you like doctors, accountants, engineers, teachers, or financial planners ask them all your burning questions because that is why we have them in our lives.
The final reason I encourage clients to ask all their questions is to help avoid mistakes or make choices they may regret. It’s similar to what our parents used to tell us when we were younger. “If we don’t know there’s a problem, we can’t help you fix it”. I love it when clients share their thoughts, questions, comments, and concerns because it gives me the opportunity to serve them on the highest level. If you are currently working with an advisor who isn’t creating a safe and comfortable environment where you ask these questions, it’s time to re-evaluate.
