Engaging a Financial Planner was the best decision I have ever made in my life.
Fuh!.. berbunga2 dengar client cakap ni masa jumpa semalam. This reinforces my conviction that I made the right career switch since 8 years ago to get into Financial Services sector and become a Licensed Financial Planner.
Kali ni (and the last few times jumpa this klien either online or physical), dia akan flash trademark smile dia. Tapi I bagitau dekat dia semalam, masa jumpa first time (sebelum dia start nak engage tu), body language lain, senyum pun macam terpaksa. Kita faham, masa tu memang tengah stress sebab ada masalah kewangan.
Fast forward 30 months later, smiling from ear to ear, very confident. Kalau dulu, nak cakap pasal savings / investments, not a priority, sebab nak settlekan isu hutang / isu cashflow. In 30 months, dah ada quarter of a million in cash in savings / investments (as a couple), and targetting to reach half a million in another 3 years. This was never a goal that they set, and bila I explained it was possible 2 years ago, originally tak percaya boleh capai. But once I explained how they can achieve it, terus letak as an intermediate goal.
Dulu, nak belanja, mmg kira every single sen, takleh lebih dari budget, jadi stress. Skrg ni dah boleh start spending on wants (especially with excess cash from side income / bonuses, etc). Tapi one thing I like, diaorang takyah nak remind untuk save (diaorang yg kejar Financial Planner diaorang bulan2 cakap nak top up investments)
Dulu xde plan nak beli kereta, skrg dah ada kereta idaman dah. Kitaorg discuss pros and cons, including the impact of purchasing the car. In the end, client pull the trigger (tak cakap pun tak boleh beli – duit dia, ikut suka dia la nak buat apa)… sebab tu senyum lebih sikit.
Semalam cerita pasal nak beli another house. Sebab rumah duduk sekarang rumah sewa. As usual, minta additional info so boleh analyze pros and cons, tapi at the same time gave general outline with what will make sense, so at least client can look forward to the future.
Tapi sblm habis session, berjaya racun client cakap suruh letak overseas travel as a goal for next year. Dia cakap, sejak kahwin (last masa honeymoon) tak pernah bawak family naik kapal terbang gi overseas. So, dia cakap, nnt nak discuss dgn wife kesayangan, and discuss pasal nak gi mana next year. Kepada wife dia, aku jawab siap2, you’re welcome
This to me is why I enjoy my work as a Financial Planner. I am more like a life coach to my clients, helping them make better decisions to achieve the goals they set out to achieve, while hopefully enjoying the journey/process to get there.