Children are curious. They’ll stick anything tasty looking into their mouths, they’ll crawl and climb on furniture and they’ll ask questions about generally everything they are unsure about. Why is it then that we lose that sense of curiosity when we grow older? Why is it that as adults, we rarely ever look for help and instead, decide to take matters into our own hands by consulting Google?
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Don’t be ashamed to ask questions
When your children are growing up, they will undoubtedly ask you a myriad of questions. Why’s the sky blue? Why is water wet? Why am I growing taller? All of these questions relate to very fundamental understandings of how the world works. Children are so curious that they won’t even be ashamed to ask a question about grown up topics, such as “how was I born?” or “how do you make babies?”.
It’s only once we’ve become self-aware of our surroundings and how the world works that we understand what it means to be embarrassed or ashamed. You wouldn’t ask someone a basic question about your body because, as a grown-up person, you’re expected to know the answer. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask just to confirm something.
Many people visit a doctor and ask them questions or seek medical advice that is trivial to a doctor. It’s not exactly common knowledge why different parts of your body ache, but you learn those naturally through experiencing those problems. Is your nose runny? Then chances are you have a cold. Are you also getting headaches? Then you might have flu symptoms. These are things we learn as we visit a doctor and ask them questions, so why do we not feel ashamed to ask these basic questions, but we hesitate to ask for financial help?
Getting financial help isn’t embarrassing—it’s normal
If you’re capable of asking your doctor about your body, then you’re capable of asking a financial advisor about your money. There’s no expectation of what you should and shouldn’t know. You go to a financial advisor and you can barrage them with questions no matter how basic or complicated they are because that’s what they are paid to do: advise you.
A Fee Only Planner could be the best option for someone who is concerned about their financial situation. Many other financial advisors will ask for compensation in other forms, such as selling you other financial products and services that may or may not be in your interest. As a result, a fee-only planner is the best option for someone who just wants to pay money for advice and avoid further complications.
Always ask questions
Just like your children, you need to be curious and ask questions whenever needed. Don’t keep yourself in the dark or look for solutions to your problem via Google. Hire professional help whenever possible and don’t forget that you are never alone when you are in a financial crisis or deep debt. Hire an advisor, ask questions, and don’t stop asking until you are satisfied that you understand the answer. Once your children grow older, remind them how they used to be curious and full of questions when they were younger, and they’ll quickly understand that there’s no shame in asking for help.
