The tears, oh those terrible tears and tantrums of separation! What a hole it leaves in peoples lives and that black hole of despair is most noticeably felt at the bank!
Yes, whether its goodbye hubby, employee, company or financial advisor, there is all too often a price to pay and often the damage is exacerbated by the innocent party insisting on fighting the good fight, with the misguided belief that a good clean scuffle will ensue seeing the innocents emerge exonerated and better off.
Wrong! Time and time again the people who know how the system works are proved right and yet most of the time we choose to ignore them. Trust me, I am a lawye, may seem an oxymoron but often it does unfortunately apply, you may not like the advice, but often you should take it.
I am someone who has experienced that you should frequently take the first deal offered, as all too often it is gong to be the best. Even if it hurts, by taking it you can avoid being embroiled in human nonsense for too long, blindly hoping that you will do better later!
A good mate, and even smarter divorce lawyer, told me once to pay and have done with it, it’s only money old son! But no, old clever clogs here knew best and wasted a year, suffered endless cheap legal tactics and eventually paid out the original amount my pal told me to pay in the first place, plus the unnecessary legal costs, of course.
The next time I follow Rob Stewart’s advice on marriage, Never again, he said, now I just go out, find a woman I don’t like and buy her a big house.
Business issues are often the same as family tiffs, protracted disputes are just a waste of time, so pay over the odds and get away from who, or whatever, is holding you back. This could be a partner, director, employee, service provider or anyone. Cut hard and clean, pay and move on. Staff members that are bringing down your business, through their negativity, are destroying thousands of rands of good will a day, get them out sharpish and even pay more than a potential legal pay out. That way they don’t waste your or your staffs valuable time, or get a chance to destroy the company’s reputation.
Cut and cut deep, that’s the old surgeons adage and it applies to your financial advisor as well. If you are not totally convinced, or have even 1% of doubt, then that should result in the end of the relationship. You must feel 100% confident in their previous and current advice, if not then get as far away from them as you possibly can.
In addition don’t believe all the twaddle about sticking with the old products you were sold. Find an advisor you can trust, go through your entire position and portfolio with them. Get all the facts and if moving your money will cost you a couple of % today, to get out of an expensive or inappropriate product, then do so. If the move saves you the same amount over the next year or two, then think of the cost saving over the next five to twenty years. The value of that decision will be considerable and the upside will be in your pocket!
So in summary, from a man who has seen and experienced more separations than Everton have lost away games, take the pain and take it early. Because whether you’re a wife, husband, company owner, business manager, or just one of us ordinary folk looking for great advice, the toughest decision to swallow is often the best one to make. Three years from now that mountain will seem more like a molehill and the financial pain will be long since forgotten, as will probably the name of the person who caused it.