Weight Watchers or Wealth Watchers?
Millions of people across the world go to a weekly meeting where they stand on a scale in front of a room full of strangers (who are probably judging them) to see if they have been successful in losing a few pounds that week.
Their progress is recorded in a book and they are held to account by their success or failure in achieving their weekly weight loss target.
They are given advice about strategies that will help them to succeed – inspiring and tasty recipe ideas, exercise plans and even tips on meditation, visualisation and building self esteem.
So it seems we are content to share our weight issues with the world, but do we speak about our money in the same way?
NO WE DO NOT! We are more likely to talk about a whole range of personal issues – our weight, our sex life, our mental health BEFORE we share information about our money.
Most people feel uncomfortable about discussing how much they earn or how much is in their bank account. Few will talk about the equity in their house or the level of their mortgage. Fewer still will share information about their investments and how their financial position may have changed over the last month.
But why do we feel uncomfortable about our money when we are prepared to bare all about other, arguably more sensitive issues?
Perhaps we are too embarrassed – we think that we will be judged as feckless for having too little, or a show off for having too much.
Many of our concerns and thoughts about money were developed at a very early age and many of these attitudes revolve around self esteem and success.
So back to weight watchers – if there was a “wealth weigh in” each week where people paid to come along to have their wealth assessed, were held accountable for good savings or bad over-spending, were given tried and tested strategies for improving their situation both in the short and long term, where progress was recorded and depicted in simple charts and where they felt in better control, would this be a good thing?
We think it would! Better still, if we shared a discussion which was about you and the future life you want to live, where you are free to talk about your money and all your concerns, where we can offer support, leadership and guidance – we think this would be a great thing!
This is what we do at Magenta. Not every week, but certainly at least once every year, to help you formulate your plans for the future and stay on track to achieve them.
Don’t be shy or embarrassed (we never judge) – give us a call to arrange a friendly chat and start your wealth watching journey.