You wouldn’t believe the conversation I had yesterday with a prospective client. It’s as if he’s done everything we’ve recommended over the years and we were set to talk yesterday—after all of those years later—to see how it all turned out.
I’m here to tell you, quite well, indeed. This gentleman is wealthy beyond his imagination and I bet, having not met him face to face yet, I wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a lineup. That’s the beauty of quiet wealth: You control how you move about the world with no pressure to live up to some silly image.
Long ago, my new friend and his wife decided to venture down a road of saving, saving, and more saving, and living below their means. The return for this? I’ll tell you. “E.J.,” he said. “You know the most amazing feeling in the world is when my wife says to me, ‘thank you for our life together. Thank you. I love our life.’”
What’s not to love? They love Switzerland—a country they consider to be their home away from home—which is an easy shot to Paris where they’ve taken their granddaughter, “who just loves Paris.” What granddaughter wouldn’t?
“What prompted you to contact us?” I asked. “After all you’ve done such a nice job on your own,” I said. In which he replied, “I want to make sure my wife is taken care of if something should happen to me, but I don’t like to jump all in at once, so I want to work with you and see what it’s like before I turn over everything to you.”
“Welcome home,” I said.
And just like that we talked about how he’s already transitioned half of his accounts from Vanguard to Fidelity. “Fidelity’s website is so much easier,” he said.
“I know.”
Funny how my conversations evolve in a day. In another conversation—with a client who’s been with me for over twenty-years now—we were talking about his estate. His attorney told him he was pretty shocked at the size of it. He replied “not bad for an ‘ole country boy.” Our conversation eased into how his kids, successful in their own right, will handle what will eventually be theirs. I said I know just the guy to help. He said, “They don’t know you yet, E.J., but they know my money’s with you.” I said “There’s no time like the present for us all to start talking.”
So that’s just a snapshot of just one day. Your life stories are simply amazing and so much fun to talk about. You probably can’t believe your incredible success yourself. But you and I know change is tough.
Remember, you don’t have to make drastic changes to change your life or your family’s—you might find there’s some low hanging fruit, like an IRA or a child you’d like to have me talk with. What do you have to lose? You don’t want to miss the boat.
Action Line: You will feel better when you get your financial life in order. That’s a fact. My daily messages are to help keep your eye on the ball and stay organized. Sometimes talking regularly with someone like me can be all the help you need. Let’s stay in touch. I’ll be here for you every day. You can count on it. I’d love to talk to you.
P.S. Read more about Why Vanguard is Too Big here.
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
