DIY vs. Hiring Professionals [Video]

by Stephen Smalenberger, EA / January 2, 2018

 

We all work with different types of professionals whether it be an accountant, attorney, or insurance agent for some examples.  You’ve likely considered using them in your life.  With all of these professionals to choose from there’s been one thing that we’ve talked about as we too have had to decide should we hire someone to help us do something.

Each time we have decided to use professionals to help us complete these pieces of our financial plan because of the things we don’t know.  Sure, we could figure it out or find a less costly solution, but are we hurting ourselves with some of the details of our plan just because we didn’t want to pay the price for a professional?  We aren’t saving time because it would take time to research and learn what these professionals know.  So the decision is one of saving money.  Is your time worth the money you are saving?

Another factor we see that can happen so easily is paralysis by analysis.  In doing the research, you can still be left with many questions and simply grow paralyzed by your level of analysis needed to make a decision.  Then there is a fear of is this the right answer?  And you end up gaining a “consensus” from everybody else’s opinions or what they’ve done.  What might be the right answer for someone else may not be your right answer.  Professionals help us to see the decisions that need made and guide in the right direction.

Be careful of the errors you can make in doing things yourself.  These can sometime cost much more than what it would have cost to have a professional do it correctly the first time.  You don’t want to be the hard lesson that everyone else learns from.

When you need to find a professional to help you ask those that you trust if they recommend anyone. And ask why they suggest them. Then call to get started learning about what is involved in moving forward with them or anyone else you find that may be a good fit in that area too.

We believe we are building relationships with these people that will help us as we need over the years to come. So by starting this relationship today we are setting ourselves up to get the best help for years to come.

Ready to take the next step?

Schedule a quick call with our financial advisors.

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Stephen Smalenberger, EA

Steve enjoys getting to know clients and hear their unique stories and the lessons learned which has brought them where they are today. One of the reasons he enjoys what he does is the ability to show the outcome that can be achieved with different choices. He also enjoys continually learning.