I believed managing my own investments would save me thousands of pounds…
It all started some 30 years ago when a colleague came into the office and was very excited about privatisation of energy companies. I was eager to find out more but google was not an option! So I waited until he was heading to the vending machine for a coffee and an opportunity to find out more. He asked if I was applying for National Grid shares, I answered “I’m not sure, haven’t decided yet are you?” “Of course, just waiting for my application form.” Clearly, he was very knowledgeable in this area and I wanted to understand more, so over the coming weeks, conversations turned into lessons (not sure he knew that!) and I completed my application buying my first shares. Turned out he was a DIY investor and had an extensive portfolio of shares held in a PEP! (ISA replaced PEPs in 1999) and so the lessons continued until I left the company 3 years later with my own well stocked PEP to start my maternity leave.
Financial planning for the future
After my daughter was born, I went back to work and continued building my career as a Finance Director and then as an Executive Coach. I paid into a pension but also managed my own portfolio of shares and buy-to-lets. In 2018, I decided to semi-retire and spend time understanding how financial planning worked, reorganising my finances more effectively to fund my retirement. I invested considerable time researching and comparing financial models and wealth creation allowing me to develop a fairly simple spreadsheet of my financial future. Set up some investments to improve the returns and thought I had it sussed until I came across Women’s Wealth and took up their offer of a free initial 15 minute Discovery Call. I was expecting to feel really great about what I had achieved but I realised that I had gone about this all the wrong way.
I had not considered my risk profile, timings of when I would need money in my lifetime, how I could get the best return for money I didn’t need in the short-term, diversification to reduce risk and there was more!
Women’s Wealth – how I became a money mentor
I started working with Women’s Wealth and was so impressed with the process and their values and goals to empower women to understand money matters and make better decisions for their future that I decided to train as a money mentor. I really enjoy the work I do and the difference I am making.
I’m also educating myself towards becoming a qualified Independent Financial Advisor as I believe, if I had employed a financial expert earlier in my life, it would have more than paid for itself and I definitely would be in a better place financially today.
What I have come to realise is that Independent Financial Advisors have access to wholesale prices whereas DIY investors pay retail prices. I wrongly thought by doing it myself I was saving money but in reality having access to expert knowledge and reduced pricing, I would have saved time, money and had a better outcome.
If you would also like to have a free no obligation chat with me here is a link to my diary Discovery Call Meeting. I look forward to making a difference in our chat.