Some bad decisions in life can only be put off for so long.
A couple of years ago I decided it was time for me to begin playing golf.
Why did I wait so long? I know myself pretty well. And I knew that whenever I made this fateful leap it would consume me.
I was not mistaken. I instantly fell in love with the game.
But, for me, golf has been an unrequited love. It has neither acknowledged my presence nor returned my affection.
In golf, a player seeks to hit a small ball into a small hole five football fields away. He does so using a series of sticks each of which has a blunt object attached to the end. Golfers call these tools “clubs” which is an apt description of what often happens when I attempt to hit the small ball.
Golf is played with a series of these clubs, each of which is designed for a different circumstance. “Drivers” are designed to hit the ball from a great distance towards the hole. “Irons” of various lengths are used as mid- range weapons, especially if your driver didn’t work out so well. Shorter irons known as “wedges” are designed to aid players in delicately lifting a ball from nearby onto the green. Finally, “putters” are designed to tap the ball into the hole from a relatively close distance. What a concept.
Golf is not a game for the impatient or the illiquid. It costs time, patience and coinage. My children are now grown and have moved out of the house. As the theory goes, this should be a wonderful time of life in which the income stays the same, but the expenses go down a bit.
I could have just taken some cash and burned it in the back yard each week, but I decided to take up golf instead. I’m still out the money, but this way I get a nice walk along with the occasional sun tan.
One of the things I discovered with my new hobby is that the quality of my equipment has almost no relationship to the quality of my results.
Better clubs do not necessarily translate into lower scores (in golf, the lower one’s score, the better. Too bad for me).
Much more important than the club is the swing. In fact, a skilled player can use the wrong club and still have success due to the skill and sophistication of his swing.
Now, you’ll never discover that watching golf on TV. TV golf is sponsored not by professionals who give golf lessons (i.e., better swings). TV golf is sponsored by makers of all manner of golf equipment – clubs, balls, shoes, clothes, caps, carts, ball markers and a myriad of gimmicks all promising to improve your distance and accuracy.
Do not hear me saying that clubs and equipment don’t matter. I’m sure they do. Just not to someone that still doesn’t have the basics of the swing down.
Financial products are like clubs. You need them. They are indeed important.
Just as there are different clubs for different circumstances, so there are different financial products for different circumstances. Some are meant for “long-range” situations. Others, more for the “up close” circumstance. Some for safety. Others for taking reasonable risk.
But just remember…the swing is the most important thing. There’s a song playing in the back of my mind… “if you ain’t got no swing, you just ain’t got no thing…”
It’s true in golf. And it’s true in the world of money.
And in the world of money, the swing is a financial plan.
As in golf, there simply isn’t much money to be made in lessons to the masses. If there was, you’d see “golf academy” ads on Saturday afternoons while the professional golfers display their talents. Instead, what you see are promises to get your golf ball to fly farther, longer if you’ll just buy this new ball, club, shoe or whatever.
The same is true with money. You’ll see lots of commercials promoting the virtues and values of this financial product or that. Mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, bank accounts, money management accounts and ETFs (if you have to ask, you don’t yet need one).
The marketing folks want us to focus on the shiny new product of the year.
As in golf, so in life…it’s not the club, it’s the swing.
Improve your swing and improve your game. Get a plan.
Argent Advisors, Inc. is an SEC registered investment adviser. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request. Please See Important Disclosure Information at http://www.ruston.argentadvisors.com/important-consumer-disclosure
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/blogs/2019/05/06/golf-so-life-its-not-club-its-swing/3643574002/
2019-05-06 13:40:00Z
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