Oh yes, those were the days
In an iteration of one of my previous lives/careers, I was an account manager for a major Canadian bank. I worked there from 1993 to 2001, and the last few years I was tasked with advising clients about their "overall financial strategy". In theory, this meant that I advised clients on all their financial needs: cash management, investments, and borrowing. One of the reasons I had to stop being a banker, among the several reasons I could truthfully cite, is that the whole system of One-Stop Financial Shopping was failing miserably. It was much easier to help clients get into debt than it was to put them on the road to financial independence. It didn't help that 85% of the population was, and continues to be, completely illiterate and willfully ignorant on even the most basic financial concepts. Nevertheless, I am pleased to report that the nightmares seem to have stopped. A few months ago, Zeus the Financial Planning Pig sent me a link to this video. If you've not been in the financial industry, you may not find it terribly funny. However, I promise that the client in this video could have been any of several that I "helped" from 1996 to 2001. At a minimum - and I know Zeus would say the same thing - everything this woman said to the financial planner was said to me at some time or other. Enjoy - but fair warning, there is an F-bomb near the end of the video.
7 comments:
I was at one point a licensed financial advisor myself, El. If I spoke to one woman like the one in the video, I spoke to a hundred of these idiots.
And they all quote Suze Orman.
LOL! It's like a horrific, twisted, carousel. I would have kicked the woman out of my office at about the three minute mark.
That said, I love it when the little guy broke the fourth wall at just about that point.
"Harry Potter and Warren Buffett together could not help you on your disastrous financial quest."
Hahahahahahahaha!!!!
Fredd, I had actually never heard of Suze Orman prior to this video. Since then, I've seen her mug glaring at me from a book cover in a store, and have read your recent post about her.
Y'know, I fail to see why guys like us can't get in on the graft. ANYONE can give half-assed financial advice. Imagine how much better off things would be if the advice were coming from someone with actual financial planning experience.
Where's my TV contract?
That was great. "you awful woman" - made me laugh out loud.
I will admit that when I was at my lowest at the bike shop, I considered briefly cashing out my retirement savings to save my sorry ass. Desperation can do that. Thankfully, I found some common sense first and did not touch it. Nor have I taken on any new loans or credit cards in over 5 years. And guess what, my shop is still cruising 3 years later and in much better shape. All it took was tossing out my old business model and creating one that works on less income. It's harder work, but my old debts are finally weighing less on my shoulders. Maybe by the time I reach 80, I will be able to retire.
Very funny El! I sent the link to a financial planner friend to enjoy!
Oh Iggy...where art thou?
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