Vlog: Time to Clean Out Your Financial Planning Basement?

By David B. Armstrong, CFA | Jun 29, 2020 | Weekly Market Commentary

Hey, Dave Armstrong here with Monument Wealth Management. I know it has been way longer than a hot second since I’ve done a video, but something inspired me the other day to finally turn the camera on: Cleaning my basement. 

Being quarantined for over 100 days now in the house, I finally just couldn’t come up with any more excuses for putting the basement off any longer. It had just been way too long, and I kept jamming a bunch of stuff down there. Every time someone would come by or we needed to get something out of the way it would be like “go in the basement, go in the basement.” If you have a basement or garage, you know exactly what I’m talking about, right? 

So, I finally had enough of it, and I went down there and I just started. I started in one corner and I looked at it all and thought “Oh God, this is going to take me forever. Where do I even start?” But I did, I just started. I did it and little by little, I saw progress. It felt good. It inspired me to keep going. And then when I was done, I looked at it and said, “This is fantastic. I wish I had done it a long time ago and I am completely inspired to stay organized.” And then it dawned on me that maybe that is the way people feel about doing financial planning and investment strategy process work. 

So, you know, you put it off for a long time and then finally you have enough of it. Maybe the recent events and some of the volatility in the market has had you finally reaching your end point where you are like, “I have got to do something about this. I have to fix it.” So, you are researching, you are trying to figure out how to actually get started (just like with the basement). Then you are hoping that you will see some progress, you will feel good, and you will be proud when you are done. It will inspire you to stay organized and then you will turn around and wish that you had a done it a year ago or years ago, right? 

So, if these recent events have prompted you to consider getting going or getting started with a full financial plan or figuring out a different investment strategy, I would really love for you to consider learning more about Monument’s Private Wealth Design process. 

It’s kind of like cleaning the basement and look, I get that. And I can’t sit here and pretend that getting all of your stuff together to get a financial plan going isn’t a complete pain in the ass. I get it. I know it is. But the thing that makes it different than me going down in the basement by myself and cleaning it out is, you’ve got 10 people at Monument that are going to help you do that process. So, while you’re going to have to do some work and dig some stuff up, many hands make light work. 

And so, if just the sheer effort of the whole thing is one of your obstacles to getting going, we like to chip in and help you get that stuff done. That is part of what we do. We know that when clients actually get this done, they turn around and they say “this feels good” because it is important work…and they realize it is important work…and they realize it more than ever when they are done with it. 

So that just got me thinking—if people may be feeling some anxiety and this has been a good reason for them to look at, you know, “tackling the basement,” or your financial planning and all that stuff, what makes Monument a better place to do it for you than somebody else? I started considering—what does the competitive landscape look like? What is everyone else saying? And the reality of it is, there are a lot of firms out there that just claim they have the best… 

They have the “best firm.” They have the “best financial plan.” They have the “best investment strategies.” They have the “best portfolio management.” They have the “best client service.” And, okay, I get it, I understand why people are saying that. But I feel like, and Monument feels like, and I will just say this very bluntly – we think that is just a bunch of bunk. Because those are the basic elements of being an advisor, right? 

It is like going into a bakery and seeing a huge sign on the door that says, “We use the best ingredients. The best eggs, flour, water, sugar, etc.” And I would think to myself, “Well, I would hope you would!” Right? You are a bakery, why would you be using inferior ingredients in your cupcake? I just take that to be part of having a door that opens up to your bakery. You are already doing that stuff. And a lot of that seems the same to us for financial planning, too. 

So, we take great pride on our ability to execute on those basic elements (you know, the water, flour, sugar and everything else). But we know that what really differentiates us is, in this Sea of Sameness, the one single thing that makes Monument different, the one thing that cannot be replicated or duplicated by any other firm, is our team’s unique, straightforward, unfiltered opinion. And I’m telling you right now, we’ve got a lot of it. If you know anything about us, you know that we have that. 

What is interesting about having an opinion, and the fact that what you think differentiates you from everyone else, is that you know that not everyone is going to agree with your opinion. And that is fine. But it never, ever stops us from sharing our opinions. We know we are not going to resonate with everybody. So, rather than trying to resonate with everybody, we’re just trying to resonate with someone. And if what we do and what we say and our opinion and what I am saying right now resonates with you, I would like you to come check out Monument. 

Come to our website, monumentwealthmanagement.com, read our blogs, watch the video story on why we started the firm. Click through the bios, see everybody’s video bio, learn more about the team. What you will figure out very quickly is that this is a team of total pros. We all share the same conviction that delivering our unfiltered, straightforward opinion is one of the most important aspects of what we do for clients. It is our value proposition and our differentiation all wrapped up into one. 

And, if that is not enough, the last thing I will tell you about is that our canine companions are always around to remind us that sometimes, just tossing the tennis ball can be the best part of your day. 

So, come check out our social media. We have been really ramping up a lot of efforts there now that people are connecting more in the digital space. We have been doing a lot more on Instagram, so if you have not been following us there and you like Instagram, make sure you find @MonumentWealth on Instagram. If you have any questions, or if you would like to learn more about our process, drop me an email. Just get in touch with us somehow, there are a million ways to do it. We will be more than happy to answer any of your questions. 

And finally, as always, just keep looking forward. 

Dave 

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