Every night as I lay in bed, I stare up at my ceiling and see my DIY paint job in our bedroom. It’s a good job, but not a great job. I was a little sloppy around the corners and could have done better taping and sealing the edges. Nonetheless, what’s done is done. Do I need to fix it? Yes. Have I done that yet? No. Should I have originally hired a professional to do it? Probably.
Taking a DIY approach to anything has its trade-offs. Perhaps you save a little cost up front, but many times, the end result doesn’t quite reach expectations. Perhaps you enjoy the process of learning something new and finding a new skill, but didn’t accurately calculate the time it would take to accomplish the task.
I see many people take a DIY approach to their investing and retirement planning with varied success. Some have a background or education that helps, while others go to the school of YouTube or TikTok to understand the industry. Some portfolios are clean while others have a similar outcome as my bedroom paint job, a little sloppy.
I’m reminded of a quote by the Hall of Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning, who said this:
“I love being coached. I get angry when I’m not coached. I ask a lot of questions and certainly appreciate any insight and feedback. I think if you ever stop listening to coaching or stop asking questions, you probably need to be doing something else.”
Even Peyton Manning, one of the best of the best, recognized the benefit of having multiple sets of eyes on his game. He knew this would lead them to better decision-making.
How can you optimize your DIY approach to investing?
- Talk with a professional:
- A straightforward professional won’t give you a sales pitch but will analyze your approach and give you honest feedback.
- Clean up the sloppy corners:
- Most DIY approaches will have sloppy corners, just like my paint job. Clean them up. Investing money is the ultimate long game.
- Think about the benefit of a second set of eyes:
- It wasn’t just talent or work ethic that made Peyton Manning one of the greatest to ever play football. He was coached, but not only that, he wanted to be coached. He was humble enough to know that better decisions generally come when more eyes are looking at a situation.
Let’s not shoot for “good enough” when it comes to retirement. Investing money doesn’t have to be ‘all or nothing’ with a wealth professional. There are many ways to have a relationship with an advisor that doesn’t always involve giving up control of your investments.
The ultimate goal of your money journey should be to make better decisions and continuously improve your financial situation. If your DIY job needs a gut check, don’t wait. Just like my bedroom, a clean paintjob is much better than a sloppy outcome that easily could have been prevented.