I don’t know what to title this.
Maybe we start here.
I became a financial advisor in 2015. I was an art school graduate, militant vegan, and full time yoga teacher. That’s another story.
Maybe we start right here, right now.
I quit last week. Generally, when a financial advisor leaves a firm the firm does not take the risk that the advisor might do something shady (steal clients). It’s an immediate shut down/lock out/walk out bye bye. That’s another story.
So we start right now. What do you do when you get fired or laid off or you quit or you retire? As a financial advisor this is a situation I helped many people get through. I guess it is my turn.
People think (at least I did and actually still do) that being a financial advisor/aka having a series 7 license/aka being a stock broker is this very fast paced sexy life with lots of screaming into phones and partying (I’m still waiting). Maybe it was that. Actually, I know it is for some and was definitely in the past. Not really anymore. Or maybe I’m just not that cool. Mostly it’s boring. Just like me. And just how I like it. Smooth, simple, gentle. No big waves. It’s helping people stay emotionally sober and objective. That’s the big thing. Turns out a whole lot of world travel, experiencing different cultrues, and teaching yoga for 10+ years was really helpful for that.
Yes, I placed trades as a financial advisor. I bought and sold investments, gave investment advice, built and maintained portfolios, etc etc. The thing is as a financial advisor it’s kind of like this umbrella term. The actual day-to-day activities can be so many different things depending on the clientele and the firm etc. etc.
Also another story.
So we focus on right now. Right now I am the client. I have just left my previous employer. What now?
The first thing is to do absolutely nothing.
Do nothing.
Just be totally still.
Because actually nothing is a big emergency.
You learn that as an advisor. There are no huge financial emergencies in general. Not in the true sense of the word.
Not like a few hours ago when we were having coffee and the glass balcony shattered above us. That was potentially an emergency. Except no one was hurt. Except for a tiny scratch on my hand and an actual childhood fear coming true. Someone had leaned on their glass balcony ledge and it shattered.
So even though the second you leave or quit or whatever it feels like maybe you have to start changing accounts or moving money around etc. you actually don’t need to do anything. People get paid when money moves so people (companies) will start advertising to you. It is what it is. You are vulnerable and in an excited state of moving and basically are a walking dollar sign. 99% of the time the best advice is likely going to be just do nothing. For now.
It might be hard. You might want to run as far as you can from where you worked, taking your 401ks with you. Or be on a whole “new me” kick and it seems super iconic to make these big moves chasing a $500 credit for opening a new account etc etc.
I can assure you now is not the time.
Now is the time to be still and take pause.
Do nothing.
It’s not just some yoga jumbo jumbo.
Because you don’t really always know when your last paychecks or bonuses might trickle in to this account or that. You don’t know when there might be a final 401k match or contribution. Maybe some severance or unused vacation will be paid out.
As hard as it is or may be — don’t open or close any new accounts yet.
The exception is if you are moving to a new employer and there is a 401k plan there. Then, yes, you absolutely should take advantage of any potential free money. More on that later.
Because right now is right now. Right now I am not going to work for another firm. I am done. I am grateful for the time and the experience and all the things. And now no more. More on that later.
Right now we are staying right here.
Right here is doing nothing. It means closing all open tabs researching “bank promos” or “free trade accounts”. Do nothing.
Usually it takes a couple of payroll cycles for all residuals to be paid out. Also, sometimes you aren’t allowed to move your company retirement accounts for a certain amount of time.
Wait at least ONE MONTH before making any moves.
You should find out when your health insurance is finished though. That’s beyond boring for me. So, no more on that later ha.
So right now we are stopping ourselves from making any moves. Stopping ourselves from doing any research on new accounts etc. Right now we are just pausing for one month.
You could in month two or right now also take inventory.
If step one is PAUSE/DO NOTHING FOR ONE MONTH then step two is TAKE INVENTORY WITHOUT JUDGEMENT. More on that later.
Right now we are just doing that whole yoga, mindfulness, meditation thing and staying in the present. And in the present we don’t need to do anything. In fact, we shouldn’t.
Step one: pause / do nothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment