Will You Be the Next Victim of Fraud?
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009Sometimes what you don’t know can hurt you! In fact, blind faith and lack of knowledge make you more vulnerable to becoming a victim.
A lack of financial understanding is no excuse, yet is the reason why millions of people suffer from financial anxiety and thousands end up getting fleeced. You may think you’re doing all the right things by asking professionals about financial transactions, but this is no guarantee that you won’t be ripped off or make an inappropriate investment. Getting your education from a financial professional who has a vested interest in selling you a product or service is like asking the fox to guard the henhouse. At best, you get someone providing you with biased information; at worst they are just licking their chops! The reality is you don’t have money to lose, and even if you have an advisor, that person will never have to walk in your shoes. The worst thing you can do is to have blind faith in a third party simply because they have expertise in an area that you know very little about.
So what do you do? Practical financial education for adults isn’t readily available, and to go back to school to learn takes time and money.
The solution is simple. There’s a new breed of financial professionals who are subscribing to a neutral third party service to help educate their clients, thereby reducing the potential for conflict of interest. Not only are these advisors providing added value and education to their clients through these services, they are helping them get informed on issues they need to be aware of; the kinds of questions they should be asking; and the type of information they need to make informed, competent personal financial decisions. These advisors are holding themselves to a new level of accountability above and beyond industry requirements by directing clients to inexpensive, unbiased training.
One such program, The MoneyMinding Minute Manager, has been developed by a financial literacy expert and specialist in behavioral finance. This program incorporates day-to-day activities with the emotional element of financial decision-making. Among its many resources, subscribers receive tips, ideas and action plans and have access to an online community allowing them to ask personal questions in an anonymous forum. Consumers cannot purchase financial products, but do get their financial direction allowing them to figure out what they should know before committing their money towards anything. They get direction on what to look for when opening a bank account; how to find money to expand a business; how to make decisions about investing, insurance, mortgages, real estate, wills, taxes, business, kids, marriage, divorce, shopping and more.
“It is third party edu-advice,” says founder of www.moneyminding.com, Tracy Piercy, CFP. “Consumers learn to ask the right questions when making financial decisions and therefore, get better advice and are less likely to fall victim to fraud or inappropriate financial activities.”
For more information contact:
Consumers:
MoneyMinding Inc. or The MoneyMinding Foundation, Victoria, BC
(250)592-0457 or info@moneyminding.com
Media and Financial Professionals:
Tracy Piercy (250)592-047 or tracy@moneyminding.com
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