Advice

Do you have a money mentor?

A lot of people use financial advisors to help them make better money decisions. One of the problems with using an advisor is that many advisors are merely salespeople who get compensated through commissions from the sale of mutual funds, insurance, mortgages, etc. Not all financial advisors are created equal.

Although financial products are an important part of financial success, this potential conflict of interest can be a real problem. So where can people get help without this conflict? Maybe the solution is a money mentor.

What is a money mentor?

A money mentor is someone in your life who is good at money and willing to share their knowledge with others. For some people, their money mentor is their financial advisor. But for others, it may not be a professional. A money mentor might be someone that is not paid to help you financially. It might be a parent, another relative, a neighbor, or someone you work with. Sometimes financial mentors are authors of books, financial bloggers, media personalities. They might be people that you do not have a face to face relationship with but they have really positively influenced the way you manage your money.

How do you find a money mentor?

Money mentors are not easy to find because money is very personal. In my experience people who are good with money tend to be humble and they don’t look like the flashy millionaire we might imagine. Instead, these people accumulated wealth, one step at a time, the old fashioned way. They tend to be private about their wealth. Ironically people who talk about their wealth and how many things they have are often the people that pursue the perception of wealth as opposed to the pursuit of actual wealth. If you’ve never read the Millionaire Next Door, it will give you a great perspective about what money mentors might look like and who they might be.

Surround yourself with great people

I’ve always said that everything we learn in life we learn from others. In essence, the people that surround us have a great influence on the daily, weekly and yearly outcomes of our life. It’s like the law of attraction. Hang out with poor people and there is a good chance you will be poor. Hang out with financially successful people and you can’t help but become wealthier.

I think most people need financial help. It’s not something that comes naturally. Not everyone is born with that special financial gene. Not everyone is capable of doing it themselves. Getting help from a good financial mentor may go a long way to getting on that path to financial independence.

Money mentors step up

In today’s world, there is a lot of concern about financial literacy and financial education. Formal financial education is lacking which is creating a real financial literacy problem. Money mentors are special people because they help and give without any expectation of returns. They do not sell products. They just help others because they want to.

I hope and plan to be a money mentor to my kids. I feel like I have an obligation to help them prepare for their financial future by sharing my wealth and experience with them. If you are good with money, I urge you to step up and become a mentor for someone else.

Do you have experience with a money mentor you want to share? Do you know someone that has changed your financial life? Inspire others to action with your financial success stories.

Comments

  1. The Wealthy Canadian

    Hi Jim,

    Great post. I really like the money mentor concept. I think a lot of people are often a bit reluctant to go the DIY route, but at the same time know they are not getting the best bang for their buck by having a financial advisor who is possibly charging and ‘taking’ (for lack of a better word) a chunk of their hard-earned dollars.

    Personal finance is just that, it’s ‘personal’ to a lot of people, and I think seeking out a money mentor could be the best route for many people.

    I think you just described your new title 😉 [If I’m not mistaken, you spent over a decade as an investment advisor, correct?]

    All the best,
    TWC

    • Jim Yih

      Thanks TWC!
      I think the blogging community has become significant sources of money mentors. The best example is Million Dollar Journey. He has inspired and helped a lot of people with that blog.
      thanks for stopping by and sharing!
      Jim

      • The Wealthy Canadian

        Well said Jim.

  2. Vanessa Marko

    This is great! I also agree that sometimes people are hesitant when it comes to the idea of a financial advisor and I believe a “Money Mentor” is a great alternative. If people have some outside opinion when it comes to making personal finance decisions it may result in a different outcome. Who knows, it may even help people avoid bankruptcy!

  3. Richard Brown

    There are many self-made millionaires everywhere that don’t walk around telling people about it and they do everything just like the rest of us. If you are lucky enough to get to know one of them on a personal level, you will often learn that the “secrets” for accumulating wealth is actually very simple, practical and usually involves learning good money habits over time.

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