I recently tackled the project of building an IKEA dresser all by myself. Yes, I know. Possibly brave; possibly foolish, especially since I am not in any way mechanically inclined. (I do own a hammer and several screwdrivers, however, so I’m not completely helpless.)
I started out with ambition and confidence, opening the multitude of boxes with zeal. Immediately I marveled at the precision of the packing job – not a single molecule of space was wasted. Just unpacking all the parts was intimidating. I began to wonder if I were even qualified enough to do this – I could never have packed a box like this!
And then it struck me: this is probably what many people feel like when tackling financial planning.
You can begin with all the confidence and good intentions in the world, but it is easy to become intimidated when faced with the overwhelming complexity of the task. In other words, you look at the pretty picture on the box and all the pieces scattered on the floor and think, “how is THAT going to arise from all of THIS??”
I hear you! Having just experienced the frustration and the overwhelm myself, I completely get it. But honestly, you can do it. Heck, I built a Swedish dresser! I’m here to tell you what I learned from that experience, and how those lessons can be applied to financial planning. Stick with me (for entertainment if nothing else).
1. How to… understand the directions!
I didn’t have to learn Swedish to put this thing together, I reminded myself (actually, the instructions contained no words at all, just pictures, so knowing Swedish wouldn’t have helped.) All I had to do was to correctly interpret what the pictures were trying to convey. First do this with this squiggly piece, then do that with that other kinda straight piece.
Oftentimes I had no idea WHY I was first doing this. Oftentimes I had no idea where this was going. But I did understand that someone out there (presumably the person who wrote, I mean drew, these instructions) DID know. And they wanted me to be successful in building this thing. So I trusted them and followed what they said. They had been down this road before. I had not.
It’s the same with financial planning. I’ll bet my clients may not always know why I insist that they start with an emergency savings account before investing, but they trust me to lead them in the right direction. That’s humbling and empowering – for both of us. They have to trust that I have been down this road before and am leading them to their final goal. I have to make sure my directions are clear, helpful, and encouraging.
If you don’t understand financial jargon, that’s OK! Find someone out there who does, whom you can trust, and learn from them.
2. How to… work more efficiently!
At one point, my wrist began to ache because of all the screws I was screwing in. I realized that if I had one of those fancy rachet screwdrivers that neatly rotates back without my twisting, then multiple screws would have been less of a problem. But I didn’t. So I did the best with what I had. I recognized as I went along that at least I had several different screwdrivers – various sizes of Phillips, flathead, etc. That was better than if I had tried to build the whole thing with only one tool!
This is the same as knowing what each financial tool does. Can you get there with only one tool? Probably, but it’s not fun and makes the whole project harder than it needs to be. While you don’t need a fancy toolbox with every tool, recognize that there are a handful of essential financial tools that will make your job easier. Assess the tools you have and how to work more efficiently, if possible.
If you’re not sure what tools you have or what you need for your financial project, ask a pro (like a financial planner). Most of us love the opportunity to geek out about ways you can optimize your financial toolkit.
3. How to… work with others! (OR NOT…)
In building furniture, and in financial planning, having a partner sometimes helps – and sometimes it doesn’t. My husband was present throughout my dresser-building adventure, but he didn’t try to insert himself and his way of doing things. That would have ended up in disaster, because he and I approach projects very differently. He is the Scandinavian architect who thinks the instructions are “obvious” and logical. I am the concerned teacher who doesn’t understand the instructions but likes that the stick figure guy is smiling as he points at an indiscriminate bolt.
At least, after 20 years of marriage, we both know this. So when he asked me if I wanted his assistance, I told him his job was NOT to help me build the thing, but instead to provide a playlist of motivating 80s music that I could work to. And he delivered on that spectacularly. I’m sure it was difficult at times for him not to interfere with my disjointed muttering while attempting to locate the right bolt.
If you’re working with a partner in financial planning, know your own strengths and your partner’s strengths, and work with the realities of those constraints. Get creative, rather than insisting on some preconceived notion of how things “should be.”
4. How to… succeed!
I learned that the patient and detail-oriented succeed. The impatient and overconfident end up with a wonky dresser that doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. After I had built the first drawer, I got excited and overconfident with my mad drawer-building skills. I rushed through the next 2 drawers, which all looked the same, cheering, I’ve got this! Then I discovered that those 2 other drawers were actually slightly different from the first, with slightly different parts and attachments, even though they looked the same. Which meant I had to go back, take them apart, and rebuild them so they could slide properly on the finicky little sliders. Sigh. All was not lost, but having patience and reading each step in the instructions rather than jumping to assumptions would have saved me both time and effort.
The same can be said for financial planning. Given the varying rules and limitations placed on financial products, not to mention the intricacies of our tax code, assuming that just because one financial thing looks like another financial thing, they must be the same, can lead you into trouble. Slow down. Recognize that there may be significant differences that are not obvious.
If you think the next step is obvious, take another look. Confirm your assumptions before proceeding. Taking an extra second can help to prevent ending up with a mess you’ll have to go back and un-do before you can continue with your progress.
Bonus Tip: Swearing and/or sweating may be involved in both building furniture and building a financial plan. Nuff said.
5. How to… stay sane!
Why is it that important projects always seem to take longer than we think? I started building this dresser in the evening, thinking I’d knock it out and have time to clean the dishes, prep for the next day, and watch a fun movie with my husband. Yeah. Three hours later, I’m still at it, screwdrivers in hand, re-reading where to position the next pointy thingy and dying for a cup of tea.
My best advice, both for furniture building and for financial planning, is to pace yourself. Take breaks and allow for some stops and starts. It’s all part of the process. This task is physically and mentally taxing! You are not a weenie if you get tired or overwhelmed. You are a human being. Give yourself some grace and allow yourself to step away, grab a drink or a snack, take a breath. You’ll find that breaks allow you to come back refreshed and refocused.
If you get frustrated, the important thing is to NOT completely abandon the project. Instead, do it in sprints rather than forcing yourself to run the marathon all at once.
In conclusion, my IKEA dresser did, in fact, get built. I only had to go back and un-do and re-do my steps twice. And in the end, it came out beautifully! The results are fantastic. I now have a neat and streamlined closet. I feel calm and organized when I look at it, rather than harried and ashamed by the mess. I feel confident and empowered to go out into the world and do my thing.
Building that dresser proved to me that I can do hard things. I can stick with it and interpret seemingly foreign instructions. I can assess my situation and use tools to work more efficiently. I can work with my own strengths and get creative to enlist the skills of my partner. I can slow down, pace myself, and pay attention to detail so I succeed. And I can even stay sane in the process (or at least give myself some grace).
I’m hoping that these feelings and insights are what clients walk away with after we’ve built their financial plan. While the process may be challenging, ultimately, it is completely worth it. (Just make sure you have a good playlist.)
