Steps toward financial success

So you’ve got a nice tax return — or one on the way. And maybe you’re thinking that it would be nice to take this chunk of change and turn it into something bigger. But where do you even start if you’re thinking about investing? And what if you don’t know the difference between stocks and bonds, mutual funds and money markets? 

Don’t worry, says Scott Curtis, owner of Cooperstown Financial Services LLC and a registered representative and financial adviser.

“If a person is coming to my office for the first time and has no investment experience, or accounts, our conversation is probably going to be about life,” Curtis explained. “What do you want out of life? What do you expect out of life? How do you expect to get there?”

Curtis said his job is to help his clients gain some perspective on what they would like to see happen in their life. It’s his job, not the client’s, to figure out how to get there, so it’s OK if you don’t follow financial markets or have a plan already laid out. 

“I’m an encourager, and I always try to help people realize that, from wherever you are, we can go forward,” Curtis explained. “We can make the best of it.”

But, Curtis noted, it’s worthwhile to form consistent investment habits. He compared investing to exercise, as something that only yields meaningful results when it’s done regularly over time. 

“You don’t go out and lift a Volkswagen once a month and expect to be in shape,” Curtis said. “You do a little bit at a time.” 

He gave the example of making mortgage payments as a way for people to visualize the power of investing. 

“You buy a $200,000 home, and you’re paying a monthly amount on that for 30 years, then boom, you have this asset that’s worth $300,000,” Curtis said. 

For Curtis, building those habits is key to investment success. 

“I think 75 percent of being successful and reaching your goal is getting started and just doing it, developing a good habit, even if it’s only $25 or $50 a month,” Curtis noted. 

And, he added, seeing an account grow encourages us to keep up the good work. 

“When we own accounts and we watch them and we see them and we sort of water them and fertilize them, they tend to grow ... . And as it’s growing, it’s like anything — when we have more experience, we get more enthusiastic.” 

Another component of successful investment, Curtis said, is honesty. Just as a patient should be open with her doctor about what’s going on in her life, a client gets the best results from a financial planner when the two can speak frankly. 

“The adviser, in order to do the best job, needs to have an accurate picture of where you are,” Curtis observed. “Having an open conversation is helpful in order to receive sound advice.”

And Curtis pointed out that, just as success requires work on the client’s part, investment companies put a lot of hard work into the process, too — and that comes at a price. 

“I had a really good friend who wanted to invest $100,000 and wondered why there was any type of fee,” Curtis recalled. “This guy had owned his own business, he was a pretty savvy guy who had accumulated some money, but I thought, well, gee, why would they invest your money for free? This fund has been doing awesome since 1948, and this company has offices all over the world, and pays people, and is trying to get good information on what stocks and bonds they should own to produce the kinds of returns. When I explained it, he was like, ‘Right, they have salaries and electric bills to pay.’ But sometimes the costs associated with investing are something that needs to be explained a little bit.” 

In the end, Curtis said, it’s worth it for many people to take the time and make the effort to build good investment habits. And, he said, the time to start is now, no matter where you are on life’s journey. 

“Investing, just a very definition of the word, is putting money to use on purpose for something that has potentially a nice payoff for you,” Curtis said. “Investing in yourself is worthwhile. Don’t delay!”