Fido's tips for visiting a money show
FIDO meets many people at money shows who feel weighed down with financial tips and advice from advisers and salespersons who all sound completely convincing. They often have just one question for us “Where do I start?”.
1 | Deal only with licensed businesses |
2 | Compare all offers with other products and services on the market |
3 | Get independent advice and information before you sign |
4 | If it sounds too good to be true, it's probably a lie |
5 | Know your financial needs |
At a money show, you'll gets lots of ideas about how you might manage your money. Some financial products or services you'll hear about will be:
- like Ferraris they look good but you'll pay for all the bells and whistles
- like white-water rafting exciting, but high risk
- like lemons they won't perform as promised and will end up costing you money.
There are finanical products and services that will suit you - to find them it's worth taking the time to know your financial needs.
Use these show tips to think through where you are and evaluate what's out there.
Your financial needs checklist
My financial commitments are
Heavy
|............... |
|............... |
|............... | Light
|...............| |
I will need my money in
| Now | 10 yrs | 20 yrs |
| |............... | |............... | |............... | |...............| |
I have been investing for
| 0 yrs | 10 yrs | 20 yrs |
| |............... | |............... | |............... | |...............| |
Therefore, I feel comfortable with
| Lower risk | Higher risk |
| |............... | |............... | |............... | |...............| |
Before you go to the money show, read more about Investing: where do you start?
FIDO Website: Printed 11/21/2008
