Talkin' Money

I had an interesting discussion with my mother in law this morning. Actually, it was more a matter of listening to a soliloquy, as she tends to stick to what she wants to say, with little attention to any observations or complementary stories you might want to mention. When we were first married -- for, oh, the first ten or so years -- this used to drive me nuts when it meant that she wasn't listening to what my wife had to say, as I think that my wife is a fascinating person, and I couldn't understand why she wasn't listening. But I gradually got over it, after my wife assured me multiple times that she really didn't mind.

But this morning, it was actually sort of interesting to listen, because she was talking about her finances -- not in detail, but just the general sense that she really can't completely rely on anyone that she deals with, her bank or the fellow selling insurance annuities or whatever, because they don't seem to be looking out for her and her interests. They offer something, and then she finds out that this new plan incurs fees that the old one didn't. She signs up for something, and then she finds that she can't withdraw the money for an extended period. She transfers money, and then she finds that now she has a tax liability that she didn't have before.

This is why you have financial advisors, as we do, now --but you want to believe that they're honest, and knowledgeable, and experienced. I guess thats a lot to expect, sometimes.