I have a client that we were discussing how much of a no-brainer purchasing an EIUL was for his financial position. His comment to me has stuck in my brain since he made it. He said many people get stuck into “Analysis Paralysis” and are unable to make the decision because they over-think it.
How to Recognize When You are in “Analysis Paralysis”
1. Your spreadsheet keeps getting wider with more and more variables being added. It seems everyday you have a great thought about the investment and you add a variable to the spreadsheet and spend hours doing more variable analysis.
2. Lay people you discuss this with keep coming up with “issues” that could happen. Every one has an opinion, but not all opinions are equal. I mean what happens if a comet hits the town your investment property is located in?
3. You get up in the morning ready to take the plunge, yet by afternoon you have vacillated against it, again. Making a decision comes naturally for some, while others have a hard time with it. Once you have done your due diligence, make the decision and stay with it.
4. You forget the reason you are looking at this investment in the first place. I don’t know how many times someone calls me because they recognize the issues with their mutual funds inside their 401K/IRA, but halfway through our discussion they are telling me they are going to continue funding their 401K and they don’t know if they have enough cash flow to fund an EIUL.
5. You have read so much on the subject that you consider yourself an expert, but have yet to actually put your money there.
Successful People
Successful people are flexible enough to make changes as they gain experience or the environment changes.
Change is hard. People fear the unknown so they have a hard time changing what they are doing. What is the old saying? Insanity is to continue to do the same thing, but expect different results! Success is defined by being able to use your experience to guide you as the world evolves. Change is constant, you need to be able to react to the changing world by making change yourself. Don’t get stuck in Analysis Paralysis!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, this is such an important topic. This is something that so many investors have to battle against when trying to put a deal together (myself included). Thanks for putting this together David – I’ll have to bookmark this one!
What’s often so mystifying, David, is that even though they must go on a necessary learning curve about the ins/outs of the EIUL, they KNOW their 401k is a virtually guaranteed train wreck. Most Americans’ 401k won’t even produce income equal to their Social Security income. Now, how pathetic is that? Amazing.
Instant Classic! I’m going to carry this around with me and distribute copies to some of my investor clients lol! Well done.
Very good post! And I’ll just say, “Agreed!” to all three above comments.