Investing in Yourself Can Yield Returns Far Greater Than Other Investments
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - November 4, 2009) -
The New Financial Realities: Personal Statement by Eleanor Blayney, CFP®
Consumer Advocate for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
(CFP Board):
In the current financial crisis, we have learned that we can no longer
afford to think about our personal finances as we did in the bubbly
pre-recession days. There are new financial realities. To respond to these
new realities and take control of our financial futures, we must re-examine
some basic assumptions and consider some new approaches. Over the course of
this series, we are looking at nine important financial strategies. This
week: Investing in your most important asset, your human capital.
In today's unstable financial market, it's hard to know what are the right
investments to make. Higher expected returns are often obtained only if
we are willing to accept significant losses. But there is one high growth
asset that you can invest in, that will almost always yield positive
returns. That asset is you.
Do your homework: do you know what you are worth? What is your earning
potential? What are the demands for your skills? Knowing your value will
give you leverage when you need to ask for a raise, get a new job, and when
you are negotiating a new position within your workplace. This is
especially important in these trying financial times. Investing your time
and money to get additional training or needed credentials can make you an
indispensable employee or a sought-after candidate for a potential job.
It's extremely hard to pick the one stock that will make us wealthy. It's
almost statistically impossible to win the lottery. Very few of us are
guaranteed a fat inheritance. The reality is that the richest individuals
are not lucky, but hard workers, willing to do what it takes to make
themselves the best in their chosen markets and fields.
I'm Eleanor Blayney, as Consumer Advocate for CFP Board, I want you to
remember to think of yourself as your most valuable asset. Invest in
self-improvement, and your financial security will follow.
As you navigate through your personal finances, know that you are not
alone. On behalf of CFP Board, and the more than 60,000 professionals who
hold the CFP® marks, thank you for visiting CFP Board's Website. I wish
you the best on your journey to a healthy financial future.
To view the new financial realities series, please visit
http://www.cfp.net/learn/advocate.asp
Follow Eleanor on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EleanorBlayney
Follow Eleanor on FiLife: http://www.filife.com/user/eleanorblayney
About CFP Board:
The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is to
benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as
the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. The
Board of Directors, in furthering CFP Board's mission, acts on behalf of
the public, CFP® certificants and other stakeholders. CFP Board owns the
certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally
registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to
individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing
certification requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes more than 60,000
individuals to use these marks in the United States. For more about CFP
Board, visit www.CFP.net.
CFP® - The Recognized Standard of Excellence in Personal Financial
Planning