Muirfield Celebrates 30 years
Thirty years is a long time to be in small business and we’re proud to say we’ve continued the client focused traditions implemented by Hayden Torney back in 1989 when he established Muirfield Financial Services. Over the years we’ve had the good fortune to work with some amazing people, families and other small businesses throughout the region. For most, the value of our advice and support is centred on making financial decision making as simple and stress-free as possible.
To honour the milestone, we recently asked our Advice and Client Service teams to come up with the best advice they’ve delivered, seen or witnessed over the years. The result is a mixture of investment tips, decision making traps, common misconceptions and general life advice. We hope you enjoy the collection and may find some ‘pearls of wisdom’ to assist you in your financial endeavours.
- There is no such thing as a dumb question.
- Life is for living. Too often we see stress, rather than satisfaction.
- Just because someone else is doing it, doesn’t make it right for you.
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In fact, it generally always is!
- Be patient, very few things happen overnight.
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – diversify your investments.
- If you have lived a financially conservative life, you generally don’t overspend in retirement. The adage ‘leopards don’t change their spots’ typically rings true.
- Investment markets can change like the wind…don’t watch them constantly or you’ll go cross-eyed.
- Life is full of trade-offs. Consider what’s important to you about the goals you’re setting yourself.
- Block out the noise. Try to ignore the doom and gloom and remember the long-term strategy.
- Protect what you already have before worrying about further wealth creation.
- Ask for help. Don’t try do it all yourself. Find a trusted and qualified second opinion.
- Your ability to earn income is your most valuable financial asset.
- We spend more time encouraging clients to enjoy their wealth than we do reigning them in. Take that holiday you’ve dreamed about, and then take another! Over time you can lose your passion for travel, pampering and adventure, or worse still, your ability to do so.
- Fail to plan, plan to fail. Think and talk openly with family members about current and future financial plans, health care requirements and your estate wishes.
- Spend less than you earn, but enjoy the fruits of your labour.
- Savour the moment. Enjoy the ordinary. When life stares you in the face as it may inevitably do, people seem to remember the joy of life’s simplest pleasures.
- Money doesn’t create happiness. It gives you choices. The more you have, the broader your options tend to be.
- Meaning and purpose in life will far outweigh the benefits of more money or profit.
- Utilise the power of compound interest. It is the 8th wonder of the world. Small regular savings to superannuation or investments over a long period of time will amplify your accumulation efforts.
- Always have a cash buffer or ‘safety net’ available, you never know what’s around the corner.
- Risk cannot be avoided; consider the risks you’re willing to accept and those you wish to manage.
- Discipline is the best investment available. Listen to your emotions but don’t react irrationally.
- The amount you need to retire comfortably is often overstated. Don’t let fear, or greed, drive your financial decisions.
- A dollar saved is a dollar earned. Shop around when you receive statements or renewal notices.
- Assess, address and enjoy the success. Reward yourself when you achieve a financial goal.
- Pay yourself first. Transfer some of your pay to a savings account or super so you don’t have the temptation to spend it.
- Yesterday was the best time to invest. The sooner you start, the better.
- There is no joy in being fat, filthy rich and unfulfilled. Spend time, energy and money on those you love, including yourself.
- Information does not equal action. The power is in the doing, not the knowing.
Wise words indeed!
Great advice which is very much appreciated
Thanks for your reply Alida and Peter.
My own experiences, especially as I got older, support everything expressed above. In our younger years my wife and I were not provided with any financial advice by anyone, but over time we, no not we, she learnt many of the lessons you have outlined.
I never participated in our financial affairs because my wife was the expert and i was hopeless. She would tell people that if she gave me $10, by the time I crossed the road I would only have $5 left. Marjorie has left this world but it appears that her way of living, financially, must have somehow become imbedded in me because the observation, No 7, rings very true. I say financially, because she never became a Bulldog supporter. It is the only black mark St Peter would have against her entering the Celestial Gates.
Thank you for your advice over the years, not all of it financial. I look forward to a long association with Muirfields.
Thank you for your reply Malcolm, it is evident that you were a good student of Marjorie’s without being aware.
We have our eyes on the Bulldogs this September, a repeat of 2016 could be on the cards!
Mr Micawber’s (W.C.Fields 1935 movie) famous, and oft-quoted, recipe for happiness to young David Copperfield:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
&
“I am confidently expecting something to turn up.”
Charles Dickens novel, David Copperfield.