We love it when things are convenient.
A drive-through carwash is a perfect example. In four minutes, my car is washed and I never even need to get out of my car – now that’s convenient.
But remember, convenience has its limits.
Think of convenience in a different light. If a new urology clinic opened up, advertising a “four minute drive-through prostate exams – you never even have to get out of your car!” I don’t think I’d try that. Call me old fashioned, but convenience isn’t always the only thing to consider.
Have you ever seen those late night TV commercials where the over-excited host is promoting a new cooking device where you can just “set it and forget it?” Just throw the chicken in the pot and come back in a few hours and it’s done. Didn’t they used to call that a crock pot? Whatever.
The value of convenience must be weighed against the risk of failure.
If I blow a few bucks on a car wash that didn’t get my car totally clean, or my chicken that gets over cooked, life simply goes on.
On the other hand, messing up big, lifetime financial decisions like your retirement savings, investment management or insurance protection is too important to make, based on what’s convenient.
But think about how are these critical issues are pitched the public? What we usually get are slogans selling convenience, like “Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent.”
I often see retirement accounts and managed investment accounts that someone bought into several years ago…and nothing has changed since. They have the exact same set of investments they had five or ten years ago. Now, if that is the result of a plan, fine.
But more times than not, it’s simply the result of negligence. It wasn’t ever “convenient” to review their investments, so they were ignored.
Don’t do something because it’s convenient. Do it because it’s smart. Too often “set it and forget it” turns to be “forget it and regret it.”
Remember, convenience can be, over rated.
