I am led to believe that often gyms have membership numbers in excess of what the facilities could cope if everyone went regularly. The reason they do cope being due to many people not using their gym membership to its full potential.
Maybe (and I have done this) a programme is started but then over time motivation drops and other things seem more important, the visits get less and less frequent. The intended goal of the beach body or weight loss drifts further and further away….
Compare this to employing a Personal Trainer who works with you to develop a programme initially but the key difference is the accountability – you have to attend the sessions booked with them.
This accountability is a powerful force in life and my experience is that people do attend the Personal Trainer sessions once booked (either because they have paid for them or don’t want to call and cancel). The outcome? A much greater chance of meeting the intended goal.
Financial Planners are like this, we work with clients to build a plan to achieve a goal but just as going to a gym once won’t get you fit, building a plan and then not reviewing it reduces the chance of success. By meeting annually with a Planner there is accountability (perhaps to continue with the stated savings target or reduce expenditure).
Hiring a personal trainer is more expensive than just the gym membership and hiring a Financial Planner might be more expensive than DIY investing. This opens up the cost/value discussion as if you hire a trainer and hit your target weight and/or hire a Financial Planner and manage to stop work earlier is the value greater than the cost?
Warm Regards
Neil
This article should not be considered investment advice or an offer of any product for sale, it contains the opinions of the author but not necessarily the Firm and does not represent a recommendation of any particular, strategy or investment product. Information contained has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. Past performance is not an indicator of future results
