Financial Responsibility

The first step to gaining financial responsibility... admitting that you aren't yet responsible? Deciding that you need to get a grip? Well, I have finally taken action. I may never have done anything, save for the fact that a good friend of mine recently started working for Morgan Stanley.

So, my friend Jenn, who I have known since college (some 17 or so years), married John. It's been at least 5 years since they have been married. Ever since they have been together, Jenn has raved about how savvy John is with finances, investing, and just understanding how it all works. Apparently he has assisted a number of friends in making loads off the stock market. He is smart about it and has been watching and studying the markets and how they fluctuate over many years. Really, John is an amazing person all around. Not only is he good with numbers, but he is an amazing artist, a talented "handy-man" (he just remodeled their house almost single-handedly), and is a great father as well.

It appears that John was ready to have a 9-5 job after mostly completing their house and started looking into financial planning, I imagine both because he is good at it and it is a lucrative field. He landed a position at Morgan Stanley, where they trained him and he became certified or licensed to do all kinds of things like write loans, trade stocks, and advise people on what to do with their finances. Well, John and I had talked a number of times before about investing and various options, but always at their house, over dinner, playing with their daughter, in between having a drink and knitting, or watching a movie. So, he was finally open for business! I gather I was John's first client!

The evening before I left for his office, I was filled with anxiety. I collected all of the paperwork he might need: my mortgage, bank, student loan, and credit card statements, tax info, pay "stub," and retirement statements. I can honestly say that I know I must be somewhat responsible, since I actually have all that stuff, can easily put my hands on it, and know basically what it all means and can even explain to you what it is. That is a good start. I also know that the market has been very temperamental recently. Interest rates are going up and there is no telling when that trend is going to stop. Knowledge of this didn't help my anxiety.

By the next morning I was a nervous wreck. I met John in his new office in downtown Walnut Creek. The office is a wall of mirrored glass. By contrast to the 80's style building, the decor of the actual Morgan Stanley office is very staid forest green and burgundy striped wing back chairs and a brass lamp on a very dark wood table. The office assistant called John and told him I was waiting. He came out from cubicle land, dressed in a shirt and tie. I know the last time I saw John in a tie was at his wedding. It's all part of the job. In any case, we headed off to a little European cafe John has started frequenting.

John really put me at ease. We looked over all of the documents I brought, he explained how each document was a piece of the puzzle and how we could approach the planning in several different ways. He remembered that I had talked about the possibility of going out on my own at some point and said that we could look at what I would need in order to make that a reality in 2-6 years. John was excellent at explaining things so they made sense. It demystified my financial picture and made it feel manageable. He has in mind different options that I can choose to go with or not, as I see fit. So, not only was I feeling relieved, but I was feeling very excited about my future.

I will have more to report on in a couple of weeks when I meet with John again and discuss in more detail the various paths I can take. But, as of now, I would highly recommend him to any of my friends and family who may be in need of the type of services Morgan Stanley offers. Although he is new to the firm, he is not new to the field, and has many excellent references.
If you would like to contact him, you can email him at:
John.Sanchez@morganstanley.com
He would be happy to hear from you! Tell him Elisabeth sent you.

Check in again to see how it's going with me and my money.